Infiniti range

Hello folks.
I was sifting through car after car on autotrader and noticed quite a few Infiniti Q50s. I was wondering how these are rated generally or any of you have had one of these and can speak about them from first hand experience?
(or any other Infiniti cars).

Not the most popular brand in the UK but starting to see one of them pop up every now and then after every 30 BMW/Audi/VW pass by on the motorway.

I hired one in Florida, it was the 3.5 litre version with around 350hp I think, it was very nice, I have never driven a BMW so couldn't compare it but over the 3 weeks I had it I always looked forwards to driving it, the interior was nice and had plenty of toys. The only thing I can think of that I didn't like was the auto gear box but I am not a fan of those anyway, it did have a "manual" mode where you could select the gears sequentially but it wasnt the same as a good old manual box.

I have driven a few. I went looking when I was changing from the XF (brother was working for red-bull and could get a deal)

Plenty of bells and whistles on the hydrid one, big screens for Nav, but the system felt a bit dated in function.

Also, worth noting, the steering is completely by wire, no physical attachment to the wheels. This means you can adjust the feel from three settings, but its does always feel a bit artificial. Also, just pray the system never breaks, as you would have NO steering!!

Engine felt great (3.5 v6 hybrid), not much noise though, and the gearbox felt fine, even on the paddles. However, it did sometimes do odd things when changing from electric to power and back. I jerked about a bit, but this may just have been me getting used to the system?

One i drove had an annoying oscillation on the brake pedal, so keep an eye out for that. It only 3k on it, so was not expecting it to have any brake problems. Initially thought it was just a bit of rust on the discs, but it lasted the whole test drive.

The Hybrid felt like the pick of the bunch, but the loss of boot space for the battery is annoying too.

Coming from the XF, the interior felt cheap, but capable.I did hear a few creaks and rattles though, not something i would expect on such a new car, so it might deteriorate quickly!

Malt_Vinegar said:

Also, just pray the system never breaks, as you would have NO steering!!

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There is a clutch in the steering column that requires an electrical signal to disengage (it's 'at rest' state is engaged). If the car lost all power then the clutch would snap in to place, restoring mechanical steering.

Rilot said:

There is a clutch in the steering column that requires an electrical signal to disengage (it's 'at rest' state is engaged). If the car lost all power then the clutch would snap in to place, restoring mechanical steering.

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That is very re-assuring. Why the sales-guy didn't inform me of that when i had concerns, I do not know! I did think it would have big problems getting safety certification in that state

Rilot said:

There is a clutch in the steering column that requires an electrical signal to disengage (it's 'at rest' state is engaged). If the car lost all power then the clutch would snap in to place, restoring mechanical steering.

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Apart from the ones undergoing winter testing, in which the clutches stuck, leaving the drivers with no steering

Gentle coasts into snowbanks ensued...

Only the hybrid has the drive by wire steering as standard.

I too have rented Infinitis and there is a reason they are not popular here - the only decent thing about it was the engine and that's swapped for a nasty 4 pot diesel in the UK.

Just not worth the money.

You see them everywhere in the US. There are some good ones, but over here they are a bit expensive when you look at the alternatives.

E.g. They do a 3.7 v6 in a coupe. But you can have a 370z (same engine) for MUCH less.

Hi Cavallino,

I can answer any questions that you have. My daily drive is an Infiniti Q50S Hybrid. It is the 3.5 V6 engine with an additional 68bhp (or so)added through the electric motor.

I like the responsiveness and smooth delivery of power from the engine. I also like the flexibility of the steering system (heavy and responsive for me, light and easy to drive for my partner). Inside looks miles fresher than the previous model with the 3.7l engine and the G series that came before.

I love it because I just see so many BMW/Audi/Mercs all over the road wherever you look. (Yes it might be a limited edition version of a specific 5 series but to me the front ends of BMWs are so similar and in my personal opinion just a bit bland). I enjoy driving something a little different. I see the occasional one (usually the 2.2d as a company car) but like the fact that I don't drive a car where I will see 15 different examples within the model range on my way to work.

Pros - Looks beautiful from the outside (my opinion), very adjustable inside (memory key for seat and steering wheel position, audio and climate settings) and reasonable power. Roomy inside.

Cons - smaller boot space, the regenerative braking system can get a little getting use to. Not much else I can think of right now.

Oh, and Infiniti are currently on a big push right now to get more sold to increase market awareness so they have flexibility when it comes to pricing.

Have been driving mine for about a month now.

Full disclaimer as I apparently have a thing for Japanese cars as I previously drove a Lexus IS and prior to that a Mazda.

Hope that helps.

Simon

I had a Q50 3.7 as a rental for 3 weeks and about 5000 miles a couple of years ago and wasn't hugely impressed.

