2004 Infiniti G35x

A few years ago, if you wanted a midsize "entry-lux" sedan with all-wheel-drive, you bought an Audi Quattro. Audi's pioneering all-wheel-drive system was a popular, but initially pricy option. It became a standard inclusion (at a reduced price) in a clever marketing ploy that helped lift the beleaguered German automaker out of its doldrums.

Infiniti's AWD system uses a computer-controlled electromagnetic clutch to vary power delivery from the front wheels to the rear wheels of the car, but only as needed.

Audi wasn't the only German carmaker to offer all-wheel-drive variations on several models. Mercedes-Benz's 4Matic system was a popular E-Class station wagon extra for years, and it still is; BMW was late to the all-wheel-drive party with all-wheel-drive on conventional cars. They failed to sell many examples of the 325Xi, and soon re-engineered their system, then discovered that four-corner grip was just the ticket (and even better than ASC+T) to void the Bavarian make's skiddish snow and slippery road reputation. Lamborghini even offered all-wheel-drive on its Diablo supercar.


The benefit, pure and simple, was improved traction, especially in wet weather. And now, these all-wheel-drive systems offer exceptional dry road grip, too. Audi's system is mechanical, with a Torsen limited-slip center differential. In contrast, Infiniti's ATTESA E-TS (Advanced Total Traction Engineering System), with versions already in use on the FX35/FX45 and QX56, uses a computer-controlled electromagnetic clutch to vary power delivery from the front wheels, to the rear wheels of the car, but only as it's needed.


When you get underway, the ATTESA system splits torque 25/front, 75/rear. At highway speeds, with virtually no wheel slippage, the AWD G35x operates much like a rear-drive car, with all of the rear-drive sporty handling advantages, because nearly 100 percent of the torque is delivered to the rear wheels. If the wheels sense a slippery patch, power is instantly distributed on a 50:50 basis to all four corners. The G35x tracks true, and you don't even notice the torque transfer is happening. There's also a snow mode, activated by a center console switch, which lets you start in the 25:75, high-starting traction setting and at the same time it modulates the throttle to limit, and even eliminates wheelspin. As you gain speed, power delivery locks in a 50:50-split for the best possible grip.

The G35x Sedan Leather AWD package includes power front seats, leather, and steering-wheel mounted cruise and audio controls.

In contrast, a BMW 330Xi, for example, has fixed torque distribution of about 38:62, so you get the desirable grip, but there's a fuel consumption penalty to be paid. The Infiniti enters a corner with 0:100 torque distribution as though it were a rear-drive car. If slip occurs, the torque split instantly varies, and becomes as much as 50:50, so the G35x motors merrily around a curve like the proverbial toy on a string. Infiniti's ATTESA system adds about 270 pounds to the standard, rear-drive Infiniti G35, but the lively 260-hp V-6 handily overcomes any weight bias. The G35x also incorporates a number of modern electronic traction enhancing devices: VDC (Vehicle Dynamic Control, also known as ESP in some makes); EBD (Electronic Brake Force Distribution, which senses a panic stop and ensures you have optimal braking force), and ABLS (Active brake limited slip, which uses the ABS braking sensors to detect any wheelspin and instantly use a combination of throttle reduction and applied braking to keep the wheels from spinning).