Infiniti M56 - Complaints about the ride

[YEH]

Mostly from InsideLine (but others as well have noted the harsh ride)...

2011 infiniti M56: This Big Boy Can't Dance

Really, I’ve tried.

I’ve put this big boy on wide roads and narrow, on gently winding two-lanes across rolling pasture land and nasty little tangles in narrow canyons. I’ve dialed it up and dialed it back. Driven it with my fingertips and driven it with my biceps. Made the tires rush smoothly through the bends and made the brakes smoke into hairpins.

But it ain’t dancing for me.

When you let this car drive in the comfort mode, it does a fine job of insulating the cabin from the tremble of rough pavement, but even mild variations in the camber of the road surface tip the car out of balance. Not a lot, mind you, but enough to distract you. And as soon as the road starts to bend back and forth, the car just seems to tip out of its comfort zone altogether, rolling awkardly (even if it's just a little) and taking an uncomfortable set. Even left-foot braking doesn't seem to help the car keep its balance.

You can give yourself the illusion of tightening things up in the Sport mode, but the overlay of abrupt throttle response makes the task of guiding this 4,037-pound car down the road worse instead of better, because quick power inputs just make the chassis confused. And don’t be blaming it all on the tires, as these 50-series 18-inchers make this car more predictable than the M56S’s 40-series 20-inchers and don’t give up more than a fraction of grip, much as our testing of the M56 and the M56S has shown. And the M56S's trick four-wheel-steer program is really better at producing numbers in the slalom than in straightening out a long and winding road.

What we’re talking about here is balance — a nearly indefinable coordination that you look for in any athlete, human or mechanical. And this car doesn’t have balance.

Infiniti knows what balance is, as the original 1990 Infiniti Q45 showed us all those years ago. But every time I drive this car I want to head for the Nissan proving ground in Arizona, start throwing springs and dampers and bars and bushings at this car until it comes good. Maybe throw some new electrons at it, too.

There should be a good car inside the Infiniti M56, but right now this big boy can’t dance.

Michael Jordan, Executive Editor, Edmunds.com

http://blogs.insideline.com/roadtests/2011/05/2011-infiniti-m56-this-big-boy-cant-dance.html

2011 Infiniti M56: A Suitably Luxurious Ride? Nope

The Infiniti M56 checks off most of the luxury car boxes. Lots of leather? Check. Handsome styling? Check. Is my butt heated and/or cooled? Check. Wind and road noise abated? Check. More technology than the Lunar Module? Check. Squishy interior materials? Check. Abundant power? Oh yeah. Silver dusting on the wood trim? You betcha.

How about the ride? No way, certainly not at this price point.

This isn't about me thinking a luxury car should waft down the road like a '65 Cadillac with marshmallow pumped into the springs. No, the M56 doesn't absorb impacts with the sophistication of a proper $50,000 luxury sedan. It hits a bump and it feels like the giant wheels are smacking against it, sending jittery vibrations throughout the car. The M56 Sport model only exaggerates this to the point of being maddening. In contrast, the 5 Series or E-Class feel like they are mashing those bumps into submission while keeping its body motions in check. "I am German, I vill crrrush you!"

I compare it to catching a baseball. I was taught to "have soft hands" and cradle the ball, pulling gently back as the ball enters your glove. This dampens the impact against your hand and prevents the ball from bouncing crudely out. Other luxury cars feel like this when making contact with road imperfections, but the M56 has the hands of a 41-year-old DH manning third for the first time in seven years.

While I'm not a fan of the new 5 and think it suffers from being too isolating, the old 5 managed to be both engaging and compliant. The M56 just isn't there yet.

James Riswick, Automotive Editor @ 3,165 miles

http://blogs.insideline.com/roadtests/2011/01/2011-infiniti-m56-a-suitably-luxurious-ride-nope.html

A bit of a diff. opinion.

2011 Infiniti M56: More On The Ride Quality
Back in January, James wrote a post about our M's ride quality. His basic premise was that luxury sedans like the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class are superior in the way they deal with bumps in the road. While I agree with that basic premise (and in general James and I have pretty similar takes on cars), my overall opinion on our M56's ride isn't nearly as negative as his was.

James wrote: "The M56 doesn't absorb impacts with the sophistication of a proper $50,000 luxury sedan. It hits a bump and it feels like the giant wheels are smacking against it, sending jittery vibrations throughout the car." I've been driving our M56 for a week straight and haven't noticed anything "jittery" about the ride. In my opinion, the car deals with bumps in a perfectly acceptable manner.

Again, I agree that our M56's ride isn't as good as a 5 Series or an E-Class, particularly if they're fitted with their optional adaptive suspensions. But my overall take would be that while the ride isn't quite as refined as what you can get from other mid-size luxury sedans, this deficiency is a pretty minor issue.

Brent Romans, Senior Automotive Editor

http://blogs.insideline.com/roadtests/2011/03/2011-infiniti-m56-more-on-the-ride-quality.html

 

[tompass]

Some damning reviews. Good looking car, though.