Category: Sporting 4x4s 
Price Range: £42,600 to £53,800
Comfortable, luxurious, stylish-looking.
Thirsty V8, looks could put some buyers off, suspension needs work before a European debut.
A quick, viable and stylish alternative to the sporting 4x4s currently dominating the European market.
Chances are Infiniti will be a new name to you, unless you follow what goes on in the four-wheeled world in the US. This won't be the case at the end of 2008, however.
Infiniti - Nissan's upmarket division, which has been operating in the US for 12 years - is coming to Europe, bringing its own brand of performance and idiosyncratic looks to a market dominated by the likes of BMW and Land Rover.
And it's customers of the BMW X5, Audi Q7 and Range Rover Sport that the FX, which arrives in the UK in early 2009, will be aiming for. Not all of them, though: Infiniti knows it's not going to be a major brand, so it's happy pitching itself as a more aspirational and exclusive proposition.
That's a shame because the FX is a pretty good car that many drivers of sporting 4x4s would be happy to own. It has distinctive, yet stylish looks which will mark the buyer out as an individualist - a person who ploughs their own tasteful furrow.
We tested the top-of-the range FX50S, powered by a 5.0-litre V8 that generates 390bhp and 369 lb-ft of torque, but there'll also be a 3.5-litre V6 version that puts out 303bhp and 262 lb-ft of torque.
The FX will be launched in the UK in the spring of 2009, with prices yet to be determined, but we expect it to come in at around the £50,000 mark.
