Infiniti coined the original FX the bionic cheetah and this latest iteration hasn't strayed far from the concept. One could argue the FX was the progenitor of the fashion-trumps-function style that spawned the likes of the and similar vehicles. If there was a class of car labeled four-door coupe SUV, this is what it would look like.

For this second generation Infiniti FX, the distance between front and rear axles has been increased by almost 1.5 inches, pushing the front tires farther forward and endowing the FX with a hood not unlike a 1980s : long and horizontal, but not flat as it arches over wheels on the sides and engines in the middle. In profile, the hood looks as long as that on a musclecar or Rolls-Royce, while the roofline appears a canopy pulled down taut over a framework with no straight lines and a nearly semicircular rear window.

Relative to the stylish coupe from a similar background and also endowed with a long hood, the FX has an inch more wheelbase, is eight inches longer, four inches wider, and ten inches higher. It's significantly bigger, in other words. So it needs the six-spoke 21-inch wheels of the FX50 to make it appear a sleek modern conveyance rather than a reinterpretation of the made famous in "Wayne's World." A lot of SUVs this long have three rows of seats, where the FX is strictly two rows.

Where door meets window glass is a straight line, as is the chrome strip below the doors, and everything else is curved. Projector headlamps lend some animal characteristic to the front and step in notches into the front fenders, while the dark chrome grille between has three-dimensional waves rather than two-dimensional slats. In some respects it resembles the old (aptly named after a shark) and in others the wide swooping grille and multiple layers suggest the lovable tenacity of a drooling bulldog. Whatever you think, you'll get lots of opinion, because it doesn't go unnoticed: The fashion statement worked.

Behind the huge front wheels are chrome, arched vertical vents for ducting engine compartment air out and reducing front lift by five percent; door handles are also chrome while mirrors are paint matched. The paint applied to the steel, aluminum and resin body panels is called Scratch Shield clearcoat and it is designed to use sunlight to heat the clearcoat and fill in small scratches over a few days.

Like the front lights, the rear LED lamp housings curl around the body sides, and protrude somewhat to offer better visibility and some aerodynamic downforce at high speeds; this and the front vents are more aimed at Infiniti's European customers rather than American driving habits. If you're concerned about seeing the tail lights in the outside mirrors, don't be; the mirror side view ends around the rear door handles.

The spoiler atop the rear glass is integral with the hatch, void of the seams more common tacked-on pieces do; it may aid downforce and wind noise, too. Large swaths of chrome set off the license plate recess, and a bumper top cover is available to avoid paint scuffs too deep for Scratch Shield to fix.

If you look carefully you will find a camera above the license plate, on the bottom of each (very expensive) rear-view mirror, and one at the top of the grille.