There are no separate M45 models, so the powerful V8 with its smooth five-speed automatic transmission is what you get. But it's not all. For the base price of $42,300, more great features come standard: the same high-quality leather as in the flagship Q45, a 225-watt Bose premium sound system with satellite-ready AM/FM radio and in-dash 6 CD changer, Vehicle Information System with large LCD screen, skid control (VDC, for Vehicle Dynamic Control), dual-zone climate control, high-intensity xenon headlamps, 18-inch alloy wheels with W-rated tires, and last but definitely not least, front-door side airbags and four-door curtain airbags.

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The Comfort and Convenience Package ($950) includes memory seats, electrochromic mirrors which are heated and reverse-tilting on the outside, the HomeLink remote system and a tire pressure monitor. The Technology Package ($2700) includes the DVD navigation system and Intelligent Cruise Control, which uses lasers to maintain the distance from the car in front of you by controlling the throttle. The Premium Package ($2200) includes seats that are cooled as well as heated, a sunroof, and voice recognition system for climate, audio and navigation control. Chrome wheels can be added to this package for another $1000.

Stand-alone options include the sunroof ($1000), natural maple trim ($300), rear spoiler ($540), satellite radio ($400) and all-season tires (no extra cost).

The Infiniti M45 is more than a sleeper, it's invisible. Cops would kill for this car. Infiniti uses the word "distinctive," which is a giant semantic stretch, because while the whole car might be distinct in its class, it's a long way from being visually distinct. Infiniti also describes the styling as "chiseled," and in places one might agree, but that doesn't make the M45 likely to be noticed. The twin tips of the exhaust pipe are about the only thing that looks hot. And probably the optional rear spoiler, which we haven't seen but would order with the car if we got one, just because it so desperately needs the statement. Thank heavens for the great-looking eight-spoke alloy wheels, which come standard in painted titanium or optional in chrome.
The M45 is not unattractive, just uninspired. The sheetmetal comes straight off the Gloria sold in Japan, where styling tastes (and car names) can be curious. So the overall lines of the car are inherited from a design never intended to appeal to buyers in the U.S., whether of midsize luxury cars or sports sedans. The roofline is totally prosaic. The lines don't flow, they just sort of exist, spreading horizontally across a front end that's dominated by an unimaginative grille stretching like a forced grin between the headlamp units, three horizontal beams per side with almost no angle. Underlining this spread, literally, is a long dark horizontal air intake.

The molded front and rear body-colored bumpers are new, and represent a designer's valiant attempt to coax the eye into thinking the whole shape is chiseled, but another adjective for the bumpers might be chunky. The rear bumper becomes a smooth part of the deck, leaving only the simple taillights and the license plate recess for definition; and the front bumper looks a bit like a guy with a pinch of snuff inside his bottom lip.
The M45 looks much better in silver than black, because of its dire need for definition. It comes in five other colors, some of which might look better yet.