Rumors to the effect that the Infiniti was on the point of succumbing to consumer indifference seemed to have been premature and false. Nissan’s luxury car division may not have been in spectacular shape, but it was still going strong.
To cut short the list of technical specs that can often be long and tedious, lets begin by saying that this front wheel drive sedan could have been described as Maxima Plus. One may even be tempted to dub it the Maxima Brougham if the term weren’t so pejorative. The car deserved better than that laughable label Americans were so fond of using to describe the ultra-luxurious features on their dinosaur models.
It is true that in spite of myriad superlative, the I30 barely manages to hide its real origins. Its body and mechanical system were entirely borrowed form the Maxima. They have been perfected for the occasion via a particularly successful NVH operation.
Along with its prestigious emblem and distinctive grille, the I30’s standard equipment was so complete that the options list was practically non-existent. Heated leather upholstery, sunroof, Bose sound, and wood inlays, for 1996 that was pretty much luxury car fair.
Although it didn’t have the flair of some of its rivals such as the Mazda Millenia, the Lexus ES300, the Mercedes Benz C220, the Acura Legend or even the BMW 325, the I30 still had strong arguments for defending the Infiniti colors in the league of midsize luxury cars. With its extremely respectable price, quality construction, interior and handling helped it find its place in the sun.
These were sold as the Nissan Cefiro in Japan. No Infiniti badges back then. I thought it was a nice looking model, but couldn’t understand why it had to have a cheapo beam suspension holding up the back when everything else in its class had independent multi-link strut or double-wishbone setups.
via a particularly successful NVH operation.
These were sold as the Nissan Cefiro in Japan. No Infiniti badges back then. I thought it was a nice looking model, but couldn’t understand why it had to have a cheapo beam suspension holding up the back when everything else in its class had independent multi-link strut or double-wishbone setups.
It was even sold as a Nissan in the U.S., the Nissan Maxima.