Infiniti G37xS Coupe: A technology-tinted windows to the past

I read an article a while ago about the impact of technology, and what I read was quite interesting. Although limited in scope to the effectiveness of modern-day appliances in their ability to reduce the amount of time spent doing housework, the article drew the interesting conclusion that although modern technology makes for cleaner houses, it doesn't make for faster cleaning. Now, I'm not some sort of backwards, technology-hating miser; any writer would be a fool to dismiss the awe-inspiring power of the delete key over that of correction tape. However, the overwhelming opinion seems to be that as technology moves forwards in ever-growing leaps, so too does our quality of life take ever-broadening bounds in response. 

As you may have suspected, I take issue with that particular notion, in heart, mind, and bank account. Yes, I own most of the contrivances of modern day living, but the objects that I really relish are those heralding from a bygone era that stretches from cast iron and straight razors to the Soviet menace. Why? Because they have the unique personality that comes from a design born unassisted from a human brain, and produced by machinery operated by human hands. Yes, such a process leads to intrinsic faults and issues, but that's precisely what makes them more interesting.  And it's the same sort of feeling you can still get from Infiniti's G37xS coupe. 

Granted, it's pretty far removed from the experience you get behind the wheel a 40-year old ex-military Land Rover. With a shapely body concealing a well-insulated cocoon of a cabin, it's quite the luxury automobile. The first Infiniti that really brought the brand parallel with its German competitors, the G37 coupe's interior is a real treat to behold. Awash in soft leather and great soft-touch rubbery textures, sliding into the driver's seat reveals that its dimensions are perfect... at least for a 6'1", 180-pound man. Speaking of the seats, Infiniti offers a pair of front seats that come with both lower- and side-bolster, and they're well worth it. Combined with the brilliant gauge cluster that moves in concert with the widely adjustable steering column, those seats really make for an interior that feels as if it was tailored around your own body, regardless of what size your body is. And that's just one of the many wonders of modern technology found within the G37; a list that includes a well designed infotainment system, great climate control, adaptive cruise control, and some of the warmest seat heaters ever. 

But to be honest, those are all features you can find on any number of similarly priced automobiles, so what makes the G37 stand out? In a word; the engine. Although capable of tracing it's VQ-roots all the way back to 1994, this latest iteration of the venerable aluminum-blocked V6 displaces 3,696 cubic centimetres, and does so exquisitely. Although benefitting from such modern touches as variable valve timing and thoroughly tuned intake and exhaust tracts, the big, lusty V6 manages to bridge the gap between the sterility of a modern engine's function, with the emotive power of Nissan's big, old, and bold inline sixes. Ignition doesn't require engaging the choke before tickling the starter, as in those older cars, but is accompanied by a properly raucous howl from the big twin tailpipes before the car settles into a subtle and smooth tickover. And in dropping the shifter from park into drive (which it does with the precision and authority of a rifle bolt, by the way) you can feel a faintly granular vibration coming through the shift knob, just as you would in all manner of older cars. Some might call it unrefined, but it really indicates a simplicity of design that needs to be appreciated. There are no ridiculous rubber dampers to isolate the shift knob nor is it an overgrown electric switch; it's a shifter, bolted to a housing, stuck on top of the transmission... nothing more, nothing less. And it works. 

And so too does just about everything else that engine is hooked up to. Although true sportsmen (and women) will probably prefer the sublime balance offered by the rear wheel drive model, there's a lot to be said for the confidence that all-wheel drive inspires during typical February weather in British Columbia. Borrowing heavily from previous iterations of Nissan's GT-R for its ATTESA-ETS all wheel drive architecture, the G37 retains a strong rear-wheel drive bias, and will rotate the rear end when you hop on the throttle. In operation, the system is absolutely seamless, shuttling only as much power as is necessary towards the front end to avert disaster. The effect is to essentially make an already impressively quick car even faster. However, there's no getting around the fact that it is another piece of technology that does erode a little bit of the G37's typically tail-happy personality in favour of a quicker, cleaner, and less involving approach to performance driving. Whilst the typical G37 rewards the committed driver with lurid powerslides that are a glorious cacophony of howling tie-fighter exhaust noise and screaming rubber, the all-wheel drive model simply hunkers down over its scrambling rear tires, adapts, overcomes, and rips out of even tight corners at exit speeds that are best defined as stratospheric. 

If the standard, rear wheel drive G37S is a 500cc two-stroke MotoGP bike that begs to be taken to the brink around every apex, the all-wheel drive model is indicative of the 990cc four strokes that followed: easier, more survivable, and better in nearly every way... but maybe not quite as exciting. But, it still has that same feeling of cohesiveness that dominated the last century in that it feels, looks, and drives like it's the work of one man, with one vision, rather than that of a market-pleasing committee. As a result, it has significantly more personality than the clinically sterile performances put on by many of its European competitors, what with its absurdly artificial, but still awesome howling exhaust note and the big, beefy, and lovably muscular V6 that's responsible for that noise. Even the interior, with its no-apologies "back seat," aggressively driver-oriented low-slung seating position, and dialed in adjustments make no compromises towards endearing the car to larger portions of the sports coupe market.  And yet, with what is one of the best all-wheel drive systems available, reasonable fuel economy, and the relaxed high-speed cruising attitude that comes with a big-displacement six cylinder, it remains ridiculously practical.  And although the advent of the vacuum cleaner may not have sped up your household chores, make no mistake: the technology in this particular car can definitely speed up your commute.