Road Test: Infiniti EX37 GT

Ray Leathern finds the second act in Infiniti’s premium double bill less convincing than the FX.

Welcome to Infiniti’s newest crossover utility vehicle (CUV). It’s called the EX37 and it’s the second Infiniti to reach us after the FX30d SUV we drove earlier in the year. It’s been around in other markets since 2009 and while it may not be the best looking car in the work, in fairness it isn’t any worse looking than the FX SUV. The EX leaves you with a lot of aesthetic clutter. The flashy Enkei wheels (on our GT model); it’s oddball, curvy countenance; the mock roof rails and protruding J-Lo inspired rear end, I find it all just such a mess for my poor corneas.

Let’s ignore the looks however; perhaps the EX actually is a brilliant car underneath its teenage confidence sapping Roacutane scares? The issue you’ll find with many CUVs is they aren’t as comfortable as you might imagine. They attempt to give you an SUV-like ride height on a non-SUV developed chassis. So you’re meant to sit bolt upright in a car that’s not actually tall enough in the first place. I invariably end up sitting with my head up against the ceiling, looking straight into the rear view mirror at junctions.

The Infiniti EX is no different and although it has reach adjustment on the steering wheel, it’s not enough to overcome the square-peg-in-a-round-hole ergonomics. The next issue with any CUV is practicality. Again, the manufacturers of these things promise you SUV-like conveniences and practicality but in actual fact what they have is a small boot and very limited rear-quarters. I had to recline the rear seats to accommodate my cargo one day; which was very easy I have to say, thanks to the clever recline button you’ll find on the inside of the boot, nevertheless I was expecting more space from the EX37.

Things may not look too positive for the smallest Infiniti but what I’ve neglected to mention thus far is how impressive all the Infiniti-ness is on the inside of the EX. This is where the FX did an amazing job trail-blazing the way for the brand. Genuinely, this EX37 is just as stunningly well made. If an extra-terrestrial arrived on earth blindfolded and stepped inside the EX (which we don’t see as the worst way of approaching it mind you) it would be easily forgiven for saying it was the interior of a Jaguar, Bentley or a Rolls Royce (not that ET would know what those are anyway).

That is how sumptuous the leather is on the inside and how sturdy all the buttons and build feel is. When you’re on the inside of the EX it’s like you’ve entered a nuclear bunker and you can hear your own ear-hair growing; such is the remarkable robustness of its innards. How is the EX37 as a driving machine then? I was able to form, in my limited driving capacity however, a rather approving opinion of the big, noisy 3.7-litre V6 under the bonnet of the EX37. 235 kW and 360 Nm of torque gets it to 100 km/h in 6.4 seconds and onto a top speed of 240 km/h. “Wow”, you might be saying to yourself “that’s fast” but trust me it isn’t the most enjoyable experience.

The EX37 produces 288 g/km of CO2 (that’s on par with the supercharged V8 from a Jaguar XK-R) and we averaged 13 L/100 km while testing the vehicle which is way too high for mostly taking it easy. I also found the engine to be lacking in torque and with too much power too high up the rev range. The seven-speed gearbox that was keener to hunt than a Thai rhino poacher. Annoyingly, when you do decide to mash your foot down hard and bring forth all the anger of the 3.7-litre to life, the gearbox won’t hold the gear all the way to the redline. It likes to short shift for you. For other bizarre reasons the EX37 doesn’t have paddle shifters behind the steering wheel.

The ride quality was on the side of firm, rigid and fidgety; with a healthy dose of bounce on the wide, low profile tyres fitted. More than the Looney tunes ride quality, the EX37 just feels really heavy to steer around at slow speed and it has the turning circle of Jupiter. The rearview camera to help you park is also offset slightly to the left, so you’ll always guide yourself into a bay slightly off-centre.

That is presuming someone actually goes out and buys an Infiniti EX37. At R626 000 for the GT specified model this is an unlikelihood it has to be said, especially when the sublime Range Rover Evoque starts pricing at R603 400.

What we like…

• Lots of leather and standard equipment.

What we would like…

• Where do we start: Better ride, better drivetrain, better ergonomics, better price, better styling, better economy, you get the idea…

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