Long-Term Test Drive: 2019 Infiniti QX50 Essential

Let me start off by saying that this post is long overdue. We've had this particular vehicle for almost two years now, but here I am just getting to it now. Better late than never?

I also want to preface this post by saying that I genuinely dislike CUVs with a passion. Why? It's simple:

1. The average driver does not actually need the extra height of a CUV. Unless you plan on taking it off road at some point, which the average CUV driver never will, YOU DON'T NEED THE EXTRA HEIGHT!
2. The extra height actually makes the car less efficient and more prone to flipping over
3. If you claim you want the extra cargo space, get a wagon or hatchback, which are infinitely cooler than these stupid things
4. The price premium CUVs carry over their sedan, wagon, and hatchback counterparts is often ridiculous considering the loss of efficiency.

But enough about my own personal biases towards these rolling wastes of space. What do I think about this particular vehicle here? Let me start with what I actually do like about the QX50. I find it to be one of the best looking vehicles in its class. Infiniti, despite all their current shortcomings, can still design a good looking car. The lines of the car all flow nicely into each other, and create a very cohesive and classy look. Of note is the high center line, that starts at the hood and actually flows all the way to the back of the car. Another nice design feature is the kink on the rear three-quarter panel. This design element fits nicely with the rear hatch design, and creates a visual cue that isn't disjointed like a lot of other CUVs out there. Lastly, the QX50 is one of the few Infiniti vehicles that actually pulls off that bull shark looking front end well. Considering this was a new vehicle design, it gave the designers and opportunity to design the car around the new corporate front end instead of tacking it on, thankfully.

Unfortunately, the way the car looks is really its only redeeming feature. Everything else is subpar, at best. Let's start with the biggest glaring flaw of the QX50: its packaging. This isn't just an issue with the QX50, but with the general Infiniti line up all together. Looking specifically at the QX50 though, it's a pretty glaring issue. Our particular QX50, the QX50 Essential, is the highest trim package available. Yet, despite it being the highest trim package with a starting MSRP of $45,500 in 2019, it is missing A LOT of features that its competition has as standard features. In fact, many of the missing features of the QX50 Essential come as standard equipment on lesser, non-luxury cars as well. Despite its price tag, the QX50 does not have as standard equipment: heated seats, memory seats, Android Auto/Apple CarPlay (which was remedied in the 2020 model year, thankfully), full driver assist package (the car does have radar cruise but no lane keep assist), LED headlights with adaptive lighting, wood trim. In order to add these items, you have to add a bunch of packages to the car, which can easily bring the MSRP beyond $50,000. Just as an example of how absurd the QX50's lack of equipment is, our 2016 Honda Accord Touring, which had an MSRP of about $35,500 at the time, has all of the missing bits from the QX50 as STANDARD equipment. To add insult to injury, my current 2020 Honda Civic Si has most of the same features as our old Accord (no memory seats or wood trim) at an MSRP of $25,000.

But enough about the QX50's lack of equipment. How does it drive? I will say that the 2.0 liter turbocharged inline-4 is actually quite good. It definitely provides some good mid-range power and the turbo lag is thankfully not very noticeable. At 268 horsepower, it puts it around mid-pack for power in class. Unfortunately, it's strapped to Nissan's godawful CVT. I've experienced Nissan's CVT in various applications in the past, and while the CVT in the QX50 is admittedly one of its better iterations, it still sucks. In the car's eco and normal driving modes, the CVT feels lazy and slow. In sport mode, the CVT can't seem to figure out where it wants to be, making manual shifting a necessity just to get the darn thing to work normally. It's not that Infiniti doesn't have a regular torque converter automatic to use, it's that Nissan is absolutely infatuated with CVTs for whatever stupid reason. Oh yeah, and whoever worked on the intake and exhaust sound engineering for this car? What the hell were you thinking? The engine sounds like straight up garbage. To this, I say to you:

The handling of the QX50 is pretty much what most people would expect of any CUV in this class: just very "meh." Because of the added ride height, the car rolls quite a bit during cornering and can feel quite nervous when needing to execute quicker maneuvering. The biggest problem though is the vehicle's lack of adaptive dampers, which is now becoming standard equipment on CUVs of the same class (hell, my Civic Si has adaptive dampers). Some adaptive dampers would go a long way to making the car more sporty when the driver wants it, while maintaining the car's ride comfort when the sporty handling isn't needed.

