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34K views 24 replies 18 participants last post by  Izzakh 
#1 ·
For those of the lucky few here who own the JX, how can you comment on the power and torque of the JX? How's merging on the highway like? Acceleration? Does the car lack power low end?

I haven't driven the JX yet unfortunately so any opinion would be great.
 
#2 ·
I've been driving quite a bit on the ECO mode with the high?, hard? setting for the ECO pedal. It makes me a very boring driver. I'm just doing it to see how much mileage I can get out of this thing on local roads.
I used manual shift the other day and was very surprised at how fast it could accelerate from 40 or 50 for a large SUV.
The sport mode feels too noisy. I prefer to use the normal mode with the manual shift when I feel like it.

Overall I like the feedback I get from the car. Just feels right. This is my first SUV. I have never liked driving an SUV before this. Never felt comfortable.
 
#3 ·
It's no rocket but I don't perceive a difference between the JX and the 08 MDX I replaced; on paper the MDX has 40 more HP. It's our first CVT and that's a little disorienting (you keep waiting for it to shift) but there is plenty of on-ramp acceleration and passing power in normal mode.
 
#21 ·
I drove the JX (have yet to buy one) and I feel Infiniti needs to have engine options, a V8 would be nice. I can see their reason for going with a smaller engine, fuel economy.
But a V8 model with more luxury and options would be awesome and kill the Escalade.

That is laughable. The Escalade dwarfs the JX/QX60. Completely different class. And now the new Escalade would be hard to beat by anybody with the awesome interior and big direct injected V8 in the new model. My 2013 Avalanche with the smaller 5.3 V8 leaves my wifes QX60 like it is sitting still. She couldn't even beat me with her G35X sedan (same 3.5 engine as the JX/QX). Regardless what anybody here thinks the JX/QX60 is a little under powered. It does fine but it could use more power. The new MDX we test drove (wife didn't like the MDX interior or else she would have bought that instead) had much more power and it handled 1000X better. With less than 10,000 miles my wife is seriously thinking about getting rid of her QX60 because of the terrible handling (worst handling vehicle either of us has ever driven) and now it is spitting out P0306 and P0302 misfire codes.


 
#10 ·
I think there is plenty of power for what Infiniti has marketed the car as..... That said, I do feel that the CVT could be quicker in moving the needle from a dead stop. After 1400 miles, I've never thought to myself "I wish this car had more power." I'm curious to see how the new CVT in the 2013 Altima performs. According to press releases, it's supposed to have better off the line performance. Wish Infiniti would have put that CVT in the JX.
 
#12 ·
I was used to drive a BMW X5 V8 engine so I'm used to the more powerful engine. But on my new JX, I don't find it under power ... yet.
In city driving, if i press on the pedal, the JX goes faster than I expected... it feels fast enough for any merge / overpass.
It definitely doesn't have that first half-second neck-breaking thrust as in my old X5, but after that first half a second, acceleration is linear and quite powerful.
I drive in the default "STD" mode (i.e., the dot on the dial)
 
#15 ·
After taking the JX on a couple long trips I feel it has good power and the updated CVT prvides for a very smooth ride. I like the ability to put it in manual mode for long downhill grades and for climbing steep grades. When I see reviews that complain about the "CVT drone", I have to laugh. The JX is very quiet and the transmission noise is minimal. I feel the 3.5 L engine and CVT are perfectly matched.
 
#16 ·
I find the acceleration to be adequate but uninspired on the low end. On the high end, ie passing power from 70-90, it feels quite strong. The engine/transmission combo is the quietest I've experienced for similar SUVs and crossovers.
 
#18 ·
The JX35 does feel more powerful than the 265hp it is rated at. I would agree the "from a stop" acceleration is not breathtaking, but the passing power and speed is quite impressive. I have not fiddled with the Sport mode much, but this does seem to make a significant difference. I also own a G37, so I do know what fast is, but I am really impressed with the JX35 powertrain. If you want a V8 or something like an Escalade, get a QX56 and blow the Caddy out of the water. JX would be compared to the Caddy SRX, and with that there is no comparison. I briefly considered an Saab SUV (same as SRX) in the Aero package, but between the smaller size, no warranty, terrible fuel economy, and some feature content, I ruled that out even at the $33K price tag (which is a total deal!)
 
