Cedric/Gloria's rear seats adjust individually.
Nissan's Cedric/Gloria rear-wheel-drive sedan will spawn the next-generation Infiniti Q45.
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Nissan has updated its small and medium vehicles based on the new SM platform and NEO-Di direct-injection gasoline engine application in quick succession — product strategies initiated prior to the French automaker Renault's capital participation and the dispatch of top executives to Tokyo. Nissan is now extending the new platform strategy to its large rear-wheel-drive passenger car series, the curiously named Cedric/Gloria twins reserved for the Japanese well-to-do. The current Infiniti Q45 is a derivative of the previous Cedric/Gloria platform, which continues with detail refinement. The new large platform will evolve into another type, from which the next-generation Q45 and possibly a new ZX300 sports car successor may emerge.
The all-steel unit body shares many structural features with the preceding MS platform, with torsional stiffness improvement of 23%. The body shell's B-pillar section is reinforced by a hydroformed reinforcement member, which is the first such application in Japan. The front subframe's main crossmember is also hydroformed.
The Japanese manufacturers are now intent on meeting the world's most stringent crashworthiness requirements, including some not yet mandated in Japan, to appeal to the consumer's sense of self-protection. Nissan quotes figures for a European-type 40% offset crash against a deformable barrier at 64 km/h (42 mph), a full frontal crash against a solid barrier at 55 km/h (34 mph), Euro-type side impact at 55 km/h (34 mph), and Nissan's own 55-km/h (34-mph) rear end collision.
The chassis comprises front MacPherson struts and rear multi-link suspension, attached to substantial subframes that are rubber-mounted to the body shell. The rear suspension's coil spring and shock absorber are separately mounted to preclude frictional interference. Front suspension lower A-arms and rear suspension upper front arms are cast in aluminum by the low-temperature, semi-solid metal-casting method, contributing to mass reduction — each side of the rear suspension shed 6 kg vs. the previous multi-link type.
The Cedric/Gloria adopts electronically controlled, vehicle-speed-sensitive, variable-assist power steering, except the base 2.5-L model, which is fitted with an engine-rpm-sensing type. All models are equipped with four-wheel ventilated disc brakes, assisted by a 229- and 254-mm (9- and 10-in) tandem vacuum servo unit. A compact ABS system, from Nissan's smaller rear-drive cars, is installed as standard equipment, except in the performance turbocharged model, which is fitted with a full-size ABS system in conjunction with a sophisticated vehicle dynamics control system (VDC). VDC moderates the engine's torque output and applies individual brakes to check understeer/oversteer.
Four engine types are offered in the range, two of which employ Nissan's latest NEO-Di direct-injection, gasoline engine technology applied to the VQ quad-cam, 24-valve V6 engine in two displacement sizes. The VQ25DD 2.5-L is rated at 157 kW (210 hp) at 6400 rpm and 265 N•m (195 lb•ft) at 4400 rpm, and the VQ30DD 3.0-L produces 179 kW (240 hp) at 2400 rpm and 309 N•m (228 N•m) at 3600 rpm on the same 11.0:1 compression ratio. Both versions require premium-grade, unleaded gasoline.
The performance engine is a turbochaged, nondirect-injection version of the 3.0-L unit designated VQ30DET, which produces 209 kW (280 hp) at 6000 rpm and 387 N•m (285 lb•ft) at 3600 rpm on a lower 9.0:1 compression ratio. All V6 engines are mated to an electronically controlled, "smart" four-speed automatic transmission.
For an all-wheel-drive variation on the luxury sedan theme, the turbocharged, DOHC, 24-valve, 2.5-L, inline, six-cylinder RB25DET engine is transplanted from the upper mid-size Skyline range, which combines an electronically controlled four-speed automatic, multi-plate, variable torque split/transfer unit, and a viscous-coupling-type limited-slip differential. This engine puts out 194 kW (260 hp) at 6400 rpm and 324 N•m (239 lb•ft) at 2800 rpm.
The Cedric/Gloria has a 2800-mm (110-in) wheelbase and measures 4865 mm (191 in) in length, 1770 mm (70 in) in width, and 1450 mm (57 in) in height. Mass ranges between 1660 and 1710 kg (3660 and 3770 lb).
The comprehensively and luxuriously appointed Cedric/Gloria had to make one concession, deferring the adoption of a new adaptive cruise control system employing Bosch's short-wave radar, to its senior model, the Cima (Infiniti Q45 for the U.S.). The ACC, as installed in the Cima, maintains predetermined following speed/distance by throttle control and, when required, brake control. The Cedric/Gloria for now has to be content with a simpler following-distance-warning device using a laser radar.
Jack Yamaguchi
