Luxury for you: Infiniti G25 sedan is the ticket

Sacramento, California – Yes, I know it’s frustrating: You’ve worked hard for years, and you’re tooling around in an 8-year-old minivan with food stains permanently squished into the interior panels and rips in the carpet created by an endless procession of soccer cleats, courtesy of your offspring and their youthful teammates.

Adding insult to injury, it seems like all the neighbors are wheeling spectacular Cadillacs, Jaguars and various Lexus models, presumably without a care in the world.

Are you selfish for wanting just a little luxury in your life? Of course not.

That’s why they make the Infiniti G lineup. Here’s where you’ll find coupes, sedans and convertibles loaded with perks and priced to move.

My 2012 Infiniti G25 Journey sedan is a primary example.

Starting at $33,800 – and believe me, this is a bargain in the luxury sports sedan segment – you get a feature-laden cruiser with room for five and enough sexiness to show off to friends and family. The tester’s only extra was a $1,000 power moonroof, so I can identify with what makes up the basic model.

And the basics are pretty nice. Standard fare includes 17-inch aluminum alloy wheels, dual chrome exhausts, leather surfaces, eight-way power/heated front seats, heated exterior mirrors, a rearview monitor, high-intensity xenon headlights, plentiful high-tech audio features and a long list of secure-feeling safety appointments.

So, you’re feeling better already, right? Good, things get better.

On the roll, the 2.5-liter V-6 with 218 horsepower is a smooth, more-than-willing drive system. The G25 accelerates well and dices in traffic with very little strain, a point accentuated by the absence of exterior noise reaching into the cabin. The seven-speed automatic transmission manages the gears with quiet precision, and before too long, you feel like you’re in a $50,000-plus ride.

It’s a good feeling.

The G25 has a relatively simple sedan appearance, but for me, that’s part of the appeal. You don’t want wild and crazy swoops on an entry level luxury sedan; that makes it look like you’re trying to hard. Simple and understated … That’s the ticket.

Gas mileage is OK at 20 miles per gallon in the city and 29 mpg on the highway. I can live with that, even as the per-gallon price of gas approaches what you’d pay for a top-tier Mondavi red.

You take your luxury where you can find it these days. And with the G lineup, you can get it from Infiniti.