The 2012 Infiniti IPL G Coupe: High performance in a tidy package

The Germans have their IM badges and AMG cars. Even Lexus has his F Sport. Now Infinity gets in on the high performance premium game with its IPL badge. That's basically slap it on the back of this G37 Coupe and called it the IPL G or Infinity Performance Line. Let's take a look around this black beauty and check the tech. Now, here in the cabin you'd better like red because well, it's kinda the only choice that you got. The IPL comes with this red adjustable seats, 12 way for the driver including some nice bolsters on the legs and on the back, 8 way for the passenger. Up here in the dashboard, we've got a standard cabin check package. It's what Infinity likes to call it Studio One Wheels. Now, the basses of this is an 11 speaker (Bose?) System that has a 10-inch subwoofer outback. So you got a nice low end if you like punching music. You've also got standard hard drive base navigation with the section of that hard drive dedicated to a music jukebox. Of course you got your iPad connection and USB down there. Bluetooth audio streaming and hands free calling are also standard. The navigation system is pretty much the same system that's been Infinity for I thought as long as I've been with CNET. So there's not much new here. It only really looks bad when you start comparing it to something like the newest Audi or the newest BMW Systems which of kind of become their goal standard for what we expect with Premium Cabin Technology. I also like that when you adjust the steering wheel, the entire instrument cluster moves with it. So you never actually blocking your speedometer and tachometer. Now in the IPL G Coupe, you've got a 7 speed automatic transmission that you can pull down into drive. You can also push it over into a drive support which has a more sporty character that kind of help for the (revs?). You've also got a manual for the back and also pedal shifters right here on the steering wheel. We'll see how it works on the road. Now with Infinity, the engine designation is built right into the model number. So this G37 has a 3.7 liter V6. Now, in IPL trim, you can see that right here on the badge here. That means you get 18 more horsepower for grand total of 348 and 6 more pound for your Torque for a grand total of 276. Fuel economy is just kind of okay at 19, 27. During our testing, that trip computer said around 21 miles per gallon but with the 0 to 60 time of about 5 seconds, we'll be willing to forgive that. Now in addition to the upgraded engine with more power, Infinity is also a great suspension on this IPL and we've got 20% steeper spring according to their engineers but it didn't just stop there. They've also upgraded the dampers so that the ride doesn't get phone (juring teeth rattlingly?) harsh. You've also got a zero lift more aggressive body kit that should actually help with vehicle's stability at speed. Now all of this kind of works together to make a ride that's not dramatically sharper than the G37S that I remember but I do notice that it is quite a bit louder. That's mostly because you've got this bigger 19-inch wheels that was less forgiving low profile sport tires. That and there's also a really loud exhaust out there. So let's see how this behaves around town. So it seems like a regular drive mode. There's a little bit of a hunting for gears like it jumps out of the gear and then immediately upshifts as soon as it can and then almost immediately once you come off the gas pedal. So if you're in sort of like stop and go traffic and you're trying to get a little squared of power, you're gonna find yourself waiting for that gear box to downshifts again or at least decide that it wants to downshift which could give you kind of out there. I think the drive support is probably the best for this car if you want like a sporty characteristic. It does hold on to the gears a little better but I... maybe it seems like 7 years of probably too much for this car. Steering in this car is speed sensitive so when you're just kinda tooling around parking lots and not really pushing it hard, it is pretty life, easy to deal with but then it does offer some pretty good feedback and the problem is that (cave rock?) is just kinda hunting, hunting for the right gear even in sport mode to an agree. And at 7th gear, it does kind of quiet the ride down a little bit when you're at highway speeds. I mean there's still a good deal of... not a good deal but a reasonable amount of road noise and you do kind of feel a lot of the bumps from the highway come through by it's no means what I would consider uncomfortable. It's actually a very comfortable sport car. The 2012 IPL G Coupe starts at $49,800. So that's about $5,600 bucks more than a similar equipped G37 Sport. $5,600 bucks for bigger tires, a louder exhaust, the body kit, and a little bit more power may not be worth it to you. Personally, I think it's money well spent. As high performance Premium Marquees go the IPL G Coupe. It's still a little soft for my tastes. This is no in car and this is certainly no AMG but for a couple of extra bucks you do get the absolute thing that you have a G Coupe that's just a little bit faster to 60 than your buddy's G37.