I feel like we are patching XP on our desktop, or installing new video board drivers and the games fly afterwards....

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For a car with 340 horsepower and 333 foot-pounds of torque, you would think that the new Infiniti Q45 would be "snappier" than it is. The ads claimed 0-60 in 5.9, but that must have been downhill. In a hurricane. The car didn't "feel" that fast. Quick, but not fast.

At least that's how I felt before I took my car into the Infiniti dealership for a software reprogram. It seems that everything electronic is getting updated these days. You buy a new piece of software for your computer, and there's a patch out the very next week. You buy a new digital camera, and the manufacturer has an "upgrade" with new features for you to download off of their Web site. With a car as technically complex as the Infiniti Q45, a software "upgrade" didn't surprise me.

feature. It was to give the car more muscle. And oh boy, did it work.

Infiniti calls it the ITB-02048 update. The first part of the fix replaces the accelerator pedal with one with a bit less lag in the pedal itself. Nice update. Good update. The second part of the update doesn't involve any new parts - it is all ones and zeros, but it's what makes the big difference.

It reprograms the Engine Control Module. Shifting and acceleration are totally different. Night and day difference. The car shifts like the little G35. It's gone from Oldsmobile shifting (no offense) to German shifting, and from a stop the car feels so much faster.

The Infiniti service manager says the reprogram changes shift points, spark firing timing, and fuel injection timing. For marketing's sake, I can't believe that Infiniti isn't promoting this update more, as it would make all current-generation Q45 owners very happy and also get the media to take a look at the car once again. And thankfully, for Infiniti's sake, it's a very nice improvement.

 

Hello Acura.....are you listening???

 

Still looks like a Mercuray Sable. Even if it's faster, I was totally unimpressed by it. It's a nice car but not 60k nice. IMO, the 1st gen is better.

 

wow, have you test driven or even sat in one? a fully loaded Q45 is a very solid car. its quick and hauls, its also very comfortable and its got all the techno gadgets available to the higher upper class models. the previous gen was too squarish and not aesthetically pleasing or impressive. the headlights on this are hella cool too, theyre fun to stare into...