For the better part of my life, I have envisioned my future ball and chain behind the wheel of a blue Volvo station wagon. Really for no other reason than my secret desire for a Volvo that I am not willing to admit publicly. You see, I have a plan that would involve having the aforementioned Volvo to cart rug rats around and take inevitable trips to Home Depot (a current guilty pleasure even though I live in an apartment the size of a Volvo) but I would still have my first true love, a highly impractical, very fast two-seat convertible sports car. Every woman I have dated has laughed in my face when I have laid out the details of this plan.
In looking back, I don’t think it is the Volvo they object to. For some reason, they feel that they would be missing out on the fun that is/would be my ‘Daddy car’. The top-down fun in sun. That sense of your heart skipping a beat as you walk to your car in a parking lot. Volvos do a lot of things, but making your heart skip a beat is not one of them.
In my defense I have always proposed the following trade: Keep your mits off my ‘Daddy Car’ and I relinquish all claims to closet space. And in the end, it is always the promise of unlimited space for clothing that settles the issue. Until now.
I may have found a way to reclaim that lost closet space in the most unlikely of places: Intrepid Carlos Goshn’s upscale brand, Infiniti. From it’s outset in the 1990 model year, Infiniti has sought to build a better Jaguar or BMW rather than a European luxury car like Mercedes. That mission got even more focused when they brought out the G sedan. It was the first Japanese sports sedan to really come close to BMW’s formula for success. Then they came out with a coupe. Far more attractive to look and based on the Z platform, it had a lot of things going for it. But for me, it left a lot to be desired. I couldn’t really put my fingers on it - maybe the headlights of the original, the interior - I don’t know exactly why but I just didn’t feel it with G. That was until a G Convertible turned up in my driveway.
At first glance, this car strikes you as good looking. But like a woman that gets far more attractive the more time you spend with her (without the aid of alcohol), the G Convertible becomes a stunner - even with the roof up! It is not something that shows up in pictures. The transformation from coupe to convertible makes the car look more organic. You can definitely tell it is based on the G Coupe but the combination of the change in the roof and the rear end make the car look longer and more elegant. Unlike cosmetic surgery that ends up always looking like a Frankenstein botch job, the cosmetic changes that went into this hardtop convertible are actually positive. It does not have an odd look in the hindquarters and the division lines on the roof are minimized unlike other hardtop convertibles.
Enough of the looks department. If we are talking about an option for my future betrothed, then let’s get to substance. I am happy to report that there are lot the trademark Infiniti (and underlying Z car) traits. Namely the V6 and the always cool, never get tired of it exhaust growl.
I don’t know what it is lately with every manufacturer, but more gears seem to be the new black. The specific automatic equipped car I drove had seven of them. I have to say in this application it works and works well mainly because it makes the car so easy to drive. No matter what you are looking to get out of it, it is comfortable.
On one side you can leave it in regular ‘D’ and for lack of a better term, it becomes a girl’s car. That is to say it does everything to make you look good and is very easy to drive. However, put the car in ‘DS’, or sport, and the personality changes as if it was designed for the conundrum I face should I be married: Should your wife’s car be fun drive or should she be driving a Volvo? In this case, A LOT of fun. In requisite techno-transmission and engine throttle mapping, the car changes character through higher shift points and does this very cool throttle blipping trick that really makes use of the Infiniti trademark exhaust note. At first, it really kind of surprises you. Only downside, your future wife will know when you slip out in her car.