2009 Infiniti EX35 is pleasant and easy to drive. That’s either good or bad, depending on if you like that or not. Handling is great though – it has very little body roll for its size, and is very nimble through the turns. This is one of the very few small SUVs that you can take on a winding road at high speed and still have fun without worrying about tipping over. Suspension and ride is comfortable, and the 297 hp 3.5-liter V6 is the perfect engine for this vehicle. You always have plenty of power when you need it, and throttle response is very smooth. Fuel economy is average at 16/23 for the AWD model; I averaged 19.7 mpg under aggressive driving.
The EX35’s only transmission is a 5-speed automatic with manual shift mode, downshift rev matching, and Drive Sport mode. It’s a good transmission, but acts a bit like a CVT, which is strange. It holds revs depending on your driving style (that would be the Adaptive Shift Control,) and when it does shift, you don’t feel it. It’s a very refined system that makes the EX35 very smooth and drivable, without any sort of jerkiness or excitement in the shifting.
