Road Trip: 2009 Infiniti G37x
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Story and photos by John LeBlanc
KINGSTON Ontario–Originally created as a supply route safe from threatening Americans between pre-Confederation Montreal and the British naval base in Kingston, the Rideau Canal is better known these days as a popular venue for boating, fishing or cottaging.
A chain-link of various lakes and rivers, the 202 km (19 km were man-made) waterway connecting our current nation's capital (Ottawa in 1857) to our first (Kingston in 1841) is the oldest continuously operated canal in North America.
Ironically, once the Rideau Canal was completed in 1832, the threat of an American military invasion vanished.
Maybe the Yanks had heard about Ottawa's lacklustre nightlife.
Nonetheless, the waterway became the most efficient means to get people and goods between the two Upper Canada cities. The only other 19th-century transportation options were on foot or on a good horse.
Today, depending on the type of watercraft you prefer, it can still take days for boaters to navigate the 45 locks via the Canal's 23 lock station
So we decided on a dry land option to follow Lieut.-Col. John By's masterpiece of engineering: a $41,300 2009 Infiniti G37x.
Designed to duke it out with the Audi A4, BMW 3-series, Mercedes C-class, and Lexus IS, the five-passenger Infiniti sports sedan offers a sporty yet compliant ride and a roomy cabin for our day's exploration. (The "x" is for AWD; a rear-drive G can be had for $37,990.)
There's actually an official Rideau Heritage Route for motorists. But it's not very faithful in following the shores of the canal. It tends to veer away from the waterway and skip some of the more remote (or if you prefer, more interesting) lock stations in an effort to get tourists to their B&Bs faster.
Instead, we used the Infiniti's optional navigation system, and visited (almost) every one of the Rideau system's locks in not much more time than if we headed straight to Kingston via the four-lane Hwy. 416.
After fuelling up for coffee in a ByWard Market diner on one of the rare Ottawa Saturdays that wasn't raining and didn't require the use of long underwear, we zeroed our odometer in front of the Château Laurier, overlooking what's formally called the Ottawa Locks.
Consisting of lock numbers 1 to 8, this is the largest single set of locks on the canal, elevating watercraft up 24 metres from the entry point in the Ottawa River.
From there, it was a no-brainer to mirror the Rideau Canal towards the second lock station at Hogs Back. We just stuck to Colonel By Drive, which winds it way along the east side of the canal, past Dows Lake and Carleton University.
Unlike Toronto, it doesn't take long to get out of urban Ottawa.
Crossing the canal at Hogs Back, we turned onto the old Prescott Highway (Rte. 16). It hugs the western shore of the canal that uses the Rideau River. With a subtle application of the throttle, we quickly put the suburban Hartwell and Black Rapids lock stations in our Infiniti's rear-view mirrors.
We skipped the Long Island Locks (they're on the other side of the river, near Manotick), then drove southeast.
Between there and the cluster of lock stations (Burritts Rapids, Nicholsons, Clowes) near the town of Merrickville, our drive moved away from water to mainly flat, uninspiring farmland.
But at least traffic was light. The 416 to the east was attracting most of the weekend traffic. And the open roads gave us a chance to enjoy the Infiniti's new-for-2009 seven-speed automatic gearbox (two more gears than before) and healthy (328 hp) 3.7-litre V6 engine. Torque is up, too, but just by one – to 269 lb.-ft.
The V6 doesn't possess the silky smoothness of a BMW inline-six. But compared to the old G35, Infiniti has done a good job: the 3.7 unit only gets a bit thrashy at the top of the rev range.
From the Burritts Rapids locks, we crossed the Rideau River again and entered Merrickville, via Hwy. 43. The spirit of the mid-19th century Rideau Canal is alive here in this well-preserved Ottawa Valley town.
Merrickville was booming on the sunny summer morning we drove through. Famous for its local craft shops, artists and restaurants (many housed within buildings that have survived since the canal was built), the locks were a big attraction.
Two hours had passed since we left Ottawa, so we decided to stop for a late breakfast here and to watch boaters work their way through the three locks and the subsequent bottleneck of car traffic when the swing bridge that leads to Smiths Falls is deployed to let pleasure craft make their way upstream.
Our on-road craft was proving to be quite pleasurable as well.
All G37s include leather seats and a well-thought-out interior that uses high-quality materials put together with care. Upfront, the seats are well bolstered (the power driver's seat has lumbar) yet comfortable. There would be few complaints from the rear had we brought the offspring. The G's back seat is roomy, one of the biggest in its class.
The swing bridge safely in place, we crossed over the Rideau River again and doubled back a bit to visit the Clowes locks, continued on to the Kilmarnock, Old Slys, and two lock stations in Smiths Falls.
Hardened by factory closures, Smiths Falls lacks Merrickville's charm. More reason to make haste and explore the remaining locks south along Hwy. 15.
The locks at Poonmalie, Beveridges, Narrows, Newboro, Chaffeys, Davis and Jones Falls would be familiar to veteran Rideau Lakes boaters. They make up the heart of the Rideau Canal system, linking the Upper and Big Rideau Lakes between the towns of Portland to the south and Westport to the north.
Using Hwy. 15 as a spine, we veered off to the various points and peninsulas to visit each lock within this group.
All are well marked with road signs, though, and are worth the extra time required.
Back on Hwy. 15, past Seeley's Bay, only three lock stations remained. Two, the Upper and Lower Brewers locks, are easily accessible from the main road.
Finally, five hours in, we reached the southernmost lock set at Kingston Mills. That's only three hours more than if we had mainlined it down the 416 and 401 expressways. And we were only about 7 kilometres north of our downtown Kingston hotel room. Not bad.
Equally impressive was our ride.
Less of a match than the best-in-class BMW 3-series in the dynamic driving department, the G37x offers $51,500 BMW 335xi performance at the cost of a $42,500 328xi price.
Plus, for the amount of standard kit, there's exceptional value here; a refined and sporting driving experience; and more interior space than most of its competition.