HOWLIN' CATFISH! FX50 is softer outside and underneath, but the new 5.0 V8 makes it yelp.(News)

Byline: MARK VAUGHN

An unduly high percentage of Infiniti FX buyers were men-65 percent-and only 20,000 were sold last year. So Infiniti has softened up the luxury brute-ute for 2009 in hopes of drawing more women into the showroom and having them drive out in FXs.

"The brand has had a reduced percentage of female buyers over the last five years,'' said Infiniti vice president of product planning Larry Dominique. "When ride comfort becomes a rejection reason, we have to address it.''

Thus, the front suspension changes from struts to double wishbones, and the rear is a lighter, stiffer upgrade of the old multilink setup. The optional continuous damping control (CDC) has aperture-based adjustments for continuous tuning of the ride. Is it softer? We drove only the V8-powered FX50, which has 21-inch wheels as standard equipment (there is nothing smaller), and it was awfully firm, even with the CDC on auto, the softest setting. The steering is very good-quick and responsive-one of the benefits of the stiffer setup and the 265/45 tires. But it was still pretty firm. If the problem was that the ride was turning customers away, this setup still might be too stiff.

But everyone will like the 5.0-liter V8. Infiniti calls the engine "all new,'' but it is really just a stroked (5.0 millimeters) and bored (1.5 millimeters) version of the previous 4.5. There is valve timing on both intake and exhaust sides and valve lift control on the intake side that combine to make 390 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque, up 70 hp and 36 lb-ft from the 4.5. That should keep it in competition with the Porsche Cayenne and the BMW X5 and X6.

The 3.5-liter-V6-powered FX35 is also upgraded for the 2009 model year, rated at 303 hp and 262 ...