Lastly, there's the problem of the interior. It's certainly not bad, but boy is there a ton of plastic for a $45,000 car. It would be forgivable if said plastic was of the soft touch variety, but it's not. A lot of the surfaces that are commonly touched are of the rough, hard, hollow sounding variety. Even if you got the package that includes wood trim, I'm not positive it would really class up the interior much. There's also the issue of that dual touch-screen infotainment system. My family has owned quite a number of Hondas and Acuras with their iteration of the dual screen system. They've all sucked, as far as I'm concerned. Infiniti's version sucks just as bad. It's slow, the graphics are outdated, and it's hugely distracting. Why anyone still thinks this is a great idea is beyond me.

OK, so I've shit on the QX50 quite a bit, and we still have the car for another year or so. In analyzing the QX50 though, I've come to the conclusion that Infiniti is not long for this world. Many of the company's decisions have been moronic at best when it comes to vehicle packaging and which models to keep. With former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn out of the picture, is there a chance Infiniti could recover? I'm not so optimistic. In fact, car blogger/reviewer Doug DeMuro recently put out a video on his More Doug DeMuro channel about how Infiniti is pretty much done for, and I more or less agree with it. Check it out for yourself below:

But as I've mentioned above, we still have the QX50 for another year. Even though it's not the most interesting vehicle, we will continue to post about it until we have to hand the keys back over to Infiniti. I'm just hoping in that time we'll find some sort of redeeming quality about the car that we missed the first time around.   

Test Drive: 2017 Nissan Maxima SV

We arrived at Dulles early in the evening on a Friday. The Emerald Aisle selection was slim pickings, especially if we wanted a car with reasonable cargo space that was not a crossover of some kind. The thought occurred to me to ask for something particular, but I eventually settled on the one car in the line-up I had not driven yet, the loan Nissan Maxima. With its legacy of being the 4-door sports car (4DSC as the marketing mavens at Nissan called it back in the day), the current Maxima has an awful lot of history to live up to, especially considering that the last one I drove back in the early 2000s seriously failed to live up to expectations.

Editorial: Why do Responsible People Have to Suffer Due to the Stupidity of a Few?

Keyless ignitions are starting to become the norm in more and more cars these days. Is it a necessary technology? Probably not. We have survived decades without keyless ignitions by simply sticking the key into the ignition and turning it. As technology advances though, keyless ignitions, and their wireless key fobs, are soon going to replace the good old fashioned keyed ignition in short order. Is this going to end up being a problem? For some, it apparently already is.

Those of us that keep up with the latest news in the automotive world have probably already heard about the lawsuit against 10 automakers over keyless ignitions. The reason behind the lawsuit? Apparently the plaintiffs claim the system is dangerous because drivers, for whatever reason, believe the engine is supposed to automatically shut itself off after leaving the vehicle. Because engines do not shut themselves off, a car parked in a garage can cause carbon monoxide build up, leading to carbon monoxide poisoning. The plaintiffs are asking auto manufacturers to implement an auto shut-off feature on all cars and are seeking damages from the 10 automakers listed in the suit. Also of note, the lawyers working with the plaintiffs are seeking class action status from this law suit.

I have been around keyless ignitions since 2004, when my folks brought home their 2004 Acura RL. At the time, keyless ignition was very uncommon, and Acura was one of the first companies to implement it into the second generation RL. Since then, at least one vehicle in our household has always had keyless ignition, and not once did my parents, myself, or East Brother ever make the assumption that the engine would shut itself off when we left the car. Why? First off, the sales people we worked with never once mentioned "auto engine shut-off" as a feature. Two, at least one person in our family does what I like to call "RTFM," which is short for "read the f***ing manual," when we get a new car. In all of the cars with keyless ignition my family has owned since 2004, not once in any of the manuals does it ever mention that the engine will automatically shut off if you leave the car.

But OK, let us say that you do not believe that the engine automatically shuts off, but you forget to shut the engine off. For starters, all cars with keyless ignition systems have a warning system if you are about to leave the car with the engine still running. This could range anywhere from a series of beeps and squawks to the car straight out honking at you. The noise is often times supplemented by flashing lights for those that need visual cues along with the audio ones. If all else fails, let us not forget, THE ENGINE IS STILL RUNNING! If you are driving a conventional gasoline or diesel powered vehicle, you will most likely still hear the engine running when you exit the vehicle. That alone should be your first indication that you forgot to turn the damn thing off. "Oh, but I drive a hybrid or electric vehicle, so I won't hear the engine." For starters, if you drive an electric, what are you complaining about? Your car does not produce carbon monoxide. At most, you will end up with a dead battery when you go to start your car again. As for hybrid drivers? Just listen for the audio cues basically screaming at you to turn the damn thing off.

To me, this whole situation screams of "cash grab." For as long as keyless ignitions have been available, never has any manufacturer claimed that their car will automatically shut off if you leave the vehicle and walk a certain distance away from it. In the past, before keyless ignitions, most people were smart enough to remember to shut off the car and take the keys with them. Why is it that as technology becomes more advanced, people seem to become more and more careless and stupid? And why is it that the careless and stupid ones are always the most vocal ones?

Story Time: Bad times with rental cars

If you travel at all, renting a car is one of those things that is pretty much unavoidable. It is possible to have great experiences, especially when by the luck of the draw you end up with a free upgrade or the rental agency makes an error in your favor. But today, we are not going to talk about those fleeting good times. Instead, we are going to share some of our rental car horror stories. I, in particular, have had some seriously back rental car experiences, ranging from terrible service to horrible cars to unplanned incidents that resulted in hours of delays. After the jump, I am going to share a few of my own worst experiences and would love to hear in the comments about some of yours.

Editorial: Why gas? The Question Should be "Why Electric?"

Image courtesy of Extreme Tech

If anyone has watched TV, YouTube, or Hulu lately, you may have seen a new Nissan Leaf commercial. In this commercial, a man from Nissan's marketing and sales division extols the virtues of the Nissan Leaf and electric cars. The commercial ends with the marketing and sales goon asking, "why gas?" I really did not think anything of this commercial until something interesting happened on my way to work one morning.

As I drove towards the 405 freeway, as I do every morning, I noticed the on ramp that I usually take was unusually crowded. When I had finally made it on to the freeway, traffic was still flowing at a crawl. I thought to myself, "traffic is usually slow, but not this slow!" Inching further along, I finally saw what has holding up traffic. A man with a blue Nissan Leaf was attempting to limp his car on to the shoulder from the carpool lane. Clearly, this fellow did not charge his car and let it run out of power, causing a huge traffic jam.

Image courtesy of Cars.com

"Why gas?" I thought as I amusingly watched this fellow slowly try to get his car over to the right shoulder. "Because stupid shit like this doesn't happen with a gasoline car!" That is not to say that a driver in a gas powered car would not run into a similar situation. If you run out of gas, you would probably have to limp your car off the freeway as well. However, the difference is the gasoline car can be back on the road far quicker than an electric car. If you have AAA or any other roadside assistance service, a tow truck will bring you enough gasoline to get to the nearest gas station. Even if you do not have AAA, all it takes is a gas can and a trip to the nearest gas station to get your car moving. With an electric car, you cannot just slap in some new batteries and call it a day. The best a tow truck driver could do is tow your vehicle to the nearest charging station. Once at the charging station though, it takes a few hours just to get enough energy into the car to get it moving a reasonable distance. Even then, the nagging beast known as "range anxiety" is constantly gnawing at the back of your mind, causing anxiety and high blood pressure.

Image courtesy of Cars.com

I am not saying that I do not like all electric cars. The Tesla Model S is a fantastic example of a well built electric car that is not only quick, but also handles very well. Even with its performance advantages though, the Model S still suffers from range anxiety, just like any other electric vehicle. The two biggest problems with electric vehicles are the long charging times, and the lack of a proper charging station infrastructure. Sure, there are plenty of stores and hotels that offer free electric charging, and Tesla is attempting to expand its Supercharging stations. When you buy an electric car, you can also purchase from the manufacturer a small charging station to install in your home. However, none of this changes the fact that charging takes hours, and if you get stuck in the middle of nowhere, you probably will not be able to charge your vehicle for hundreds of miles.

Until the vehicle the charging infrastructure can match the current gasoline infrastructure, and charging can be done in a quick and reasonable amount of time, electric cars will continue to be limited to large urban markets. With that in mind, I have to ask, environmental issues aside, why electric?

Test Drive: 2014 Nissan Sentra SV

So after getting my S2000 back from the body shop for just a little over a week, some idiot adjusting his seat at a stop light stepped on the gas and rear ended my car. With my S2000 back in the body shop, I yet again needed a rental car to get me to and from work. Luckily, the local Enterprise by my residence was not going to charge me an arm and a leg to rent a car for two days (compared to the locations near LAX), so I went ahead and rented a car from there. Boy was I in for a horrible time.

As of late, Nissan has gotten into the game of building dull, boring, lifeless vehicles, but try to pass them off as fun and exciting in their television advertisements. Frankly, the only two Nissan branded vehicles that seem like they would actually be any fun to drive are the GT-R and the 370Z, one of which is a super car, and the other a sports car. What happened to building a people mover that is actually still fun and engaging to drive? Unfortunately, Nissan had thrown the formula for building a fun and engaging sedan out the window a long time ago.

