Infiniti is a brand that has always raised infinitely more questions than answers, beginning with its very first advertisements that featured images of nature and words of philosophy rather than its cars. Perhaps this is why all its models now bear the “Q…” designation?
Regardless, in light of its botched introduction that shrouded its vehicles in mystery and its now confusing AF revised alphanumeric model naming scheme, Infinti built itself up as somewhat of a sophisticated yet understated luxury brand. However during the mid-1990s, struggling sales and the Japanese recession thrust it into a seller of thinly-veiled North American-market Nissans with waterfall grilles and fake wood interior trim.
The early-2000s saw Infiniti take on a more focused and meaningful mission in life, positioning itself as somewhat of a techy Japanese BMW with performance-focused models such as the G sedan and coupe, M sedan, and the FX crossover. While these particular models were quite successful at boosting Infiniti’s overall image and sales figures, one Infiniti model in particular continued its lifelong struggle: its flagship Q45.
Despite a comprehensive third generation redesign that debuted in 2001 for the 2002 model year, the latest and ultimately, final generation Infiniti Q45 barely raised a living pulse throughout its existence. This is somewhat surprising, as on paper, the third generation (MY 2002-2006) Q45 was a substantial improvement over its often derided predecessor (1997-2001).
First and foremost, was its engine. Versus its predecessor’s smaller 4.1-liter V8 — a common criticism given that the car still bore the “Q45” displacement designation instead of “Q41” — the third generation Q45 marked a return to the 4.5-liter displacement of the first generation’s V8.
Now making 340 horsepower and 333 lb-ft torque, up from the 4.1-liter’s 266 horsepower and 278 lb-ft torque, the 2002-2006 Infiniti Q45’s titanium valve 4.5-liter V8 boasted the most powerful standard engine in its class, with significantly greater combined output than V8s in the Lexus LS (4.3L), Mercedes-Benz S500 (5.0L), Jaguar XJ (4.2L), and nearly identical output to V8s in the Audi A8 (4.2L) and BMW 745i (4.4L).
Style-wise, the Q45 debuted Infiniti’s latest design language, marked by sharper lines, rounded sheetmetal, and larger horizontal chrome grilles for a more aggressive, individualistic look. While not unlike competitors’ contemporary efforts with more “big-boned” looking fullsize luxury sedans, the third generation Infiniti Q45 looked decidedly bulkier than its more svelte-looking predecessor. Not helping was the fact that its roofline did indeed look a lot like that of the Lincoln Town Car, an unfortunate similarity as with the new Q45 Infiniti, was trying to shake off the “Japanese Lincoln” derogation of its predecessor.
Inside, the Q45 was plusher than ever, sharing little in common with the firm seats and monotone trim of the original 1990 Q45 except for Infiniti’s signature analogue clock. Drivers were greeted by a broad double-stitched leather-clad bucket with 10-way power adjustments/lumbar support, a leather-wrapped and genuine wood-accented steering wheel with power tilt/telescope adjustment, and electroluminescent gauge cluster.
The front seat passenger received 8-way power adjustments while even rear seat passengers could recline with toasty behinds, should the owner have ticked the right option box. In contrast to the previous generation’s simulated wood trim, all Q45s sported generous swathes of genuine birds eye maple trim on the steering wheel, center console, dashboard, and front and rear doors.
Technology-wise, the 2002 Infiniti Q45 represented a leap that was light years ahead of its rather simplistic predecessor. The early-2000s indeed marked the time when luxury flagships became more than just the largest, most comfortable vehicles within a brand’s lineup, but also cars with the latest plethora of cutting-edge technologies with functional lives lasting barely beyond the car’s first owner.
All Q45s came now standard with a 5.8-inch screen displaying audio and climate controls, with physical buttons and the Infiniti analogue clock mounted just below. Other standard tech items included a 300-watt 8-speaker Bose sound system with active outside noise cancelation, voice recognition controls for audio/climate/navigation, and seven-lens HID headlights that Infiniti claimed were 1.7 times brighter than normal halogen headlights.
