INFINITI, the luxury arm of carmaker Nissan, and its Japanese peers are facing off against the likes of BMW, Mercedes Benz, Audi and Volvo in the United States premium vehicle market segment.
We had the chance to take the 2014 Infiniti Q50 GT for a test drive and the results were within expectations.
The Q50 is a compact luxury car that replaces the Infiniti G sedan. It is designed to rival popular European models like the Mercedes C-Class, Jaguar XE, Lexus IS, BMW 3 Series and Audi A4.
The car we drove is powered by a 2.0 litre turbocharged engine that churns out 211hp and 350Nm of torque from 1,250rpm to 3,500rpm. It is paired to a seven-speed automatic gearbox with adaptive shift control.
It is about 1,820 mm in width, 1,455 mm in height, and 4,790 mm in length.
The Q50 weighs about 1,707 kg and has a boot space of 500 litres, as well as a fuel tank capacity of 80 litres.
Infiniti claims that the Q50 can sprint from standstill to 100kph in 7.2 seconds and has a top speed of 245kph. The rear-wheel drive car has a combined fuel consumption of 13.6km per litre (km/l).
The Q50 2.0T GT comes with 17-inch wheels, auto LED headlamps, keyless entry with push-to-start button, electrically operated driver and passenger seats, power steering adjustment, dual LCD screens, reverse camera, tyre pressure monitor and leather finishing.
Blind spot warning with intervention, brake assist and brake force distribution, traction and stability control, lane departure warning, six airbags, around view monitor with moving object detection backup collision intervention, active lane control and predictive forward collision warning with intelligent cruise control are among the core safety features available in the Q50.
Fully-imported from Japan, the Q50 2.0T GT is priced at RM248,800 without insurance and inclusive of the six per cent Goods and Services Tax.
THE DRIVE
The Q50 is sporty and comfortable to drive. We managed to clock 320km, driving past rural areas, cities, highways and damaged and rough roads.
Its drive mode system is very handy, even on Normal mode. It has a little frenetic dynamic calibrations to give the driver an aggressive driving feel. It is a fun car to take corners and sprint straight stretches.
Its medium-weighted steering responds accurately on the straight with slight turning manoeuvre. However, during sharp bends, the steering feels heavy and hard even as the Q50 grips the ground tightly.
The NASA-designed seats are extremely comfortable, especially during long driving. We didn’t feel any body aches after spending hours in the Q50. Its ride comfort is excellent, with minimal noise penetrates to the cabin. Even on high speed driving, the tyre, wind and engine noise is under controlled.
On the damaged and rough road conditions, the suspension and absorbers tackle the road conditions with ease, giving the passengers a smooth and comfortable ride. Only the bigger and sharp pot holes was felt.
Its interior’s gives a modern and sporty feeling, but one may take some time to get used to the two info screens that we find are confusing at the start. The Q50 has enough legroom but its rear seats are slightly short of headroom to comfortably fit any adult above 180cm height.
Infiniti paid close attention to details, with the brake fluid container and car’s battery getting special covers to protect them.
We clocked about 9.9 to 10.5 litres per 100km after a pedal-to-the-metal driving session. During a mixture of city and highway driving, it consumed about 8.4 to 9.5 litres per 100km. While cruising on the highway within 110kph, it recorded 6.6 to 7.2 litres per 100km. It is a wonderful results given that the Q50 weighs about 1,650kg.
Overall, the Q50 is good enough for anyone who is looking for something different than the German makes.
Nevertheless, the Q50 should come with ambient lights to enhance its premium feel. It might be a good idea to have a moonroof as well.