MotorMouths

Infiniti’s new M56 offers luxury with a healthy dose of horsepower. It’s a nice car, but not quite the BMW-killer Infiniti hoped for.

The lower-price Infiniti M37 is such a well-done, satisfying machine (based on our time in a preproduction rear-drive model) that the much higher-price, well-optioned M56 seemed overdone, gratuitous, crass.

The Infiniti M56 is one top performer among a rarefied set of highly capable competitors. Maybe the M’s more dramatic styling will finally earn it the public recognition and votes that it deserves.

When I reviewed the 2009 Infiniti M35x, I wrote that it struck “the perfect balance between practicality and luxury.” Redesigned for 2011, the M37x sedan keeps that balance, but with a more powerful engine that gets better gas mileage.

A sports sedan connoisseur will not enjoy the Infiniti M37. But, don’t let that dissuade you. It’s configured for those who appreciate modern styling, cutting-edge technology, world-class luxury and enough sport to prevent embarrassment in a canyon.

So Infiniti’s created a luxurious four-door that looks gorgeous, goes fast and doesn’t have much space in the back. The Infiniti M37 suddenly has our attention.

The new Infiniti M addresses many of the complaints with the old one. In a segment owned by the Mercedes-Benz E-class, however, Infiniti still has its work cut out to gain ground. The new model is an excellent start.

Aside from an impressive performance-to-price ratio, the Infiniti M’s greatest asset remains its relatively simple and understandable control layout, something that really sets it apart from most class rivals.

We’ve buckled into versions of the M without the Technology package and found everything to be far more natural. In fact, unless your station in society requires that you be ferried around by a 420-hp V-8, the 330-horse M37 shines as a better value.

Though I found the power of the M56’s V8 intoxicating, the V6 in the M37 is so great and so well-matched to the vehicle that I actually felt more confident behind the wheel when driving the M with the smaller engine.

The new Infiniti M is a fairly and competitively priced, voluptuously styled luxury car that most drivers would agree wants for nothing in standard form and offers a huge array of options for customizing.

For the corner-carving set, there’s no question that the lighter, much more tossable M37S is the Infiniti to get. However, if big, wafting, luxurious road trips are your thing, you’ve got to choose the M56S.