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Infiniti Q50 3.0 Red Sport 400 (A) Review

20 Feb 2017|31,933 views

Infiniti takes its best-selling Q50 and puts a new twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 powerplant that's capable of 400bhp under its pretty bonnet.

What We Like

Athletic stance and sporty proportions

The 400bhp engine is plenty strong

Nicely bolstered front seats

What We Dislike

Double-stacked multimedia touchscreens on dashboard take some getting used to

The letter S stands for more intense power, tuning and design as represented in the Q50 Red Sport

In terms of the mechanical bits, the Q50 Red Sport is quite notable. It is the first Infiniti model to feature the brand's second generation Direct Adaptive Steering (DAS) system - a steer-by-wire system that eschews the traditional rack-and-pinion for an entirely electric setup.

The Q50 3.0 Red Sport 400 has also been gifted with a new and robust engine dubbed the VR30DDTT.

How about that brand new engine?

This is the first Infiniti model to feature a direct injection, twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 engine. The dynamo's whopping 400 horses and 475Nm of torque can propel this car from 0-100km/h in just 5.4 seconds.

The new 3.0-litre twin-turbo 400bhp powerplant represents the most powerful engine in Infiniti's lineup

For a car with its maker's most powerful engine under its bonnet, it seems like a bit of a shame that the Q50 Red Sport's seven-speed automatic gearbox isn't really up to snuff. Its overall responsiveness feels a step or two behind the automatics available today.

But if straight-line point-and-shoot is all you need, the power from the new VR-series engine is very real.

The Q50 Red Sport will deliver power whenever its summoned, and then its maze of systems will attempt to sort out the implications immediately after.

What does DAS do?

The Q50 Red Sport's front wheels are not turned by mechanical inputs, as there is no physical connection. Instead, the steering wheel sends a signal to a computer, which then steers the car accordingly.

It's worth noting that Infiniti has done its homework in differentiating each drive mode from the next. Still, in most situations, we preferred the Standard's softness to the amped-up character of Sport+, which left us with less than desirable effects.

The Red Sport's drive mode select system allows you to personalise driving settings from steering, engine and suspension inputs

All of the above constitutes what Infiniti calls 'Safety Shield', and comes standard in the Red Sport. This suite of safety features works by emitting lights, sounds and signals on the dashboard - alerting you of possible hazards ahead.

A sleeper sedan?

Not quite. As a true driver's car, there are a few too many wires and computers behind the scenes for you to ever feel truly connected to the road beneath the Q50 Red Sport's wheels. But, it does grant instant gratification to speed junkies and top-end pull for horsepower freaks.

Whether it be related to the vehicle's steering, suspension or stability control system, the word 'digital' is never far. In an effort to algorithmically duplicate the elements of an engaging driving experience, it would seem that something has been lost in the translation from the analogue world.

Working with DAS, Active Lane Control evaluates the road ahead and can make small steering input adjustments

Does this truly matter to premium buyers? At $243,800 (as of 9^th February 2017), we suspect not - at least, not to everyone.

With the Q50 3.0 Red Sport 400, Infiniti has chosen a path that sees it focusing on what most owners of swanky cars look for in a comfortable, premium, well-built and modern compact executive sedan.

What We Like

Athletic stance and sporty proportions

The 400bhp engine is plenty strong

Nicely bolstered front seats

What We Dislike

Double-stacked multimedia touchscreens on dashboard take some getting used to

Sitting at the top of the Q50 sedan tree with 400bhp, the Infiniti Q50 3.0 Red Sport 400 variant is the most amped-up Infiniti that's available right now.

Sleeper car fans will rejoice because there is almost no way to tell the difference between the ultra-fast Q50 and the regular version, save for a small red 'S' tell-tale badging at the car's rear end.

Other stylistic updates arrive primarily in the form of slightly more aggressive chrome wheels, '3.0t' badges on the front fenders and tailpipes inspired by the new Q60 Coupe.

In terms of the mechanical bits, the Q50 Red Sport is quite notable. It is the first Infiniti model to feature the brand's second generation Direct Adaptive Steering (DAS) system - a steer-by-wire system that eschews the traditional rack-and-pinion for an entirely electric setup.

The Q50 3.0 Red Sport 400 has also been gifted with a new and robust engine dubbed the VR30DDTT.

How about that brand new engine?

This is the first Infiniti model to feature a direct injection, twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 engine. The dynamo's whopping 400 horses and 475Nm of torque can propel this car from 0-100km/h in just 5.4 seconds.

For a car with its maker's most powerful engine under its bonnet, it seems like a bit of a shame that the Q50 Red Sport's seven-speed automatic gearbox isn't really up to snuff. Its overall responsiveness feels a step or two behind the automatics available today.

But if straight-line point-and-shoot is all you need, the power from the new VR-series engine is very real.

The Q50 Red Sport will deliver power whenever its summoned, and then its maze of systems will attempt to sort out the implications immediately after.

What does DAS do?

The Q50 Red Sport's front wheels are not turned by mechanical inputs, as there is no physical connection. Instead, the steering wheel sends a signal to a computer, which then steers the car accordingly.

It's worth noting that Infiniti has done its homework in differentiating each drive mode from the next. Still, in most situations, we preferred the Standard's softness to the amped-up character of Sport+, which left us with less than desirable effects.

The dynamic steering system in Sport+ setting, for example, feels twitchy on-centre and suffers from a fair bit of numbness. This doesn't inspire a lot of confidence in certain scenarios, especially if you consider yourself a corner-carver.

Deploy systems safety
The Q50 Red Sport has a whole lot of new safety tech that will soon trickle down to the other models in the Infiniti range.

To start off we have lane departure warning, lanedeparture prevention, blind spot warning, blind spot intervention, forward emergency braking, predictive forward collision warning system, distance control assist and back up collision intervention.

All of the above constitutes what Infiniti calls 'Safety Shield', and comes standard in the Red Sport. This suite of safety features works by emitting lights, sounds and signals on the dashboard - alerting you of possible hazards ahead.

A sleeper sedan?

Not quite. As a true driver's car, there are a few too many wires and computers behind the scenes for you to ever feel truly connected to the road beneath the Q50 Red Sport's wheels. But, it does grant instant gratification to speed junkies and top-end pull for horsepower freaks.

Whether it be related to the vehicle's steering, suspension or stability control system, the word 'digital' is never far. In an effort to algorithmically duplicate the elements of an engaging driving experience, it would seem that something has been lost in the translation from the analogue world.

Does this truly matter to premium buyers? At $243,800 (as of 9^th February 2017), we suspect not - at least, not to everyone.

With the Q50 3.0 Red Sport 400, Infiniti has chosen a path that sees it focusing on what most owners of swanky cars look for in a comfortable, premium, well-built and modern compact executive sedan.