For the higher tech, one had to pay extra. Available features included navigation (which upped the screen to 7-inches), front and rear heated seats, cooled front seats, rear audio/climate controls, power reclining rear seats, power rear sunshade, satellite radio, and power-closing trunk, most of which were included with the $8,000 Premium package. Most impressive were the Q45’s available radar-based intelligent cruise control, one of this technology’s first such applications in a production vehicle, and an available rearview camera, its first such application in a production vehicle sold in North America.
Q45’s also boasted dual front and side-impact airbags, side curtain airbags, intelligent mechanical technologies such as vehicle dynamic control (automatic application of braking and reduction of engine power to correct driver miscalculation), electronic torque demand powertrain control, electronic brake-force distribution, and available adaptive sport suspension. Naturally, four-wheel disc antilock brakes and traction control were standard.
Unfortunately, for all the car it was, the third generation Infiniti Q45 was a total flop. Apart from a brief uptick to 5,726 units with its introduction in 2001, sales slid back to their lowest levels ever, with only 2,440 sold in 2003 and a mere 393 sold for the car’s final year in 2006.
On paper, the third generation Q45 was a car poised for success. It was a state-of-the-art, technological marvel of a flagship luxury sedan that was just as luxurious, high-tech, and comfortable as the poster child Lexus LS 430, yet offered greater power and superior driving dynamics. It was just as powerful and in many cases more so than European rivals, offering comparable amenities and performance for far less expensive maintenance. Starting at just over $50K and fully-optioned for around $60K, the Q45 was also a considerable value, costing thousands less than even the LS 430.
Furthermore, it wasn’t as if the Q45 was simply left to wither either. New features were added on a yearly basis, and the car was given a substantial mid-cycle refresh for its 4th model year. These 2005 revisions included new front and rear fascias, hood, bumpers, wheels, as well as a new seat design including piping on the leather, refreshed interior trim, and a revised 5-speed automatic transmission.
So why did the third generation Q45 fail so miserably while competitors enjoyed far steadier U.S. sales? Was the Infiniti brand really that tarnished? — Yes and no. Indeed, a probable cause for the Q45’s failure dates back to launch of both the car and the brand in 1989. Following its infamous botched introductory ad campaign that showed images of nature and breathed soothing words of meditation rather than showing the cars themselves or mentioning any of their tangible virtues, Infiniti got started on the wrong foot.
Adding to this, Infiniti’s unusual initial take on fullsize flagship luxury with the first Q45 that included firm leather seats, unadorned interior door panels, black plastic trim in the place of competitors’ wood, the lack of a traditional grille, and styling that was all too familiar with lesser Nissans was largely unsuccessful. This greatly limited the Q45’s appeal and largely scorned its reputation, especially when compared to the Lexus LS and Acura Legend.
Realizing its severe miscalculation, Infiniti would give the Q45 more traditional qualities, but this only turned it from an avant-garde offering to a forgettable wallflower in the fullsize luxury sedan segment with little in the way of noteworthiness. By the time the truly competitive third generation Q45 came along, neither Infiniti nor the Q45 names had the same prestige pedigree as primary competitors.
The appeal of the fullsize luxury sedan in general during this period of time must also be considered, as it pertains to the Q45’s lack of appeal. While still a segment enjoying relatively strong sales, the market for fullsize luxury sedans wasn’t one that was growing. Buyers of these cars had largely been buying them for years, with upwardly mobile car shoppers consistently choosing large luxury SUVs, or newer types of vehicles like luxury crossovers or 4-door luxury coupes over large luxury sedans.
Without a significant seasoned customer base for the Q45, people were hardly lining up to come test drive one, as most probably failed to care or even know of its existence. By contrast, the QX56, Infiniti’s fullsize SUV which was little more than a blinged-out Nissan Armada enjoyed far greater success with sales averaging around 13,000 units annually despite a nearly identical price tag to the Q45.
While its first two generations had crippling shortcomings, by its third generation, the Infiniti Q45 had transformed into a formidable flagship sedan with few imperfections. Unfortunately by this point, no one seemed to care anymore.
Infiniti’s brief resurgence, with cars like the G35, FX35/45, QX56, and M35/45, proved that Infiniti could carry on without the need for a fullsize flagship luxury sedan. Particularly with the 2005 M35 and M45, a 5 Series/E-Class/A6/GS competitor, Infiniti showed that it could easily offer similar levels of luxury and performance in an more agile yet roomier package than the Q45, and sell about 21 times as many of them per year. The Q45 simply wasn’t needed, and so with that, the its fate was sealed.
Photographed in Hanover, Massachusetts – September 2018
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You compare the roofline to the Lincoln Town Car, but to me it seems more like the Buick Park Avenue. Actually the exterior styling overall seems to me like the average of the Park Avenue and the Lucerne. Probably not good to look like a Buick when you’re asking Cadillac prices.
You made my comment before I did. I see a Buick.
The Buick resemblance is valid. So too is a comparison to the Kia Sephia. Too bad. Seems like a fine car under its unfortunate skin.
Where I live, I can’t recall ever seeing one of these. Even as older cars where Gs and that big blingy Armada thing are around. As usual I’m going to complain about the angry face. It has miniguns in it’s eyeballs! The interior looks nice. To me it lacks the cohesive design of the popular G series, which I love to a silly degree, and even the previous generations. I see design by committee all over it. So count me as a no. But I’m weird and always loved the first one.
When you put it like that, it’s maddening that this sold so much worse than an LS. But then this kind of full-size luxury sedan is much more my speed: gutsy V8, more capable handling, even more high-tech features. You’re right though, Infiniti’s missteps with the first two Qs helped seal this one’s fate. Such a shame.
I will say one negative thing about this Q45 though… It’s really not attractive. The overly large (even by early 2000s standards) headlights, the curves hanging awkwardly on a large, upright body. It looks flabby and fussy and just not nice. Compare and contrast with the first- and second-generation Ms, which were much crisper. Or even the Buick Lucerne which many say cribbed this car’s styling. All of them were nicer.
With regards to the styling, I find it unattractive for sure. “Unflattering”, actually is how I’d put it. In addition to the overly large headlights, curved sheetmetal, and very upright body, the nose is far too low, the wheel openings and wheels too small, and its rear end is far too round and thick. For lack of a better word, it has a badonkadonk.
I think you and William touch on the subject of desirability. Luxury is all about conspicuous consumption, and those products need to look good in order to sell. The Q45 is extremely ugly in a generic sort of way. Take away the badge and it resembles a Kia or Hyundai model from this era. You were correct in pointing out the superiority of the G35. It just looked so much better, and it contributed to Infinit’s rising stature in the mid 2000’s.
Underrated cars for sure. The last-gen Q45 was good-looking with lines that appeared to influence the Buick Lucerne. The Gatling-gun headlights were cool but I’ll bet the price to replace them in case of a crunch was shocking. As part of the 2005 facelift the Q45 got new taillights that suggested the G35. I’ve only seen one Q with these lights.
Would the Q45 overall cross into deadly sin? I loved the first Q, found the second somewhat disappointing, and I had high hopes for this one. It looked a bit overweight, but had continuity with the G that was so well loved. Like the first Q, it was not a knockoff of a respected luxury car, but it also wasn’t a game changer. It also had the husky V8 that made the crisp M45 so compelling, and we probably wouldn’t have had one without the other. It’s too bad that it failed, and it’s surprising that the K900 and Equus would’ve been brought out after the stark warning of this car’s market collapse. Add this to the list of also-rans that I would gladly drive. You don’t have to drive the #1 seller to have a worthy chariot, and this Q45 looks like it would do a fine job of keeping me fresh and happy after a day in the car.
I will echo the others – there is nothing about this car’s styling that is attractive. It is generic at best, awkward at worst.
In this price class a ho-hum looking car will sell if it has the country club cred of a good brand name. Lexus or BMW could have sold these, but not Infiniti. Infiniti needed to bring its A game with this car. They might have done so in chassis and features, but flubbed the looks.
I’m with Dave, I could drive one. My concern would be with its low numbers that will make ownership of an older one more of a hobby than I would care to commit to.
It was just plain ugly….Infiniti had to hit one out of the park to make up for the deficiencies in marketing for the previous generations and they didn’t. Ungainly proportions and no design aesthetic that would define it as something unique.
I am old AF but I would propose that the ‘Q’ in Infini names was supposed to suggest a “Q-Ship”. The origin of the term comes from World War I where it was used to describe a ship that looked ordinary but was actually very heavily armed. According to Wikipedia, source of some knowledge, and most misinformation,
“A Q-ship would appear to be an easy target, but in fact carried hidden armaments. A typical Q-ship might resemble a tramp steamer sailing alone in an area where a U-boat was reported to be operating. By seeming to be a suitable target for the U-boat’s deck gun, a Q-ship might encourage the U-boat captain to make a surface attack rather than use one of his limited number of torpedoes. The Q-ships’ cargoes were light wood (balsa or cork) or wooden casks, so that even if torpedoed they would remain afloat, encouraging the U-boat to surface to sink them with a deck gun. There might also be pretence of “abandoning ship” with some crew dressed as civilian mariners taking to a boat. Once the U-boat was vulnerable, the Q-ship’s panels would drop to reveal the deck guns, which would immediately open fire. At the same time, the White Ensign (Royal Navy flag) would be raised. With the element of surprise, a U-boat could be quickly overwhelmed.“
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q-ship
In the late 60’s muscle car era the term ‘Q-Ship’ was adopted for describing “hot rods with hubcaps”; cars that looked slow but were really very quick. I first heard of it in reference to a Dodge Dart GTS, (a humble Dart with a factory 440 engine stuffed under the hood) that had been debadged and hubcapped for the purpose of cashing in at street races. https://www.hemmings.com/magazine/mus/2010/07/M–M-Good—1969-Dodge-Dart-GTS/3473981.html
I always thought that the Q-Ship moniker was appropriate for Infini’s niche – luxury cars that were much faster than you’d expect, and assumed that the Q designations were a quiet homage. A friend had a first Gen Q45 and I was very very impressed with it. He bought it new for almost nothing after that mystery ad campaign landed with a thud and a pimple on the nose of the car.
Well, well, what a small world does the automotive industry live in? It seems that Infiniti and Cadillac share a lot of woes, but perhaps Infiniti is ahead of the curve. It seems that Infiniti produced a large sedan that, while technically good, never really caught interest, figured out that rebadging the mainline brand big SUV sells well and with great margin, and Johan de Nysschen is not a good fit for CEO. They jettisoned both JdN and the Q45 and have done fine without either. Cadillac has started to figure out that large sedans are not needed if they don’t sell, JdN was not a good fit, and they really understand the value of rebadging SUVs from the mainline brand as a profit center. Now that Cadillac is back in Detroit, and has a new manager, maybe they can start thinking about focusing on product that sells. If your product does not move, why produce it? It has worked for Infiniti, it should work for Cadillac.
I actually liked these cars and was surprised to see how cheap they are able to be bought used. The exterior is a little unfortunate, although most of the fault to me lies in the rear end. It has the same bulbous yet unadorned look that the 01-03 Acura CL had. The refresh with BMW-esque tails looks MUCH better in my opinion.
The interior looks stunning to me, it looks like a spaceship cockpit compared to almost every Nissan/Infiniti up to that point (except the M35/45 which it was shared with.)
The story of this car is much like the last Acura RL. Both cars were highly overdeveloped after their very stagnant predecessors and carried high expectations for their parent companies. Yet somehow, the glowing press never translated into market success and instead the lower-rung offerings became smash hits (‘03 G35, ‘04 TL.)
Was the first gen a sales failure? I thought they were pretty successful. At a minimum, the first gen was well liked by its owners and (as I recall) well respected by others.
I take issue with characterizing the Legend as having a better reputation than the first gen Q45. I’ve spent a lot of time in both cars (first gen Q45 and second gen Legend), and the Q45 is unquestionably in another league. The Q45 is bigger, way faster, better handling, and more upscale. The Legend was nice smooth basic transportation, but that’s it… I suppose you could argue that it had better styling (though in my opinion, bland relative to the Q), but that’s subjective.
I think these attributes were apparent to anyone paying attention when these were contemporary cars.
