2003-2004 Infiniti M45

July 31, 2006 - By John LeBlanc

Short-lived, underappreciated, misunderstood and easily forgotten—I could be describing The Right Honourable Avril Phaedra Douglas "Kim" Campbell, the nineteenth Prime Minister of Canada. But in the context of pre-owned cars, these adjectives can also be applied to Infiniti’s first M45.

Like The Right Honourable, the M45’s career was shortened mainly due to circumstance. Launched in April 2002, the first M45 was really a rebadged Nissan Cedric/Gloria sedan that had already been on the market in Japan for a few years. Its introduction was overshadowed by the fact that Infiniti chose to launch the all-new G35 sports sedan at the same New York auto show. With its much more up-to-date chassis and styling, the G35 immediately stole the spotlight from the larger M45 that had styling regularly compared to that of a Ford Crown Vic.

But viewed with the advantage of hindsight, the Infiniti is an interesting consideration as a pre-owned luxury sports sedan. For instance, if you don’t like front-wheel-drive, the M45/Cedric/Gloria utilized a shortened version of the larger rear-wheel-drive Q45 luxury sedan.

More important for enthusiasts, the M also shared the bigger Q’s husky 340 horsepower, 333 pound-feet of torque 4.5-litre vee-eight mill. The M45 weighed less than the larger Q45—which no one ever accused of being a sloth—so 0-100 kilometres per hour happens effortlessly in under 6.5 seconds. Big motor, smaller body: In the 1960s, this was known as hot rodding.

The M45’s looks may say old school, but the vee-eight packs such high-tech as continuous variable valve timing making for even, linear delivery of the power. To match the M45’s accelerative qualities, brakes are large vented discs, with ABS, electronic brake distribution and brake assist.

In addition to the generous amount of standard active safety equipment, the M45 also came with two-stage airbags, side thorax airbags in front, curtain airbags front and rear, and active front headrests.

As the smaller G35 was left with the sports sedan duties, the M45 had a mandatory five-speed automatic transmission. It’s well suited not only to the engine, but also to the nature of the car. There’s a manumatic function, but you’ll dispense with that bit of gimmickry quickly and just let your right foot do the shifting for you. The larger Q had a three-way adjustable shock system, but the M45 has one setting: firm. It’s never as thumping as a BMW M suspension, but it does limit the Infiniti’s roll in corners. Because of its Japanese design, the M45’s track is relatively narrow, but the big 18-inch rubber combined with speed-sensitive steering means you’ll always have a pretty good idea as to what happening down at tarmac level.

The overall narrowness is also felt in the cockpit. Because the M45’s exterior dimensions were designed for crowded Tokyo streets, it's relatively long, tall and narrow. Front and rear headroom is OK, but big-shouldered linebacker types may find the Infiniti a bit of a tight fit. In realtor terms, it’s ‘cozy’. But if you fit, the Infiniti is a nice place to do your driving business in. With only a navigation system, power moon roof and chrome wheels as options, the M45 came fairly loaded for bear right out of the box. The small diameter steering wheel is covered in leather, the heated front seats are stiff yet not uncomfortable and only lack more side bolstering. There's a solid dead pedal. Driver’s instrumentation includes a big speedometer, tachometer, and smaller gas and temp gauges that are laid out neatly and backlit. Add in terrific build quality, and the M45 is a nice piece of pre-owned kit.

Recapping, the ’03-‘04 Infiniti M45 delivers stand-up performance with its powerful vee-eight and electronically calibrated transmission. Plus an arm’s long list of standard features and safety equipment that were optional on other luxury sport sedans. And it’s a pre-owned bargain as well. Compared to an ’03 Lexus GS430 or BMW 540i, the Infiniti can be had fro $4,000 to $14,000 less. Matched feature-for-feature, and the Bimmer will end up costing you even more. Better yet, the M45 is well made, with only one recall for ’03 models for an engine cooling problem caused by a poor solder on a circuit board that controls the crank position, and some M45 owners have experienced problems with the exhaust systems and glitches with the optional navigation system. That’s it.

Like the only woman to ever lead our country, the first M45’s tenure was abrupt. With plenty of power, plus conservative looks (the Infiniti, not The Right Honourable), if you don’t want to shepherded with the rest of the luxury sports sedan herd, the first M45 is a rare beast and definitely ranks as a pre-owned Q-ship to be considered.

- John LeBlanc, Publisher, www.straight-six.com

THE SPECS

TYPE OF VEHICLE Longitudinal front-engine, rear-wheel drive, five-passenger sedan.

ENGINE 1.6L V8, 340 hp, 333 lb-ft of torque.

TRANSMISSIONS Five-speed manumatic.

SAFETY Driver, passenger front, front side thorax, front and rear side curtain airbags, ABS, EBD and brake assist.

NHTSA Crash-Test Results Front Impact (Out of Five) Not tested.

NHTSA Recall History Engine cooling (‘03).

PROS 1. Smooth and powerful drivetrain 2. Build quality, reliability 3. Police-car styling

CONS 1. Narrow cabin 2. Quirky image 3. Police-car styling

© National Post 2006. This article originally appeared in The National Post's Driving.