Motorists and bicyclists amicably shared the narrow road around secluded and heavily wooded Raymond on Father’s Day morning last Sunday.
There were lots of both on the climb from Lyons up Colo. 7; some took the turnoff diversion to the little village along the Middle Fork of the South St. Vrain River southeast of Allenspark.
For my part, I was driving the 2013 Infiniti JX35, the new all-wheel-drive, seven-passenger luxury midsize crossover. The beautifully styled JX is 14 inches longer than the EX and 5 longer than the FX, Infiniti’s other crossovers, and is an alternative to the big, tough full-size QX56 sport utility vehicle.
The fact the review model provided to me was filled with technology pushed its sticker price far beyond average.
The JX, not a sporty handler, is based on a 114-inch wheelbase, with independent front struts and multilink rear suspension, and delivers a very comfortable ride and absorbs most road imperfections. It is done with a considerable amount of body roll.
Performance is moderate from its 265-horsepower, 3.5-liter V-6 engine and continuously variable transmission. A drive mode dial selector on the center console offered me choice of normal, sport, snow or eco control. While Sport selection livened the throttle a bit, the 4,500-pounder could use a bit more “oomph” in power.
A manual-mode feature simulates shift points with the JX’s CVT transmission. So, in descending the hills, it is possible to “gear down” to control speed and grip, but it is not nearly so responsive as with a regular transmission and it is necessary to frequently use braking, particularly on the curves.
The JX all-wheel drive averaged 19.2 miles per gallon in overall driving; its EPA estimate is 18/23.
Exterior styling is impressive – a sleek, lean look, with “motion” spoke wheels and prominent dual exhausts at the rear.
Inside, leather and maple trim make for a pleasant cabin, with navigation touch-screen/voice/traffic/weather/restaurant guide and 13-speaker Bose premium sound. The Infiniti is enhanced by other high-tech advancements, including a rear-seat theater package with 7-inch monitors on the back of the front-seat headrests.
Middle-row seats slide fore and aft 5 inches for more legroom behind, and fold and slide far forward for relatively easy climb into the third row, which has limited room. Added to the regular sunroof over the front seats is a large opening over the second and third rows.
An innovation called Backup Collision Intervention will brake the car if the system senses an obstacle in the way when it is backing. Enhancing a backup camera is an all-round view, especially important since large, thick headrests on the three rows of seats and pillars block out a great amount of rear vision.
A power liftgate opens an easy-load rear cargo area of 15.8 cubic feet behind the third row and expands to 40 feet with the third-row seats folded into the floor.
Up front, open the hood and, at first glance, there are no signs of power source; no pulleys and belts, everything is covered. Even the radiator, as a circular lid lifts to provide access to the filler cap.
With all the technological amenities added, the price of the JX35 with all-wheel drive jumped from a base of $41,550 to $55,170. Among a long list of standard items are trizone temperature control, power tilt/telescope steering wheel, power-folding and heated outside mirrors, illuminated push-button ignition and Bluetooth phone system.
Remember a couple weeks ago I mentioned my surprise when a 2013 Lexus GX460 was sent my way with 16,000 miles showing on its odometer? There was no problem with this, though the miles were way beyond any other new cars offered to me in the past 35 years. Well, perhaps the high milers will become more the norm, for the “new” Infiniti JX brought to me last week had been driven 15,700 miles. The Nissan Xterra, for which delivery fell between the Lexus and Infiniti, had only 600 miles.
SUVs, pickups lead sales increase
Compact sport utility vehicles, full-size pickups and compact luxury SUVs led in market share gains, as new car and truck sales in Colorado increased almost 10 percent last month, and sales for the first five months of this year are up by 15 percent.
Five-month sales have increased to 67,217 from 58,499 in the same period of 2012, according to the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association.
“In spite of rising gas prices and a slowly improving economy, consumers seem optimistic and willing to spend on big-ticket items,” said Tim Jackson, president of the CADA. “They continue to take advantage of near-historic low-interest rates, longer finance terms and much easier access to credit.”
Dodge, Mitsubishi, Acura, Ram and Land Rover registrations increased more than 30 percent each thus far this year, said Jackson.
Saturday Drive can also be viewed online at DenverPost.com/budwells. Bud Wells can be reached via e-mail at bwells@denverpost.com.
