There were two sessions, the morning session which was started at 8:45 A.M. and the afternoon session which was started at 12:30 P.M. I actually wanted to choose the morning session but Infiniti told me that the morning session was fully booked. So, they put my name in the afternoon list instead, well, it's a good idea too because I always wake up late. If I'm not mistaken, I think only 32 per pax can join on each session. By the time when I wanna reach to the event, I was pissed off due to traffic jams. But hey, at least I came here at 12:15. I was relieved after that.
All participants can enjoy a valet parking for free.
Here's how it looks like on the outside before the event.
When I registered my name in front of the counter, Infiniti gave me this name tag with red lines at the bottom as they can gather every participants into four groups, which is Red, Blue, Purple and Grey.
While waiting for the event to get started, I just chilling out at the refreshment zone, Facebook-ing my phone and take some shots.
Here are the refreshments. Nope, you won't get the JDM lifestyle fast-food like pizzas and burgers like what I was expected. The event provided a rich gourmet food like the one that was served in every hotel buffet.
Here are the beverages. You have hot coffee, mocha, Coke, Sprite and mineral water and more. Of course they won't provide you a vodka or beer, cuz haroom and DUI. You wouldn't drive the Infiniti under influence, aren't you?
These are the best three of dishes that I've eaten. The mushroom and truffle couquetas are crispy, yet a little fishy. Not too sweet, not too salty.
Next was the mini Dutch butter cake with pear. The butter in the cake was soft and very mouth-watering. Adding pears inside the cake gave more indulgence to it.
Finally, the spider roll. Or I should called it, the soft-shell crab sushi. This was like a drug addiction. You can't forgive how yummy the sushi was.
What the...? Am I actually posting a food blog or something in here? Alright, enough with the gastronomies. Let's get the event started.
This is the introduction of the program, including about the brand's origin and the description of the activities,and so fourth.
At first, I thought the event was started at 12:30, however it was started at 2:00 P.M. as the schedule shown on the projector in the video.
After the briefing is completed, the activity was started by forming into small groups. As I told you previously, I joined the Red group according to the name tag that I'm wearing. My group was coordinated by Shop, a professional driver from Thailand.
The first activity that I went to do was to feel the difference between the car without and with DAS (Direct Adaptive Steering) system, or you can also call it the steer-by-wire system for easier reference. This system detects any road conditions that providing a better feedback to the driver to enable the car easier to manoeuvre as the disturbance and vibrations to the steering wheel were lowered while hitting any potholes or bumps.
Both cars without and with DAS were in these Infiniti Q50s (Nissan Skylines) respectively. Both of them have the Mercedes-sourced 2.0 engine which produced 211 bhp and 236 lb-ft of torque.
Here are the demonstration video of the Q50 without the DAS system guided by Shop.
This is how does it feels without steer-by-wire
This is how it feels with the system
In my verdict, this system is better for most drivers out there because it need a little effort for parking and handling. For performance driving, it's better to put it into sport mode to give a little hard feeling to the steering wheel.
Few minutes later, it was raining heavily and the event began to pause for more than half an hour.
After the rain stops awhile, the second activity was started with test drives. The coordinator will drive one of the cars and I have to follow his instructions in other cars.
I was accompanied by two participants, and we already make friends while on the road. We chose the red Infiniti Q50 2.0t (Nissan Skyline 200GT-t) as the first car to drive. The test drive route was indeed long and it's like a one hour drive including traffic jams, toilet stops, switching drivers and switching vehicles. I can't guaranteed talking about it because I don't take too much photos of the whole car as I was driving. Maybe I can comment a little about the feeling of driving this best-selling car.
The Q50 (Skyline) was a 3-Series fighter. It still had a Japanese BMW feel to it. Even if it has a Merc 2.0 engine, the torque was very quick like a traditional 2.5 V6 that you found on the old G37. I can feel the growl of the engine. It mimics like a V6 and the cabin vibration is so small like other Infinitis. 0-100 is about 7.2 seconds. Not bad for a 2 liter engine.
The best thing about the Q50 is the acoustic Infiniti Studio on Wheels by Bose 14 speaker sound system. This audio system was more to acoustic feel rather than pure studio sound like the one that found in my Skyline 350GT Premium, which was powered by Bose 8 speaker sound system.
While in a traffic congestion, I talked to the two participants about what's going on in life, or whatsoever. Even they commented that this was the best entry level luxury car that money can buy.
We stopped somewhere in the middle of the test drive trip to change vehicles.
We switch from the Q50 to the Infiniti Q70 2.5L (Nissan Fuga 250GT), a large size luxury sedan.
I never get to drive this one because it was too late. But that's ok, I still can feel it by asking one of my friend. What he said that, the Q70 is pretty big, but the technology is outdated (obviously). The telematics system is not as great as the Q50. You can find this system in the Murano, the Elgrand, and other high-end Nissan vehicles. Riding at the back seat was a little harsh. But, the performance is considered an okay. But, it's not as torquey as the F10 535i.
After the test drive, it's time for hard braking and AEB (Auto Emergency Braking) test. Too bad my new friends can't make it as they were exhausted. Also, the event was coming to an end way later than expected due to weather conditions. So, I made this alone. This final activity is about how to apply hard braking and demonstrating the AEB system, one of the most important safety feature that avoid collision in traffic. Once the radar detects the object at the front, the system will be activated to apply an emergency braking by itself to avoid the crash.
Here are the demo.
And now it's my final test to try hard braking and the AEB system. Notice that I made a bad wheelspin.
After the event ended, the instructor gave me free goodies and also a certificate as I completely succeed the most awesome driving program by Infiniti.
Overall, Infiniti has made the most unforgivable experience to every enthusiast and fans of the brand, by impressing us with new technologies and exciting test drives. I can say that they were made an awesome job because they provide a professional hospitality.
In a nutshell, I post some photos of my ride alongside other Infinitis next to it as a surprise for you.
Infiniti, you rock! Like what Mr. Rani Kulup says, KIPIDAP & DONGIBAB!
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