Power Drive

>>With Nissan’s Infiniti luxury line, performance is the goal. You want fuel efficiency? Buy a Nissan Versa.

In our tested 2009 Infiniti FX50, we found world-class performance and luxury. The FX50 has a 390-horsepower, V-8 engine driving 21-inch wheels from zero-to-60 in 5.2 seconds. And it can do it while hauling five people and a week’s worth of groceries.

This is the second generation of the FX, and every panel on the 2009 model is new. The engine grew from 4.5 to 5 liters, adding 70 more horsepower. The power flows through a seven-speed automatic transmission, where shifts can be controlled by paddles on each side of the steering wheel. Infiniti did manage a slight improvement in fuel efficiency, but at 14 mpg in the city and 20 on the highway, it’s nothing to brag about. Options sent our tester over $60,000, but the base price of the FX50 is $57,565.

I found only one thing not to like. The performance tires are hard, which creates loud thumping over every highway joint.

By other measures, this vehicle is Buck Rogers incredible. Begin with a laser cruise-control system that works from zero to 90 mph. Most such systems work only within a narrow range of highway speeds.

The FX50’s navigation screen not only shows what is behind the vehicle when it’s in reverse gear, but it can also show a surround view from above, a right-side view when backing out of a parking space and the forward view when drive is initially engaged.