Infiniti Q50

A true Sleeper car!! 350Nm of torque to play with!! Reliable Mercedes engine under the hood which surprises many who are not aware!!

Not that common on the road. Not for those who are badge conscious.

Value for money in terms of performance...

Prior to this, I was driving a Jaguar XF and BMW 520.

Performance wise, I would say it is on par or slightly better...

Was at the Singapore CAR Show 2019 Wearnes Booth looking at the JAGUAR Vehicles when I came to see the Infiniti Q50. Immediately got interested and asked around for an SE to explain the main features of the car. Was really fascinated by the specifications and what the car can do. Was looking at the Highest Spec Model. When the SE clarified my doubts of the origin of the car, I was even more shocked and wowed. I have always had the perception that Japanese Brands could not rival Continental Car brands. Was pretty obvious that the Infiniti Q50 could match up to its conti rivals. This car gives the WOW factor and would definitely be a good buy. Probably a car that would steal stares from everyone.

Test drove the face-lift Q50 recently. Quiet interior with a famous horse and gear box under the hood.Everything else is Nissan.

Went by to test drive the Q50 as keen to wait for the upcoming QX50 where it is likely to have the same 2.0t engine when it’s launching around Q3-Q4 2018.

Exterior styling is certainly captivating though is a upmarket Nissan. It’s like some brands where have a household brand and a tuned and/or luxury sibling.

Interior feels plush of luxury with the appropriate buttons placed appropriately within the driver reach.

Both sides electric seats with a good feel of luxury leather while others are pretty much normal where no sun or moon roof is part of the package.

No electric tailgate at all as well and no options like active dashboard display like you see in Audi or VW or Lexus. And didn’t try the console for its features if it had things like ambient lighting, enable/disable features and others where the similar competitors have in them.

Beneath the hood still uses Mercedes that you see in the current C or E class series where you don’t have to pay a high price tag to have a 3-point star engine.

Other features like lane departure assist and so are in the higher variant of higher price top up too which baffles you back. Can’t remember if it comes with rear aircon.

The drive.....Engine purrs up similar to a Jaguar XF as it quietly gets ready. Once you engaged to Drive, it’s ready to go or dash at your pedal commands. The pickup is excellent with high torque, much tuned better than the E class which is the same engine. Paired with 7-speeds, the gear change is smooth with no stalls or hesitation but didn’t get to try sports mode.

Turning radius is easy too. Cruising is exceptionally smooth where as and when you need the power, just simply throttle on it you get it.

Overall, it’s a considerable car to get for its Mercedes engine beneath it if you do not mind some gadgets not there as standard or not even as options. Or the scaled price tag if you want them all.

Owned a 2.0t version and I would say very good experience so far, named the Nissan Skyline V37 in Japan and hidden underneath the bonnet is a Mercedes c250/e250 engine, acceleration is a breeze. Not only that, already with the very powerful engine, it's still have alot of potential for 'poisons' for car enthusiasts. DAS steering is very reactive and one of the first if not the first to have this steering system.

Owned for 1 year already.

Datsun, Nissan, Infiniti... The brand has come a long way. But a Lexus, this is not.

Lexus = old man luxury car, smooth, comfortable, not scary, quiet, underwhelming drive experience

Infiniti = middle age man luxury car wannabe. Powerful engine, quick response, less comfort for more fun, more wind noise than a lexus so we don't fall asleep above 90km/h.

there is no perfect car, its always an engineering compromise between performance and comfort. This car is skewed towards performance over comfort, especially in sport mode with an extremely responsive throttle and aggressive gear change. Love the old school feel of the 7 speed gear box (reliable, 7G+ from merc) and lunge when the turbo kicks. 8 speed boxes (tried the volvo one) smoothes everything out until no feel.

rear passengers complain of bumpy ride (after being spoilt in the back of the lexus which puts drivers to sleep together with the passengers since its so comfortable and un-engaging.)

in short, lexus is great for passengers. Infiniti is great for drivers. Who is more important? Depends on how much backbone you have.

How can a car be both underrated and overrated at the same time? That is the exact thought that I got after I test drove it. The strong muscular lines exudes excitement in the drive and the Mercedes sourced engine (208hp) provided that in every minute of the drive. Sharp response and amazing torque makes it on par with any of the much sought after conti sports sedan. It makes you wonder why not much notice has been made on this amazing ride.

However, it is missing so many features that one should get from a premium brand. Instead of having electric parking brakes, it still uses the foot brake that was used in the early days MPV. The big LCD screen at the top projects the clock and radio station instead of maps that it was originally designed for. No collision prevention system or other similar safety features.

