Infiniti limits QX30 engine choice

Emerging luxury brand Infiniti will offer significantly more engine choice in its Q30 small car line-up than the QX30 SUV that spins off it.

The Q30 launches here in late August and as you can see from these exclusive photographs, examples in various specification levels are already in the country and being driven locally by executives of Infiniti Car Australia and parent, Nissan Australia.

Front-wheel drive-only in Australia, the Q30 will launch offering three different engine choices, at least two trim levels (expected to be badged Premium and Sport) and the choice of 18 and 19-inch alloy wheels, examples of which you can see in these photographs.

But the QX30, which is all-wheel drive and slated for a late 2016 launch here, will be offered only with a single engine choice, a 155kW 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine.

Infiniti’s luxury brand rivals offer multiple drivetrain choices in their compact SUV line-ups. The Audi Q3 (including the RS Q3) offers five engines, the BMW X1 four, the Mercedes-Benz GLA three and the Lexus NX two. The X1 outsells the 1 Series sedan, while the NX is much more popular than the CT200H Lexus small car. However, the Q3 is outsold by the A3 and the GLA by the A-Class.

As well as being AWD, the QX30 is differentiated from the Q30 by its increased ride height and tougher off-road look. Expect higher pricing for equivalent drivetrain and equipment specs too.

There has as yet been no international drive of the QX30 for Australian media, nor any detailed discussion of the spec by Infiniti Australia, as it seeks to focus attention on the Q30, which it expects will become the brand’s biggest selling model in Australia.

Both Q and QX30 share a substantial amount of their technical underpinnings with the Mercedes-Benz A-Class and GLA as part of a technical co-operation between the German luxury maker and the Renault-Nissan alliance.

Only pricing and a detailed equipment lists for the Australian market Q30 models are yet to be revealed and that won’t happen until late August’s local first media drive when the car also goes on-sale.

Infiniti Australia is dropping hints it will be a very strong equipment mix for the money, which has been forecast by pundits to start under $35,000 for the entry-level 1.6-litre turbo-petrol version of the five-door hatch.

“It is a very important model,” confirmed Infiniti Cars Australia general manager corporate communications, Peter Fadeyev.

“It’s a bigger picture than actual sales volume. Q30 will increase our presence on Australian roads which will then have a marked effect. It gets more people exposed to brand as a spectator and test driving the car because its pricepoint will make it accessible to an important emerging generation of buyers in that C-segment area.

“They are downsizing from larger cars or moving across from vehicles of a similar size into a slightly more premium price-point. The changes are attracting people from a lot of different directions and we want to be part of that market move.”

Launched in Australia in 2012 with just three east coast dealers, Infiniti has since expanded its footprint nationwide and now has nine outlets, including a new presence on the Gold Coast.

Year to date in 2016, Infiniti has sold 395 cars in Australia, a climb of 26.6 per cent over 2015 according to VFACTS figures.