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First drive: Infiniti Q50 2.0t. Image by Infiniti.

First drive: Infiniti Q50 2.0t
Infiniti drops a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine into the Q50. Its weird steering remains, though.

   



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Infiniti Q50 2.0t

3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5

The 2.0-litre petrol engine is good and the Infiniti is an appealing package in isolation, given its sharp exterior looks, decent interior and standard equipment. But you'd have to live with some of the oddest steering sensations you're likely to encounter in the segment, plus the unknown depreciation.

Key Facts

Model tested: Infiniti Q50 2.0t Sport
Pricing: Q50 range starts from £27,950; 2.0t from £31,755, Sport £34,125 basic, £41,545 as tested
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol
Transmission: seven-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive
Body style: four-door saloon
Rivals: Audi A4 2.0 TFSI, BMW 328i, Lexus IS 250
CO2 emissions: 151g/km
Combined economy: 43.5mpg
Top speed: 152mph
0-62mph: 7.2 seconds
Power: 211hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 350Nm from 1,250- to 3,500rpm

In the Metal: 4 4 4 4 4

There's no doubting it's a sharp-looking car, the Infiniti Q50; in fact, in the Venetian Ruby finish and Sport specification, it's veering into the out-and-out 'handsome' category. As three-box saloons go, it's taut, has a mean face and some interesting swage lines to break up the flanks. Although, as we observed on the launch last year, elements of the car look a bit copycat - specifically the Mazda6-ish rear and (what is most alarming of all for Toyota-rivalling Nissan's luxury arm) a front grille that is more than a trifle Lexus-like.

The Infiniti makes up for this, though, with an interior that is far nicer than that found in an IS 250, and indeed is one of the nicest Japanese cabins we've seen. The occasional low-rent plastics and archaic switchgear that can blight some Asian cars are nowhere to be found. Additionally, the touchscreen and satnav graphics are beautifully crisp, although the menu layouts aren't that intuitive, while the ergonomics are fine. There's plenty of room, a good driving position and a pleasant steering wheel of a near-perfect diameter.

Driving it: 3 3 3 3 3

This new 2.0-litre petrol engine and its attendant gearbox are sourced from Daimler, as is the 2.1-litre diesel (labelled, confusingly as ever, as a 2.2) found elsewhere in the Infiniti range. You're most likely to be familiar with the petrol lump from 250-badged Mercs, such as the CLA 250, and it's a sweet enough unit. It gets a bit vocal and coarse beyond 5,000rpm, but otherwise revs freely and offers up a nice, plump portion of low-revs torque with some top-end verve. It's never the most aurally entertaining motor, but it gets the job done and is lighter over the nose than the diesel.

This latter fact suits the Infiniti's sporting pretensions well. It seems to have a crisp, reasonably neutral set-up underneath the many electronics it is saddled with, limiting understeer and not presenting loads of body roll. The rear-drive chassis is biddable and you get the impression there's a half-decent car here that could do with even more oomph, given the ride is on the firm side. It is clear that Infiniti's new president, ex-BMW man Roland Krüger, has to greenlight the GT-R-powered Eau Rouge model sooner rather than later.

However, the biggest problem remains the steering. Infiniti's people at this event assured us it is something you have to re-attune yourself to, and that may indeed be the case for buyers who go on to cover great distances in their Q50s, but for the first few miles it feels completely unnatural and hyperactive. The car seems to be constantly hunting from left to right and responds to the absolute slightest steering input; we're all for a direct set-up, but this is bordering on the telekinetic. It makes threading it through town traffic and along a motorway a busy and slightly unpleasant affair, whether you're in the 'heavy' feel and 'quick' response modes, or the 'light' and 'casual' (Infiniti's terminology, not ours) opposites.

