INFINITI finally arrives in Australia after years of planning and the big FX crossover SUV is the company’s key entrant to the local market.

Although Infiniti Australia expects early adopters to favour the range-topping V8-engined FX50, we’ve driven that variant previously – as well as the V6 petrol-engined FX37 – so for our first local drive at the national launch we elected for the V6 diesel FX30d model.

Diesel SUVs are one of the main growth segments in Australia and we were keen to see if this sporty newcomer deserves a place in the world’s most competitive new-vehicle market.