My dad had one… a fascinating car, but highly unsatisfactory. Particularly because the engine grenaded itself and the car become lemonade.
But before that happened…. the engine was magnificent, and the headlights (we called them “shower heads”) were better than anything we had driven until that point.
But the handling was weird. The suspension was fine, but the steering was artificial and unpredictable.
And the interior, though made of high-quality materials, was incoherent. The center stack had a scattershot look. The gauges were nicely illuminated, but the odd placement and monochrome color made the whole thing seem like an afterthought handled by the “b-team.”
The rear seat was comfy but not as spacious as you’d expect for a car of this size. I seem to remember that there wasn’t enough space under the front seats to fit your toes, so you really could only stretch out as far as the front seatback. Maybe I’m confusing this with the G37 that came later.
Oh, the most disappointing thing (aside from the self-destructing engine) was the radar-based cruise control. I never used it, but my dad reported that it couldn’t detect tractor trailers, so it would surge ahead until you nearly had a Jayne Mansfield experience. Also, he mentioned that the radar beam seemed to be very narrow, so curved roads would throw it off: when the car ahead was slightly off-center due to a sweeping turn, the Infiniti thought that the road (straight ahead) was clear and so would accelerate until it was basically tailgating the car ahead. Great idea, but not ready for prime time.
I love oddball luxury cars, but every time I think fondly of the headlights or the engine, I remember all of those other flaws…
“AF”
Twice in one week. Hmmm. My mom taught me not to think that way…a bit, uhm, coarse.
Infiniti is the one brand that I always forget exists. On the very rare occasion I see one, it’s the big BOF SUV. I really have no idea how they still exist.
Not a good looking car, its trying too hard to look luxurious and it just doesnt work, I saw a Ram pickup with a town car grille yesterday quite jarring on the eyeballs very similar to this overdone Nissan.
New batteries going in my camera this morning I’m seeing far too much good stuff lately gotta capture some of it for the cohort
Hello. Long time lurker here. Felt the need to comment finally. I own a 2003 Q45 Premium and I love it. Same color as the featured car. Parts aren’t the cheapest, but a wonderful car nonetheless.
I far prefer the looks of the first gen Q45. I think that car set Infiniti on a potentially unique path … and then they lost it.
Love these cars. All 3 generations. Never drove or rode in one. Every now and then I see one in one of the 2 college towns I live between, assuming its passed down from a parent/relative for college kid car purposes. That may be why I like them. Kinda rare and not from a world I’ll ever understand, but appreciate nonetheless. I even liked the Donked 1st gen Q a VT football player drove as an undergrad several years ago. Now he is on the coaching staff and drives a conservative non-modified Tahoe. I know his wife had a hand in that decision as she and I are acquaintances.
Along with the overall decline of luxury sedan sales, what’s really interesting is the volatility of the big Lexus and Mercedes in the second half of the chart – those are some big swings from year to year.
What interests me is the swing associated with 2006, when both the LS and S class had new models.
Interesting that MB sales spiked, just when the housing bubble was reaching its peak. How many of those S class cars were paid for via refinancing on homes during the bubble? It was a heck of a lot easier to buy one and theoretically write off the interest on the 2nd (or 3rd) mortgage, so a pricier car was suddenly in reach. That would probably be potential LS sales going to Mercedes instead, would it not?
I’m not a fan of this at all. I find the styling really confounding, as its both ungainly and boring at the same time. While the previous generation may have been derided as boring and forgettable, I myself find it my favorite generation, as despite the conservative and traditional appearance, it is rather attractive in its own quiet sort of way. One man’s boring is another man’s understated I suppose. This is a mess of a design, while I don’t care for the G series cars, I appreciate them for what they are, and do find them much more attractive than the Z cars they were based off of. And it’s not like Infiniti couldn’t make an attractive four door, as despite its tragically short run, I think the M45 is one of the best styled four door luxury sedans from the mid 2000s. This to me is a rather fitting end to the Q45 as a whole, a confused and misguided car that despite occasional moments of brilliance and genuine forethought put behind it, ultimately was let down by a lack of a clear vision as to what it truly wanted to be.