Who should buy it? It should attracts people who put the pleasure in the drive alone and places the priority of other features at a distance second.

I tried the new VW Passat, Volvo S60, BMW 3 series and eventually bought a Q50 sports.

You can't find anything with an equivalent of the Direct Adaptive Steering at the same price point, with the same power. I loved the drive as compared to the Volvo and Passat, which both felt sluggish. The 3 series drove well, but the 328 was far too expensive in comparison.

Test drove the Q50 Premium today and I must say I am very impress with the design and the interior build of the entire car. The most impressive feature I felt is the best is that you can literally customized the handling of the car to suit your preference, from the steering to the handling of the Q50 you can set it at the touch on the touch screen.

When driving in standard model the Q50 is tame and comfortable however when switch to sports mode, the engine roars like a tiger and sprint forward without any delay.

However when viewing the car I spotted a few things which I am a little disappointed with. Firstly, the glove compartment, the holder and the boot space is a let down. As a golfer who enjoy driving, the Q50 will have a problem putting 4 golf bags in the boot. My Camry do not have such problem.

Secondly, with an Intel processor fixed in the display, I am sure a simple software add on and a gps antenna will be enough as it doesn't cost much with it.

Nevertheless having said all this, it is definitely a head turner given that the Q50 Premium comes with 18" Rims it looks very elegant.

I test drove the Volvo S60 T4, C-Class, CLA and Audi A4 before coming across the Q50. Remembered I was entering the KPE tunnel when I saw a blue Q50 for the first time and recognised the Infiniti logo. As I have travelled to US frequently in the past where Infiniti is a popular premium brand and even overtook the Lexus brand, I drove close to take a closer look. It is a seek car with very eye catching lines/curves. Thus I want to test drive I two weeks later. (In fact test drove three times)

Here are the verdicts. Interior does match up to the sleek exterior sheet metal, however need some time to grow with it. For the performance, I could feel the acceleration and responsive pick-up surge when I kicked in the accelerator and cornering including road holding are excellent. My preferred steering mode is "Heavy".

How to compare to the earlier models I test drove

1. Volvo S60 T4 - Q50 has better performance and handling. Also the interior of the S60 is quite out dated. However, it feels more spacious than the Q50. It was mine first choice 2 yrs ago until Weanres dropped the T4. D2 is under power

2. C-Class - To me, the best in the class if you consider the C200 or C250 which is overpriced. I refuse to let the AD earn 40K to 50K margin even for C180

3. CLA - Too cramp and feels like an elongated A class. Only CLA 200 close to Q50 performance.

4. Audi A4 - Both Exterior and Interior design are out dated. Plus the fact it is a front wheel drive like the S60. To match out the Q50 in terms of performance need to consider the higher A4 end range. Most importantly is the reliability issues I heard and Audi has the worst reliability of the 4 brands

It was a decision between C-class, IS250, Q50 or a BMW320.

been driving it a while before i give a review. The test drive was good enough but it was the features and value for money that got me interested. For the same money i was supposed to be buying more technology and features. That was not entirely true. I ended up lkeing the car for what i did not expect it to measure up, its drive and cabin quietness.

Never gave this a thought but was looking at jaguar when i stumbled upon the new Q50. From initial look, i thought it was a lexus or some korean brand... Very love it or hate it look. Didnt want to test drive it till i read up on the Q50 and went back again.

Drove the Q50 Premium for 2 weeks now. Looks-wise can be subjective. But, I like the distinct Infiniti exterior and plush-leathery feel of the interior. There are lots of features in the car, from the all-round camera to the auto adjusting of the steering column and driver seat for exit/entry of the car. Unfortunately, the 12V power outlet, USB and card reader are all stowed in the arm-rest compartment, which can be quite useless in trying to plug in devices larger than the compartment. Storage compartments are also small and limited.

On the road, driving is relatively smooth with Standard mode. Steering can be a bit stiff in Sports mode. I can feel the sprint when overtaking.

This car is beautifully done inside and outside and it is target to hit BMW 3 series by using Mercedes E250 engine. With supreme service from Infinitie and their competetive pricing. It is a very worthy buy.

I have several Infinite cars before but I have driven Q50 for 2000Km since new and achieved about 11.5KM/litre with 50% highway and 50% city which is very good indeed. There is a performance display to show how well your drive in starting, cruising and de-acceleration which is quite useful to improve your skill on fuel economy.