INFINITY Q50 DRIVER
Nissan ranked 28th out of 32 manufacturers in our 2015 Driver Power customer satisfaction survey, which was a disappointing result. But many parts are shared across both brands and have already been proven in various Nissans over the last few years. Infiniti is part of Nissan and all its cars are aimed at the premium rather than mainstream market. Should be reliable, but safety is uncertain at the moment The voice control is very clear and easy to use, and you can also configure how many instructions you want, so it can be as informative (or not) as you like. It's not much, but it means the route map remains visible if you want to change anything. The main map is shown on the upper screen, allowing you to change route options or other settings on the lower screen. You can also control the screens via a scroll wheel on the centre console, so there are plenty of options. The system itself can be a little sluggish to respond and move between menus, but it's not too bad overall. The lower screen is very bright and crisp and pretty responsive, but the glossy finish can show up fingerprints and reflections, while the upper screen has a matt finish and can appear a little grey. The upper screen is an 8-inch number that features all of the car's main functions, while the lower 7-inch screen controls things like the settings for sat-nav etc. The dashboard and centre console is dominated by a pair of touchscreens. It’s expensive to buy, uneconomical to run and hard to recommend.Īs you'd expect from an executive car, the Infiniti Q50 comes with plenty of hi-tech equipment. The 399bhp 3.0-litre turbo-petrol Q50s is also quick (its 0-62mph time is identical to the hybrid’s), but this level of performance arguably highlights the Q50’s handling deficit further. Under hard acceleration, the Q50 feels powerful and muscular. It's possible to drive on electric power alone at low speeds and when the engine does kick in, you'll barely notice. The hybrid is impressively fast, with a 5.1-second 0-62mph (although choosing four-wheel drive increases this marginally). Frustratingly, this engine is only available with an automatic gearbox, which doesn't shift as precisely as a BMW or Audi automatic.
INFINITY Q50 SERIES
It has a 7.2-second 0-62mph time, which is broadly in line with equivalent BMW 3 Series models. So the diesel isn't particularly quiet or smooth, but fortunately the 208bhp petrol model is. The automatic version is fractionally slower, but not by enough to be really noticeable.
The performance of the 168bhp diesel engine is little more than reasonable, with a 0-62mph time of 8.5 seconds.