If my original review of the Nissan Versa Note SV a few months back was any indication, I should have went into the test drive of the 2014 Nissan Sentra SV with very low expectations. And although I already went into the Enterprise Rent-A-Car lot with my expectations near rock bottom, I can honestly say that a new low bar has been set.

News: Nissan Leaf Owner Arrested for Charging Car Without Asking

Image courtesy of Accuracy in Media

With more and more electric cars hitting the roads, public charging stations are popping up almost as fast as the cars are being sold. However, with only about 6,800 public charging stations available in the United States, charging your electric car away from home is not always an easy proposition.

Such was the case for Nissan Leaf owner Kaveh Kamooneh. Kamooneh plugged his Nissan Leaf to an external outlet at a Chamblee, GA middle school where his son was taking part in a sporting event. After charging his car for only five minutes, a police officer approached and asked whether Kamooneh had permission from the school to be using the outlet. Kamooneh noted that there were no school staff around at the time, and the officer accused him of stealing. Kamooneh was arrested at his home 11 days later, and was forced to spend a night in county jail. How much electricity did Kamooneh actually steal? Reports claim a paltry five cents. According to a Chamblee police sergeant though, the amount did not matter. The sergeant claims that the fact Kamooneh was stealing was what mattered.

Because there is not an abundance of electric car charging stations across the nation, there may come a time in an electric car owner's life where they will need to charge their car at a stranger's home, a store, or, in Kamooneh's case, a school. Until the infrastructure for public charging stations can be beefed up, it would seem there needs to be some sort of social protocol regarding charging an electric vehicle outside of a public charging station.

So I ask you, dear readers: what do you think the social protocol for charging an electric vehicle with someone's electricity should be? Should we really treat this any differently than someone plugging their iPhone into a public outlet for a quick boost? Do you think an electric car owner should be able to just walk up to an outlet in a public area and plug their car in without permission? Is that really an offense that someone deserves spending a night in jail for, especially for such a minuscule amount?  Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Read the original news article here: Nissan Leaf owner arrested for taking 5 cents of energy without asking

In Memoriam: Paul William Walker IV (September 12, 1973 - November 30, 2013)

Image courtesy of HD Wallpapers

The automotive world lost an icon today. Actor and famed gear head Paul Walker, best known for his role as Brain O'Conner in the Fast and Furious franchise, died in a car accident today in Valencia, CA.

Walker was in the passenger seat of a Porsche Carrera GT leaving an event for his charity, Reach Out Worldwide, when the driver lost control of the car and crashed into a light pole and a tree. Reports have stated that the Porsche burst into flames after the impact. Walker and the driver were declared dead at the scene by fire crews.

Walker himself was an avid car enthusiast, often taking part in the Redline Time Attack racing series. Walker was also well known for being the owner of a Nissan R34 Skyline GT-R V-Spec II, the same one which was featured in the second film of the Fast and Furious franchise, 2 Fast 2 Furious. Walker had been filming the seventh film in the Fast and Furious franchise, Fast & Furious 7. This is currently listed as his last film.

East-West Brothers Garage offers our sincere condolences to Walker's family and friends. He will be missed.

Test Drive: 2014 Infiniti Q50 AWD

The Infiniti line-up has always been sporty and is oft considered the Japanese equivalent of BMW, offering performance oriented cars with a touch of luxury. It's volume seller of the last decade, the G sedans and coupes, were among some of the best driving cars among the Japanese luxury brands. In fact, I nearly bought a G35 and a G37 when each car came out, the only thing holding me back being the slightly sub-standard interior materials and the poorly executed manual transmission shifter and clutch. However, if you were looking at the cars with automatic transmissions, they really were fantastic cars to drive. However, to replace the G37, Infiniti has developed not only a whole new car, but has also adopted a whole new naming scheme. What was once the G37 is now the much more non-sensical Q50. However, a lot more than the name was lost in this transition. The new Q50 may be a step up from the G37 in terms interior quality, but seems to have sacrificed some of its sporting character at the altar of luxury.

Test Drives: Subcompact Showdown

Over the past few weeks, my fiancee and I have looked at a few subcompact hatchbacks. You can read the individual reviews for those by clicking on the following links:

2013 Honda Fit Sport
2013 Mazda2 Sport
2012 Ford Fiesta SES
2013 Chevrolet Sonic LT
2014 Nissan Versa Note SV

The subcompact car has made quite a boom in the last few years. With ever rising gas prices making it impractical to plod around town in a giant SUV, many car buyers looking for their first car want something that offers the space of an SUV, but the efficiency of a small car. Subcompact hatchbacks are designed to offer the best of both worlds, with cargo space that rivals some small SUVs, and small, fuel efficient engines. Of the five we tested though, which one offers the best bang for the buck? Read on to find out!