It's exacerbated during exuberant cornering by Active Trace Control, a form of brake-controlled torque vectoring that is an electronic substitute for a mechanical limited slip differential. And if the ATC were a diff, it'd be a bloody aggressive one. Mid-corner with the outside front loaded up, the steering and ATC combine to make the Q50 suddenly and involuntarily bite another huge chunk out of the cornering line, near pulling you into the grass verge if you're not on the ball. By the end of our test drive, we'd managed to build up some sort of rapport with the steering, but only after we'd turned ATC off. Oh, and the Active Lane Control? Also a no-no for us. It's too controlling and getting dangerously close to a self-driving system when paired with active cruise control (It's unlike other manufacturers' cars with similar software, which will make three slight steering corrections to keep in lane and then issue the driver with a stern warning to put their hands back on the wheel).

What you get for your Money: 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5

The Infiniti undercuts comparable Germanic rivals, by offering a lot of standard equipment in the classic Japanese style. The 2.0t's entry price looks a bit steep, but that's because you can't buy it as an SE (see 'Worth Noting'); spec-for-spec, it's cheaper than the 2.2d Q50. However, as you can see from our test car, the opportunity is there to ramp the cost up to in excess of £40,000 with the addition of some technology bundles (Visibility Pack £1,040; Safety Shield Pack £2,080; Multimedia Pack £2,760), metallic paint (£660) and a sunroof (£880). If you think nearly £42,000 sounds a lot for a junior exec saloon from a marque trying to lever its way into a highly competitive market, you wouldn't be alone.

Worth Noting

While the Infiniti Q50 range starts with SE trim, the 2.0t is only available in the higher Premium and Sport guises. We drove the latter, which makes the car look good and adds toys, but the larger 19-inch alloys - that look lovely, admittedly - impact on economy and emissions, compared to the 17s fitted to the Premium. Economy on the Sport falls from 44.8- to 43.5mpg, while CO2 climbs from 146- to 151g/km. That means the Sport is £180 for its first 12 months of VED and £99 annually thereafter, rather than £145 and £79.75.

Summary

In the calendar year of 2013, Infiniti sold 385 cars in the UK. That's poor. By August of this year, the company had already shifted 377 cars, with a year-end target of 800 projected; getting better. This Q50 2.0t, Infiniti claims, gives the fledgling brand the chance to compete, yet it's the forthcoming Sunderland-built Q30 hatch that will purportedly 'transform Infiniti's world', in the manner the 1994 A4 did for Audi.

All brave predictions, but for the moment the Q50 2.0t remains an oddball alternative to the mainstream. It's a fine car in many respects, yet you're going to have to (quite literally) get to grips with the steering, and the ride will occasionally be unsettled. It's a good car as a 2.0t Sport, but ultimately you have to really want to stand out from the crowd if you're going to ignore offerings from BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Jaguar, Lexus and Volvo that drive just as well and that are more likely to protect their value over a few years.


Matt Robinson - 16 Sep 2014



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2014 Infiniti Q50 2.0t. Image by Infiniti.2014 Infiniti Q50 2.0t. Image by Infiniti.2014 Infiniti Q50 2.0t. Image by Infiniti.2014 Infiniti Q50 2.0t. Image by Infiniti.2014 Infiniti Q50 2.0t. Image by Infiniti.

2014 Infiniti Q50 2.0t. Image by Infiniti.2014 Infiniti Q50 2.0t. Image by Infiniti.2014 Infiniti Q50 2.0t. Image by Infiniti.2014 Infiniti Q50 2.0t. Image by Infiniti.2014 Infiniti Q50 2.0t. Image by Infiniti.



2014 Infiniti Q50 2.0t. Image by Infiniti.
 

2014 Infiniti Q50 2.0t. Image by Infiniti.
 

2014 Infiniti Q50 2.0t. Image by Infiniti.
 

2014 Infiniti Q50 2.0t. Image by Infiniti.
 

2014 Infiniti Q50 2.0t. Image by Infiniti.
 

2014 Infiniti Q50 2.0t. Image by Infiniti.
 

2014 Infiniti Q50 2.0t. Image by Infiniti.
 

2014 Infiniti Q50 2.0t. Image by Infiniti.
 

2014 Infiniti Q50 2.0t. Image by Infiniti.
 






 

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