30/09/09

• Price41,900
• We like...It's beautiful
• We don't...Stiff ride

 New-to-UK make has it all to prove, but its open-top is a jaw-dropper to see up close. Still want that Audi A5 cabrio?This is one darned pretty car. It looks more handsome close-up than photos suggest, trim, pert and with enough interest in its lines to keep you gazing for some time. If you’re rich and prone to impulse buys, a good look’ll be enough to have you haring off to find a car salesman.

If not, you may still be tempted. But there’ll first be a deal of thinking to do. There’s its performance. It’s quick. There’s a 3.7-litre V6 petrol engine installed, delivering 314bhp, which’ll catapult you from rest to 60mph in 6.4secs. Its makers reckon it is the fastest four-seat cabrio you can buy. That engine’s a fine thing, giving a heady blare as it revs. Teamed with a standard, seven-speed auto gearbox the power delivery is smooth, even and just keeps coming. It’s the same engine as you’d find in Nissan’s 370Z.

The steering is quick and has enough feel, and it’ll turn in with the precision and sensitivity you’d want from a car such as this. The only let down in its drive is a touch of shake you’ll notice when the roof is open and a ride that, for us, is too firmly controlled.

Top down, it’s a serene place with little wind roar until you approach motorway speeds and, top up, it’s as hushed as if the roof were fixed. To get from open to closed you push a button between the seats and wait 20 sec while the three-piece roof ds its tricks. It’s neat and precise although we’d rather it finished the job by lifting the windows shut. When open, the roof folds cleanly but ds take up most of the boot, leaving only a narrow slot for luggage.

And then there are those rear seats. In some of this type, they’re more decorative than useful. But here there’s (just) enough space for a couple of grown-ups. It’s not the roomiest but it has been kept sensible. It’s packed with kit, too: leather (though the red trim on our photo car is an option), reverse parking camera, headlamps that follow around corners, a sound system that even puts speakers in the head-rests and paint that ‘heals’ itself should you scratch it.

Infiniti is new to the UK, but has been around in Japan and the US for years and comes here having slowly established a sales network elsewhere in Europe. For now, the only place you can buy one is in Reading – the brand’s sole UK dealership, although others are to open in Birmingham and Glasgow shortly and a further dozen are planned.

Should you buy one? It’s a handsome and intriguing alternative to the BMW 3-series or Audi A5 cabrio that you’ll have also shortlisted. But with its thirst for fuel and high emissions it’ll be an expensive prospect, not least because its second-hand value won’t be as sure-fire as its German rivals.

But if you like its looks, and its for-now exclusivity appeals, it’s an interesting and different alternative to the usual suspects.

 

• Engines3.7
• Power314bhp
• 0-60 mph6.4secs
• Economy24.8mpg
• CO2g/km264
• Insurance groups
• EuroNCAP
• Airbags6
• Seats4

Motors.co.uk value verdict: