Test driving an Infiniti or any other new-to-you car means making some adjustments to your driving style—especially if you aren’t used to the power and handling of a high-end vehicle. When you take an Infiniti on the Virginia roads, watch out for three areas that require more finesse than with compact cars or mid-price vehicles. The first thing you’ll notice about your first Infiniti test drive on the Washington D.C. roads is the power of the acceleration. Less powerful cars require more time to go from a full stop to cruising speed, but your first acceleration in an Infiniti will feel more powerful. Use caution when accelerating, especially when you’re at a red light behind another car, until you’re used to the reaction you get when your foot hits the gas.

You’ll also notice a difference in the turn radius of the Infiniti. Corners and sharp curves require a bit of caution in the early stages until you’re able to predict how the car reacts to a slight turn of the wheel or a sharp turn. One thing many people forget to do in the excitement of that first Virginia Infiniti test drive is to check the Infiniti’s blind spots. Some models may have mirrors that extend your range of vision, and while the blind spot may be reduced, you’ll still have a portion of the vehicle’s length that can’t be viewed properly with the rear or side view mirrors. Know your blind spots before taking the car for a test drive and you’ll have a much easier time on the road.

When you’re ready to shop at for a new Infiniti at the dealership, you’ll find plenty of online tools to help you decide what kind of car to buy and what kind of financing is right for you. You'll even get help figuring out your credit score. There are two online tools available at the Jim Coleman Infiniti webpage you should use—the payment calculator and the trade-in value calculator. How do these calculators help you get into the right Baltimore Infiniti?

The payment calculator helps you determine what your actual monthly payments are—enter the purchase price, subtract your down payment amount plus the amount you’ll get from a trade-in (more on that in a moment). You’ll also enter the length of your auto loan plus the interest rate. The final number you get is your monthly payment. It helps to have pre-approval for your loan amount from your favorite Baltimore bank or your Infiniti dealer—you won’t have to guess at the final amount of the loan.

The other tool, the trade-in calculator, is also quite helpful. Your Baltimore Infiniti dealer rep can help you get a general idea of the trade-in value of your current car, but that doesn’t help when you want to start your search for a new Infiniti at the dealership website. With the trade-in calculator, you simply enter the year, make, model, color and other information about your car. After submitting your information you’ll get an estimate by email that you can use to plug into the payment calculator or plan your new Infiniti purchase budget.

It’s easy to forget about simple vehicle safety issues when buying a new car, or a new-to-you vehicle. Even after you’ve test-driven a car on the Infiniti dealer lot and feel comfortable behind the wheel, don’t forget to give yourself some extra time to get used to the handling and feel of the car. When you close the deal and drive your car off the lot, two important things to watch out for are braking distances and acceleration power of your new car.

How do the brakes in the new Infiniti work compared to the new car? Do you feel your new purchase is more sensitive and has shorter stopping distances? Or do you need extra time to slow down? If you’ve moved into a more powerful vehicle, give yourself plenty of extra time to brake until you’re used to the new handling.

You should also take care with how the car responds when accelerating from a red light or stop sign. If you’re not used to a more powerful engine, it’s easy to do what used to be called a “jackrabbit start” because you’re expecting a slower reaction from the car when you step on the gas. Your favorite Infiniti dealers can tell you plenty of horror stories about people who got into fender-benders because they weren’t quite used to the handling of their new vehicle; take a bit more care when accelerating in your new purchase from Jim Coleman Infiniti until you can anticipate how your car handles on the Maryland roads.

Over the past few years, the country has seen quite a shift towards exploring alternative fuels to power their Infinitis.  Vehicles that are powered by alternative fuels are becoming more and more common, so I’ve put together this brief list of the different types that are available now, and what could be coming soon.

Electricity: A vehicle that was powered only by electricity would need to be plugged in before use.  While a completely electric car may not be immediately practical, many hybrid cars and trucks use both electricity and gasoline to reduce their environmental impact.

Hydrogen: Most of the research being done is in the use of hydrogen fuel cells designed to power a car or truck.  A car running on hydrogen alone would produce no emissions, just water vapor, though the technology isn’t quite ready yet.

Ethanol: This has arguably been the most popular in recent years, though hybrid vehicles are also very popular.  Ethanol is a biofuel typically made from corn, but can be made from sugar cane.  One drawback to using ethanol is that it typically has a lower MPG rating than gasoline (you can drive further on one gallon of gas than on one gallon of ethanol) and can cost more.  You can learn more about how these technologies will impact the future of the auto industry at Jim Coleman, your Maryland Infiniti dealer.

Most Baltimore residents are trying to do their part to reduce their impact on the environment, and Jim Coleman Infiniti is no exception.  We look forward to bringing you more information about alternative fuels as it becomes available, and will continue to strive to carry the latest auto technology at our Washington DC Infiniti dealership.

One of the most important steps when buying a new or used Infiniti is actually driving the car or truck.  Going on a test drive really allows you to determine whether or not the Infiniti you are interested is the right one for you and your family.  Here are some things you should pay extra attention to while test driving your next Infiniti.

Before you even head to our Maryland Infiniti dealership, it’s important to know what you are looking for.  When you know what you need in a car or truck, you'll be better able to determine which Infiniti is best for you.  If you have children, you may need a backseat big enough for car seats.  If you drive a lot, good gas mileage is probably something you'll need.

Make sure you are comfortable while sitting in the Infiniti.  This means that you can get in and out of the car easily, have plenty of leg and head room, the seatbelt fits well, and that you can reach the controls easily.

Drive the Infiniti the way you would if you owned it.  If you are a highway driver, ask if you can drive it somewhere at highway speeds.  Make sure the car or truck will fit what you need.

Our Baltimore Infiniti dealership offers test drives to help our Washington DC dealer customers make sure they are able to find the right Infiniti.  Contact our sales staff at 877-463-7908 or leave your contact information on our Jim Coleman Infiniti website.