The interior fit and finish isn't great, the "leather" felt cheap and nasty and the plastics are very questionable. The inTouch system is pretty poor and I also found the climate control infuriating - it'd randomly freeze you one minute then blow hot air the next so you'd have to keep adjusting it. The handling wasn't great either, it was surprisingly boaty.

Positives were the standard LED headlamps (although I think they are optional in the UK!) and the engine, although it's a shame it needs premium gas - my Cadillac's 3.6 V6 makes virtually the same power but only needs regular.

For the 2016 model year they've dumped the 3.7 and replaced it with a turbocharged 2.0 4 cylinder and a turbocharged 3.0 V6 in two power outputs. All the rental companies will now buy the base 2.0T I expect .

When looking to buy a car here I didn't even consider one and bought a Cadillac instead which sums my thoughts up!

Cheers folks. mixture of reactions.

I was looking at something like this: http://www2.autotrader.co.uk/classi...=gu511jd&radius=1500&sort=pricedesc&logcode=p

Thoughts?

Go to the dealer, the guy was bending over backwards to try and get me in the car last time I went in there.

He was pulling out upgrades and discounts like they were going out of fashion, and i just kept saying I needed to look at other options.

[TW]Fox;29441805 said:

Only the hybrid has the drive by wire steering as standard.

I too have rented Infinitis and there is a reason they are not popular here - the only decent thing about it was the engine and that's swapped for a nasty 4 pot diesel in the UK.

Just not worth the money.

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That's not the reason. They are a new company here and a low volume one at that, there not supposed to be as common as your 3 series or A4.

But yeh still the fact that every one of them is the 2.2 stinky diesel, would put me off too. But I think the range is being extended.

lemonade said:

That's not the reason. They are a new company here and a low volume one at that, there not supposed to be as common as your 3 series or A4.

But yeh still the fact that every one of them is the 2.2 stinky diesel, would put me off too. But I think the range is being extended.

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They are low volume because they're trying to charge BMW and Mercedes money for what is a slightly posher Nissan. Even the key is identical to the one you get with a Nissan Juke but with an Infiniti badge stuck on.

It looks like they have only sold about 1000 Q50's in the UK, three years after launch.

OllyM said:

They are low volume because they're trying to charge BMW and Mercedes money for what is a slightly posher Nissan. Even the key is identical to the one you get with a Nissan Juke but with an Infiniti badge stuck on.

It looks like they haven't even sold 1000 Q50's in the UK, three years after launch.

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Nah I remember when they launched here they stated they were going to be a low volume brand and not after a large market share. Although they are aiming to grow with the launch of the Q30.

If Audi are able to dress up VW's as posher cars then I'm sure Infiniti can do the same with Nissan. They are the only reasonably successful Japanese brand in the UK by volume with a good strategy, so they might be able to achieve some growth.

Don't know anything about them but don't half remind me of Lexus from the outside

lemonade said:

That's not the reason. They are a new company here and a low volume one at that, there not supposed to be as common as your 3 series or A4.

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They only reason they've said that is because they know they won't shift them. No car company deliberately sets out to not sell a pile of cars unless they simply can't and Infiniti simply can't.

The Q50 is much better than the G37 of old but then the competition have moved on, too. It simply isn't a credible rival to Audi, BMW or Mercedes and it feels every bit the slightly better Nissan Maxima that it really is.

My first impressions were good - but the longer you live with the car the more it begins to annoy you. Infiniti-intouch is ridiculous, two large screens but both of them feel like they are completely different systems which barely talk to each other. I managed to get it telling me what music track was playing in no less than FOUR different parts of the car.

[TW]Fox;29442762 said:

They only reason they've said that is because they know they won't shift them. No car company deliberately sets out to not sell a pile of cars unless they simply can't and Infiniti simply can't.

The Q50 is much better than the G37 of old but then the competition have moved on, too. It simply isn't a credible rival to Audi, BMW or Mercedes and it feels every bit the slightly better Nissan Maxima that it really is.

My first impressions were good - but the longer you live with the car the more it begins to annoy you. Infiniti-intouch is ridiculous, two large screens but both of them feel like they are completely different systems which barely talk to each other. I managed to get it telling me what music track was playing in no less than FOUR different parts of the car.

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Indeed and they inferred that too, same with Lexus, people will want German brands regardless of how good others might make, thats why they don't chase volume in Europe.

Theres more to a car then a silly computer on the dash.

And if the Q50 was any good I'd agree with you, but it's flawed in so many areas compared to the competition.

But the thing you are missing Lemonade is that they aren't better than Audi, BMW, Merc, or even Lexus. They are considerably worse but they cost the same.
At least Lexus offer something that (until recently at least) you couldn't have with the Germans - a hybrid in an executive car.