A couple high-tech options broke new automotive ground upon their arrival in last year's EX: the Around View Monitor and Lane Departure Prevention. Infiniti subsequently added both to several other models, and you can check out a video of them here. My test car didn't have LDP, but it did have the Around View Monitor. Check out the photos to see it. It's as clever as ever, though it isn't a panacea. For starters, the bird's-eye view on the center display is small, and the perceived distance between your doors and, say, the side of your garage can be deceiving. (Don't worry; no side mirrors were harmed in the making of this review.)

The EX's navigation system is a generation behind those in some of Nissan's and Infiniti's latest models, and its dated graphics show it. In my book, though, its overall intuitiveness still leads the industry: The system combines a touch-screen display with plenty of shortcut buttons and a directional arrow pad — still the best way to scroll a map — and there are plenty of street labels, too. On the downside, the Bose stereo you get with the navigation system doesn't sound up to snuff for an optional audio system in a luxury car.