First Saturday Cruise in the New-to-Me Q45t

"Noah - Now with more boost." (antriebverliebt)
08/29/2015 at 15:25 • Filed to: Q45, Q45t, Infiniti, cruise, nissan

From what I’ve been reading, it seems like Oppo is having a great Saturday! This afternoon, I forgot about internship emails, my weekend to-do list, and post-college job-searching via escaping into the Massachusetts countryside for a few hours in the fancy Datsun. I’ve never owned a car like this, and it’s been registered/inspected for less than a week at this point. So needless to say, I had a fantastic cruise.

Car guys definitely notice my strange boat. Not because it’s especially attractive, or particularly loud, but because they have no idea what it is. Which I totally understand! If an Oppo commenter had not suggested looking for one of these during my car search, I definitely wouldn’t know what it was either. I witnessed the best reaction yet while the car was parked in this very spot: A middle-aged guy walking back to his Audi Q5 stopped in front of the car, stared at it, and leaned in to look at the badge on the grille, which only served to confuse him further. Why? Because it’s a gold Nissan emblem. The day after I bought the car, I ordered the an OEM grille from an east-coast JDM part importer. I still can’t believe they had one!? My guess is that they imported the front half of a VQ30DET-powered example (not offered in the US), sold the engine, and kept the grille because they knew some nerd like me would buy it eventually.

This afternoon’s haul. The idyllic parking lot pictured above belongs to the local organic farm in the background, where I stopped to pick up some produce because that’s how “crunchy granola” I am. I grabbed Honeycrisp apples (first of the season!), and a couple salad ingredients to balance out the BBQ ribs that are on the menu for dinner this evening. No weekend cruise is complete without an impulsive stop to grab a few things you didn’t know you needed! To me, that ritual is part of the spontaneous element every nice long drive should contain.

Here’s another potato camera shot of that view, unobstructed. What a cloudscape. This drive made me more relaxed than I’ve been for a while. I’m already addicted to the V8’s soft burble and it’s endless torque. 266 HP and 280 lb-ft don’t make my 4100 lb barge fast, but it’s definitely quicker and smoother than anything I’ve owned before. First and second are pretty short though, and that’s enough to scare me! Turning the transmission’s OD off and activating the magnetic ride takes the edge off of the body roll and “relaxed” throttle response, which temporarily transforms my barge into a somewhat-sporty sedan. The best part? The rear silencer was already deleted, and replaced with meticulously hung/bent “test pipes.” So it does the snarl and pop pretty well. More on that soon! In video form.

Bonus - I saw many interesting things today. Pics from GIS:

A black 365 2+2. Involuntary shouting did occur. The driver was caning it at “full chat” (the only way to describe the sound of full-throttle in a V12 Ferrari. I bet it was the same one I’ve seen at the local C&C.

A nice lifted TJ making buzzy low-RPM straight 6 noises, doors off, top down! In green with black flares, just like this.

A maroon SLK 55 AMG! Driven by a car-gal who was definitely enjoying herself. DAT SOUND. I think these look pretty weird, but in a way that I enjoy. This styling doesn’t do it for me on the SL but I like it on this tiny package, especially with the AMG ground effects.

And a white FB rex. Sounding very weird, as you’d expect!

DISCUSSION (18)

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Noah - Now with more boost.
08/29/2015 at 15:32

Kinja'd!!!

Love me some Q45

Noah - Now with more boost. > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
08/29/2015 at 15:33

Oppo review soon!

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Noah - Now with more boost.
08/29/2015 at 15:33

Looking forward to it!

Also just fyi that is an SLK55.

Noah - Now with more boost. > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
08/29/2015 at 15:35

Thanks! Fixed it. I’m so bad at Mercedes lol.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > Noah - Now with more boost.
08/29/2015 at 15:41

HHHHNNNNGGGG!!!

That is a beauty. I’d love to have me one of them.

FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem > Noah - Now with more boost.
08/29/2015 at 15:45

As much as I like Lexus LSs I’d take a Q45 over one all day

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Noah - Now with more boost.
08/29/2015 at 15:46

They’ve gotten confusing lately.

Noah - Now with more boost. > FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem
08/29/2015 at 15:52

I love LS400s too. It came down to the timing belt (LS400 1UZFE) vs double-row timing chain. LOL @ your username, so relevant to this

FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem > Noah - Now with more boost.
08/29/2015 at 15:54

Well, VW quality engines

Noah - Now with more boost. > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
08/29/2015 at 15:55

She says thanks for the compliments I NEED to do DLSR photos as soon as I finish conditioning the leather.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > Noah - Now with more boost.
08/29/2015 at 15:59

Well, the leather in those generally holds up pretty well. 260k on my I30 and the leather still looks solid.

Noah - Now with more boost. > FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem
08/29/2015 at 15:59

Lol. My friend used to drive a 2.0T A4. It’s motor really did just pop one day, at 80MPH on the freeway. 120k, beautiful car, instantly totaled.

Noah - Now with more boost. > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
08/29/2015 at 16:00

Awesome! That’s crazy mileage, I hope to make it that far. They must have used decent leather back in the day, mine is in great shape too, even the driver’s side seat bolster.

FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem > Noah - Now with more boost.
08/29/2015 at 16:05

Apparently 1.2 tsi engines have a habit of breaking chains and VW doesn’t do shit despite it being a well known failure. Thank god our car isn’t effected.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > Noah - Now with more boost.
08/29/2015 at 16:17

Yeah, the leather they use is really decent. My front seats are a little stiff, the bolsters do have some cracking, and there’s a small tear in the passenger seat, but they’ve held up well. I’ve done 10k miles since March, and there’s not much more noticeable wear.

Noah - Now with more boost. > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
08/29/2015 at 17:02

Condition your seats!! They’ll become outrageously soft.

Noah - Now with more boost. > FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem
08/29/2015 at 17:03

Oh VW... the company policy must be “fuck everyone other than the first owner.” Though I’d probably deal with the maintenance for a cool VAG sledge

FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem > Noah - Now with more boost.
08/29/2015 at 17:15

The German built cars seem to have better build quality. The new Euro Passat is very nice. And I don’t even like newer VAGs