*Starting with this comparison, standings will be determined with a point system. Each category will have a maximum of five points, with 1st place receiving five points, 2nd receiving four points, 3rd receiving three, 4th receiving two, and 5th receiving one.  

Test Drive: 2014 Nissan Versa Note SV

Update: See how the Versa Note performed against the competition in our Subcompact Showdown.

MSRP: $15,990
As Tested Price: $16,780

I admit, I was never a fan of the Nissan Versa. Though I have never actually driven one, I have always found the car to look incredibly dull. Finding them all over rental car lots made me want to drive one less since it was pretty clear that the Versa had been relegated to el cheapo rental car status. Now that the Versa has been completely redesigned, Nissan has been working hard to shed the old Versa's "rental car regular" image by giving the hatchback version an additional name, as well as marketing it as a hip and fun vehicle. Marketing gimmicks aside, can the Versa Note change my opinion of the Versa name, and become a car my fiancee would have considered had it been around over two years ago?

Test Drive: 2013 Nissan Rogue S AWD

I swear that it is not my intention to be hard on the folks at Nissan. My last few reviews and posts have all put Nissan in a less than positive light, but I have a tremendous amount of respect for the company that dared to defy convention and introduce the likes of the GT-R to the United States. However, while the GT-R is an incredible piece of engineering, most of the rest of the Nissan line-up leaves something to be desired in one way or another. My most recent experience with a Nissan product was during my trip back to the Washington D.C. area and was cut short by an ill-timed bit of misfortune.

Upon arriving at the rental counter to pick up my car, I was presented with a fairly fresh 2013 Nissan Rogue S AWD. Looking at the odometer, it registered just over 13000 miles, but I figured that this should be a fairly uneventful trip. Talk about being spectacularly wrong...

Test Drive: 2013 Mid-size Family Sedan Comparo

Over the course of the last few weeks, we have individually examined a number of mid-size family sedans. You can read the detailed individual reviews by clicking on the followings links:

2013 Ford Fusion SE
2013 Honda Accord Sport
2013 Kia Optima LX
2014 Mazda 6 Touring
2013 Nissan Altima S
2013 VW Passat SE

Each car had its strengths and weaknesses, so declaring a winner was fairly challenging, though a clear loser was evident from the start. Continue reading to see how the cars performed in the various categories.

Test Drive: 2013 Nissan Altima S CVT

Update: See how the Nissan Altima did in our 2013 Mid-Size Family Sedan Comparison.

Less than a decade ago, Nissan got a second chance at life. After spending much of the 1990's struggling with some completely mediocre products, French manufacturer Renault swooped in and completely restructured the ailing Japanses automaker. Carlos Ghosn, who became Chariman and CEO, orchestrated a massive turnaround that not only saved Nissan from going the way of the dodo, but actually produced a number of major commercial successes in the form of a reinvigorated Nissan Fairlady Z and a completely revised Infiniti luxury brand.

However, over a decade after the near-death experience, it appears that Nissan has once again resumed some less than healthy habits. The time spent with the 2013 Nissan Altima S summoned up the familiar bile of mediocrity that nearly ruined Nissan before the alliance with Renault. This entry into what is easily one of the most crowded, though important, segments of the automotive marketplace should be a product that Nissan can be proud of, especially as it is likely to represent a large portion of Nissan sales in any given year going forward. Yet, if this is the kind of product that Nissan wants to put forward as being representative of the brand, then perhaps we should pull the plug now and spare ourselves further agony.

Editorial: Rental cars and the improving automotive industry

My job involves quite a bit of travel, resulting in my spending a fair amount of quality time with a wide variety of rental cars. In many ways, I always felt that the rental car industry is a pretty good indicator of the state of the entire automotive industry in the United States - as the automotive industry improves quality standards across the board, the change would be reflected in the rental cars that are available to the public. In recent years, I had begun come to terms that rentals cars had demonstrated a remarkable improvement with even the poorest quality cars showing a marked increase in drivability, material quality, and overall feel.

Image courtesy of Newcars.com

Then, a few weeks ago, I picked up a rental car at the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky airport that left me a bit dumbfounded. The car in question was a 2012 Nissan Sentra in about as base a trim level as was possible. I have driven a number of competitors to the Sentra in recent years and nearly every one of them has been a relatively pleasant experience, feeling well sorted if price appropriate. Nissan, however, clearly did not get the memo. I simply have not had such a miserable experience in a rental car in a very long time; so long that I had completely forgotten just how bad a crappy car can be.