Talking
about Japanese executive sedans, you may think of Lexus,
Infiniti or Honda Legend. Admittedly, these export-biased models
were designed with European character instead of the traditional
core value of Japanese. To know what is a pure Japanese
executive sedan, you must have a look to Nissan Cedric / Gloria
or their arch-rival Toyota Crown. For 3 decades, these 2 series
dominated the domestic market’s luxury segment as well as Taxi
business. They were also very well-known in South East Asia here
until we had been educated what handling is.
One
word concludes these cars - Conservative. No matter exterior
styling or interior layout, Crown and Cedric / Gloria used to
follow Lincoln or Cadillac-style blandness. Super soft ride
meant no driver appeal at all, although they had long legs
(advanced engines). Now both companies are changing this by
injecting more dynamic and younger style into these cars. In
particular, I am very pleased with Gloria’s exterior styling. It
still has a conservative proportion, but with plenty of
aggressive-looking details, such as the New Edge headlamps in
the light of Ford. Frameless windows and pseudo hardtop design
(that is, looks like lack of B-pillar) also bring more sense of
dynamic. Overall speaking, the Gloria is a design that both the
Japanese traditionalists and foreigners satisfy with.
What a pity, the setup
of the front MacPherson strut / rear multi-link suspension is
biased towards comfort even though in the sportiest model Gloria
Ultima Z. Despite of 17-inch low profile tyres, it rides
smoothly and quietly, filter bumps well from the cabin. On the
other hand, handling suffers. It rolls a lot into corner,
protesting against your aggressive driving style by resisting to
change direction that quick. So you feel it remains an elephant
as it used to be in the past 3 decades. What you can’t feel
enough is the steering - it’s lifeless and overassisted at low
speed.
It
seems that Gloria was designed for high speed cruising instead.
Even without the help from VDC stability control, it is
inherently stable at high speed. Speed-sensitive assistance firm
up the steering to enhance confidence. It’s a joy to cruise that
elephant in highway, thanks to good suppression of wind noise
and that refined engine ...
Yes, jewel of the
crown is either the VQ30DET turbocharged V6 or the advanced
Extroid CVT transmission. The motoring world is already
impressed by Cefiro’s VQ30DE engine, because of smoothness,
quietness and willingness (oh yes, it’s been Ward’s 10 best
engines for 5 straight years). The turbocharged version loses no
such qualities while achieving a fire-breathing 280 hp output.
It’s not a high boost turbo, so turbo lag is virtually
unperceivable. The punch is so strong that one can easily
believed the Gloria Ultima Z is a nightmare to BMW 540i. Of
course it isn’t.
The
Extroid CVT is the world’s first CVT using rollers instead of
belt or chain as the media for varying transmission ratio.
Nissan must be proud of its ability to handle the 285 lbft of
torque from the turbo V6, well beating Audi Multitronic’s 221
lbft upper limit. Moreover, the Extroid CVT is really very
smooth and quiet, refiner than any existing automatic. On the
other hand, to enhance driving fun, it has 6 simulated manual
ratios for the driver to select. Changing from one to another is
surprisingly quick. The control is more or less the same as
Porsche’s Tiptronic, that is, a manual slot with + and -
positions is provided at the right hand side of the auto slot.
What a pity no Tiptronic S control, unlike Skyline.
The Gloria is very
well built and crafted. The dashboard is made of high quality
plastic. Doors are leather-trimmed with good fit and finish.
There’s real wood at the console as well. Although the design of
dashboard is conservative, two-tone light color scheme brings a
present ambience that rarely found in traditional Japanese
luxury. The leather chairs are big and comfortable, if not
providing sufficient lateral support. With 2800 mm wheelbase,
rear passenger comfort is never in doubt.
All these findings
apply to Cedric as well, because it is identical to the Gloria
except minor deviations in styling. In these cost-cutting years,
the difference between them has become lesser than ever.
Specifications
Model
|
Cedric 3.0
|
Gloria Ultima Z
|
Infiniti M45
|
Layout
|
Front-engined, Rwd
|
Front-engined, Rwd.
|
Front-engined, Rwd.
|
Size (L / W / H /
WB) mm
|
4865 / 1770 / 1440
/ 2800
|
Engine
|
V6, dohc, 4v/cyl,
direct-injection
|
V6, dohc, 4v/cyl,
turbo.
|
V8, dohc, 4v/cyl,
VVT,
variable intake.
|
Capacity
|
2987 c.c.
|
2987 c.c.
|
4494 c.c.
|
Power
|
240 hp
|
280 hp
|
340 hp
|
Torque
|
227 lbft
|
285 lbft
|
333 lbft
|
Transmission
|
4A
|
Extroid CVT with
6M
|
5 Tip
|
Suspensions
|
F: strut / R:
multi-link
|
Tyres
|
205/60 R16
|
215/50 VR17
|
235/45 WR18
|
Weight
|
1600 kg
|
1680 kg
|
1746 kg
|
Top speed
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
0-60 mph
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
6.1 sec*
|
0-100 mph
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
16.0 sec*
|
|