#19 ·
Hello Fellow JX35/QX60 Owners,

I have a 2013 JX35 FWD vehicle. I have upgraded my JX35 with a K&N Air Intake which helped the engine, I feel a lot, but beware the engine will sound louder you will hear the intake on hard acceleration. Installing the air intake was easy with the provided instructions from K&N, one of things that amazed me was the big Air baffle of plastic they have in the engine compartment that you get to remove when taking out the stock intake. I feel the car has more response from the throttle. As far as fuel economy, I don't think it has helped at all, it hasn't hurt either so to help the engine breath better, I feel its a win win. I have also purchased the BullyDog 40415 Performance Chip for the JX35. I am still waiting on BullyDog to get the programmer setup for my vehicle, once I install that part I will let all of you know. I have also installed a more free flowing Magnaflow exhaust 2.5 inch diameter from the header back with split rear exit after the rear wheels with chrome tips. It looks super nice and sounds great. Beware, if you like the quietness of your vehicle now then don't change the exhaust because its not much louder in the cabin with the exhaust but it is noticeable when on the accelerator and when passing and putting your foot into it. This vehicle sound like a beast with the exhaust and intake. Similar to my G37 sedan which everyone knows is a beast of a car when all modded like mine is. The JX35 is my girlfriends car that she drives and she was not a big fan of the intake and exhaust at first but she doesn't have an issue with it now and loves the sound and feeling of the performance parts on the vehicle when driving now. This has made the vehicle sound fantastic and it has helped the engine as well and has gave the vehicle more throttle response as well. I have not seen any improvement in fuel economy but when driving the vehicle I can definitely tell that the aftermarket parts have helped the engine performance.
 
#22 · (Edited)
I wouldn't say it's the worst handling vehicle I've ever owned / driven. The worst handling I've got is my 78 silver anny. corvette.... but it's 36 years old and I've desperately got to do a wheel alignment on it, so I'll give it a break :)

In all reality though, this isn't meant to be a performance machine and handle slaloms on the track. To me, it's got enough power to pass when needed (even when I'm going around someone that's going 70/75ish). It handles good enough for considering the proportions. Does it handle like my old H3 did? No, but I knew it wouldn't going in and needed something bigger inside. Does it have the punch of my Camry SE V6 or my old Grand Prix GTP...no, but it's got to be twice the weight I'd bet.

I'd say the problem you'd have w/ the Escalade is that it'll start falling apart completely after 3-4 years. My H3 was great except the head needed to be replaced around 15k miles, there were gasket leaks galore (I think I replaced every gasket known to man before I got rid of it at 6 years/84k miles), undersized brake rotors that warped like a mofo every 20-30k miles, and the undeniable loud fart noise when you hit 70mph from wind getting under the roof marker lights. My Grand Prix (I think I got rid of it at about 70k miles and bought the H3 new in 06) was the same thing, engine issues at 60k miles / leaks everywhere, random electrical issue with windows going up/down (never knew which one wouldn't work), ABS system died at 65k miles.
 
#23 ·
I agree this car is more of a touring car and not designed to handle like a sports car. Its been reliable, fuel efficient and handles very nice on windy roads. After driving down the Oregon and California Coast, and all the way to upstate NY to South Carolina and back to the Tacoma/Seattle metro area, I'm very satisfied with its performance.
 
#24 ·
Hello All,

I have a 2013 JX35 with all the options on it. I thought the JX was under powered. My girlfriend who drives it all the time, she thinks it has plenty of power. So I ordered a K&N Air Filter 7HP 10 Torque and throttle body spacer 5HP 10 Torque for the engine. Those helped the feeling in the pants a little. Love the sound from the engine now. Then I ordered the Bullydog 40415 tuner which helped a little bit more as well. 15HP 20 Torque gain. Then I went to my local exhaust fab shop and had a dual exhaust with magnaflow mufflers put on and that woke the engine up. 10HP 10Torque. So all in all our rig is in good shape now. It sounds great and has alot more power. Didnt hurt the fuel mileage but it didn't help it either. But the vehicle has more power which is nice. I then changed the HID headlights to 6000K bulbs and added HID Fog Lights to help out in the front end department. I then added LED 6000K interior lights which made a huge difference inside the cabin for see. I then did the Mod on the navigation so we can enter navigation addresses while we drive and also can watch a movie on the front screen as well with this mod. We don't really use that feature because we have the theater package in our JX. So all in all we did some great upgrades to the vehicle and we are really happy with it.
 
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