Test Car Specifications
Model tested: Infiniti Q30 Sport 2.0t DCT AWD
Pricing: Q30 range from £20,550; Sport 2.0t DCT AWD from £31,930
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol
Transmission: all-wheel drive, seven-speed DCT automatic
Body style: five-door hatchback
CO2 emissions: 156g/km (VED Band G, £180 annually)
Combined economy: 42.2mpg
Top speed: 143mph
0-62mph: 7.3 seconds
Power: 211hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 350Nm from 1,200- to 4,000rpm
What's this?
Possibly the most important car Infiniti will ever make. Nissan's luxury off-shoot is a success in the Americas, where it has been a presence since 1989 (therefore making it as old as Lexus), but over here in Europe? We've not taken to the products. More specifically in the UK, there are just ten Infiniti 'Centres' (showrooms) across the country and, as a result, sales have been unimpressive. So the Q30, a C-segment-sized hatchback equipped with a range of turbocharged four-cylinder engines, is going to be the key to unlocking any potential Infiniti has for growth here: to that end, the company has thrown £250 million of investment at its Sunderland plant, where the Q30 will be built, and created 300 new jobs in the process.
Developing a C-segment vehicle from scratch (given the company has never made a foray into this market before) would require considerably more money than £250m, however, and so Infiniti has borrowed the necessary hardware from the Mercedes-Benz A-Class, thanks to the tie-up between the Renault-Nissan Alliance and Daimler. Thus, most of the underpinnings, the engines and much of the interior architecture will be familiar to you if you've ever sat in Merc's hatchback.
What Infiniti has done is clothe the German oily bits in a startlingly creased, crossover-esque body. You could not possibly accuse the Q30 of being bland. Sure, if you were being uncharitable, a glib way of summing up the exterior aesthetic would be 'Lexus NX meets Mazda3', but we're prepared to give Infiniti's stylists a little more credit than that. The Q30 is a high-riding, tall vehicle but don't mistake it as a rival for the Audi Q3 or Mercedes-Benz GLA; in 2016, a QX30 will hit the scene that's tasked with dealing with those cars. Thus, this is the machine that will Infiniti is hoping will tempt you out of an Audi A3, BMW 1 Series, Volvo V40, Lexus CT or - of course - a Mercedes A-Class.
And we reckon it has most the visual interest of the lot, albeit it's clearly a car that is not going to garner universal acclaim; an A3 may be more staid but a lot of people like to go unnoticed. If that's you, the Q30's not going to be your thing. Look at those strakes along the side of it - the one running off the wings above the headlights and going through the door handle is extremely pronounced, a fact you'll be aware of if you rest your hand on it while driving with the window down on a sunny day. The front and rear aspects are fine, and with its physically larger body (this particular model weighs in at 1,545kg), you end up with a lot more interior space than in some key rivals.
The cabin is excellent, with some Infiniti-specific sweeps and swoops to it, a feeling of quality shot through everything, plus lots of stitched leather and Alcantara dotted here and there on the Sport variant, to reinforce the premium message. Trim grades (broadly) run SE, Premium, Business Executive, Premium Tech and Sport, with City Black, Gallery White and Café Teak colour lines fleshing the range out to ten different specifications. All UK cars get at least air conditioning, 18-inch alloy wheels, LED daytime running lamps and rear lights, a seven-inch touchscreen infotainment system, voice recognition, Bluetooth and some driver assist safety systems, with higher models bringing in plenty more luxuries.
Yet starting the range at £20,550 and capping it at £34,890 might seem bold, especially as - if you've been in an A-Class - you won't fail to notice the Q30's borrowed heritage. Aside from better integration of the touchscreen in the centre console, an Infiniti boss on the steering wheel and some of the door card/dash insert designs being different, the Q30 basically has all of the Merc's switchgear and ergonomics.
How does it drive?
Fine. But not sensational. Two diesels and two petrol engines make up the UK range, starting with a 109hp 1.5-litre diesel (expected to be the biggest seller, we tried this car too; it was perfectly pleasant but very, very slow) and culminating in this 2.0-litre turbo with 211hp, a powerplant used in the Infiniti Q50. It's also used in the Mercedes A 250 AMG Sport, but in that application it now has 218hp?
As the 2.0-litre turbo petrol is only available in the Q30 Sport this Infiniti gets 15mm lower suspension and seven per cent firmer springs than all other specifications. This results in a car that is a little lower in terms of overall height (1,475mm) and ground clearance (190mm) than the rest of the range. Stylistically, it also receives different bumpers front and rear and 19-inch alloy wheels. This model is also a four-wheel drive Q30 with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. The starting price for all this is £31,930 - and that's a huge heap of cash.
Infiniti made big noises about the Q30's ride and it's certainly very comfortable. The dampers are calibrated just so to ensure the car is composed when traversing all road surfaces, without having to have adjustable modes, and with its higher ride height the car has longer suspension travel than the A-Class. The resulting compliance levels are high, while noise suppression is impressive too - the engine's muted, wind noise is acceptable and - on this 4WD Sport model, at least - tyre noise is about the biggest disturbance to interior peace.
This makes the car an adept cruiser and perfectly reasonable to potter about town in, but up the pace on windier roads and the Q30 never really comes alive. The steering, compared to what has gone before (we're thinking about the unpleasant set-up on the Q50 here), is in another league - it's consistent, reasonably well-weighted and has a bit of feedback; thus, unlike the Q50's system, it never gets in the way of driving the car quickly. The problem is there's more pronounced body roll on the Q30 than on key rivals and while grip levels are high, driver interactivity levels aren't. The DCT gearbox doesn't feel that quick to react here, even in Sport mode, while Infiniti's special 'surge of acceleration' mapping of the 2.0-litre engine results in performance that feels muscularly brisk but not rapid.
o while you can go quite quickly in the Q30 Sport, it's unlikely to tempt people out of a Volkswagen Golf GTI or similar; you're better off sticking to one of the diesel engines for a Q30, then, and revelling in the car's composure, rather than trying to chase any dynamic rewards.
Verdict
Easily Infiniti's most convincing car yet, the Q30 still faces an uphill struggle to win over premium C-segment hatchback buyers in the UK market. It feels every bit as proficient and polished as the Mercedes A-Class... but then, wouldn't you rather just therefore have a Mercedes on your drive, rather than an Infiniti? Its strongest points are its refinement and interior space. The styling is going to be love it or hate it. And the price is just a little high for our tastes. Infiniti's aim is to double its sales year-on-year on these shores - the Q30 might just achieve that, yet we can't see it tempting too many people out of their Audis, BMWs and Mercs in the near future.
Exterior Design
Interior Ambience
Passenger Space
Luggage Space
Safety
Comfort
Driving Dynamics
Powertrain
