Infiniti Q50 3.0tt Red Sport 2016 Review

Infiniti Q50 3.0tt Red Sport

Road Test
 
While the styling of the Infiniti Q50 is quite wild, the looks of the flagship Red Sport model don't exceed customer expectations – let alone push beyond the bounds of common sense. Under the bodywork, however, is a car ready to take on all challengers at the traffic lights. Developing more power than most of its direct rivals – and at a considerable price advantage – the Q50 Red Sport will thrill fans of luxury performance sedans.

Infiniti's Q50 variant that comes closest to matching (or even exceeding) BMW's 340i is the Q50 Red Sport, which trumps the German with a twin-turbo V6-engined sedan producing 298kW and 475Nm.

That power advantage does come at some cost to the Infiniti though, as discovered during a recent week-long test. For example traction can be compromised – particularly in the wet – when measured against its obvious rival. And the manufacturer has also had to concede fuel economy for the sake of performance.

According to the car's trip computer, the final consumption figure for the week was 12.9L/100km, with around 80km of freeway travel and at least 100km of flowing arterial and country cruising. As like as not, fuel economy was not helped any by the easily tapped engine performance (and, it must be admitted, by a certain amount of driver exuberance).

Delivering decent torque even at low speeds, the twin-turbo V6 just flew once the tacho needle was above 4000rpm and the accelerator was pressed all the way to the floor. The engine's note was quite unusual – it sounded muscular, but without the high-revving ring of a German six.

At lower speeds the engine provided lazy torque for dawdling around town. It was a nice match for the very competent and refined seven-speed automatic transmission.

Every time the Q50 restarted, its drive mode defaulted to standard, rather than the mode selected before the engine was switched off. The Sport mode held gears longer – and sometimes at unnaturally high revs for on-road driving. In Eco mode, the Q50 resisted kick down by the driver, and the blinking green Eco light in the dash told you when you were using too much fuel – ascending a long hill, for example.

Kudos to Infiniti for its adaptive cruise control and Autonomous Emergency Braking that didn't shriek at you and blind you with red strobes; the safety system progressively introduced tell-tales through the accelerator pedal signalling it was easing off the throttle – whether you wanted it or not.

It even worked in reverse, as I discovered when I tried backing the Q50 down my slightly overgrown driveway at walking pace in an environment filled with at-risk plant life. Then there were audible cheeps to let you know an obstacle was detected. And the Around View Monitor was also handy for parking.

I found roadholding was up to par in the dry, and the Q50 cornered with a reasonably flat stance. In standard and Eco modes the Q50's steering was light but not especially tactile. Weight and feedback improved in Sport mode, but even then the steering response was slower than in the case of its direct rival from BMW. And the Infiniti – just flung at a corner – would understeer initially, but then surrender to oversteer around the apex.

With power applied gently it was more consistent in its handling and, naturally, a surfeit of torque would spin drive wheels and provoke oversteer before the stability control system shut everything down.

I found the suspension to be firmly sprung, but it was also underdamped on roller-coaster bitumen. Brakes were strong and dependable, however, with a progressive pedal and well modulated soft stopping.

Generally a quiet car, the Q50 Red Sport did suffer from a bit of tyre noise at open-road speed; and there was also a light rustle of wind. At 100km/h, however, with the engine revving at 1800rpm there was no drivetrain noise whatsoever.

On low beam, the headlights were bright, and the combination of auto high beam and adaptive cornering lights were very welcome once night fell.

At the driving position I found the seats were less supportive than I would have liked, although the electric lumbar adjustment helped a little. The shaping was fine, however, to hold the occupant in place for cornering. Setting the seat for the right distance from the wheel and with a good view of the instruments meant sitting a little too close to the pedals – particularly with the foot-operated parking brake down there as well.

The major instruments were fairly easy to read at a glance and the satellite navigation (with SUNA updates) was very useful. It alerted me to locations of speed cameras that I hadn't previously known.

The two infotainment screens and switchgear placement border on being ergonomically complex. As an example, the buttons for demisting are located on the left side of the lower touch screen, placed closer to the front-seat passenger than the driver. And I frankly didn't come to grips with the single-point controller at all.

Rear-seat accommodation provided adequate legroom for adults of average size. But headroom was compromised by the test vehicle’s sunroof. Both rear seats folded down from pull-cords in the boot, lying almost flat, but not flush with the deep boot floor. The boot itself is about the right size for a vehicle boasting this sort of footprint and is fully lined. I did find the boot lid quite heavy to lift, and the hand-grip to close it is not well designed. It’s tucked up almost out of sight and points the wrong way for easy closing.

All of this is bound to leave buyers in a quandary. The Q50 Red Sport is nothing if not powerful, and at $8000 less than the BMW 340i it's also very good value. But even if some of the packaging issues aren't outright deal breakers after a test drive, there's a strong prospect they would blunt the performance and value equation of the Infiniti over a longer period of ownership.

And the Infiniti is, after all, selling in a very competitive market segment.

2016 Infiniti Q50 3.0tt Red Sport pricing and specifications:
Price: $81,000 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 3.0-litre turbo-petrol V6
Output: 298kW/475Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel: 9.3L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 214g/km
Safety Rating: TBA

Also consider:
>> BMW 340i M Sport (from $89,855 plus ORCs)
>> Jaguar XE S (from $105,066 plus ORCs)
>> Mercedes-AMG C 43 (from $101,900 plus ORCs)