Infiniti Q70 2016 Review

Infiniti Q70 S Premium and GT Premium
Local Launch Review
Mornington Peninsula, Victoria

Launched here in 2012 as the Infiniti M37 and M35h, the Q70 was priced ambitiously against German rivals before being renamed, repositioned and – now – lightly restyled. The new look can be picked by the mesh grille at the front, but there are more changes underneath, including softer ride and new active safety equipment. Prices haven't moved, but the diesel variant has been dropped from the range, reducing to two petrol variants and a hybrid.

Infiniti is claiming that the changes to its upgraded Q70 sedan amount to between $3000 and $4000 of added value for no extra cost. Only the entry-level Q70 GT is short-changed, gaining none of the active safety systems now fitted as standard to the GT Premium (Hybrid) and S Premium variants.

For the record, these new standard features are Lane-Departure Prevention, Blind-Spot Intervention, Forward Emergency Braking, Predictive Forward Collision Warning, Back-Up Collision Intervention, Around View Monitor (with corner parking sensors, moving object detection, parking guidance) and Adaptive Front-Lighting System with headlight washers.

The Q70 GT does score a new design of 18-inch alloy wheel (also shared with GT Premium) and a 10-speaker BOSE audio system. All Q70 models feature retuned suspension – for improved ride comfort – and LED headlights/tail-lights/daytime running lights, plus body-colour exterior mirrors with integrated turn signal.

For the local launch of the upgraded Q70 motoring.com.au sampled the Q70 S Premium and the Q70 GT Premium. While the former is the flagship of the range in trim level terms, it's the hybrid-drive GT Premium that's the most expensive of the three variants in the Q70 range.

After a brief drive around Victoria's Mornington Peninsula it was clear that the conventional Q70 S premium felt livelier and more fun to drive than the hybrid. There was always a sense of mass holding back the Q70 GT Premium, despite it being faster than the conventional car.

The Q70 has a nice dynamic feel some rivals lack, but the steering is light, and combined with the car's four-wheel steering it’s easy to haul on the wheel too hard initially – taking a couple of bites into each corner until you’re familiar with the weighting and feel. Pushed harder, the Q70 S Premium is happy to wag its tail on the way into a bend, but it’s very predictable and safe, with a gentle application of power straightening the car up again.

Ride comfort has been softened. On local (rural) roads it felt compliant enough, particularly as its predecessor, the M37 was definitely on the firm side when tested by this writer in the UK, back in 2012 – just months before its launch in Australia.

We're told by local Infiniti Product Planning Manager Bernard Michel that the Q70 for Australia is still tuned for European roads, but it seems like even the Euros are shifting away from kidney-pummelling suspension. In the Q70 the revised suspension is definitely softer, although that’s most apparent over smaller ripples and holes in the road surface. There remains an underlying firmness that ensures better body control at higher speeds.

Tyre noise is the most prominent source of NVH in the Q70. Even then it’s still pretty subdued. You won’t hear the engine or wind noise at cruising speed.

When you do hear the engine it's at wide-open throttle as it pumps out optimal performance at speeds from 4000rpm right up to an impressive 7000rpm. This is one of the nicer sounding V6 mills around – aided by the car's Active Noise Control – but it is somewhat peaky, relative to its capacity. Over the course of the drive programme the Q70 GT Premium (hybrid) returned an average fuel consumption figure of 7.2L/100km and the Q70 S Premium posted a figure of 9.9L.

That said, it’s effortlessly driveable around town on a light throttle. The seven-speed automatic provides extremely smooth shifting and comes with shift paddles (which the hybrid model lacks). Kick-down does override the paddle shifting and the transmission takes its time shifting into a higher gear at redline when the driver is manually shifting gear.

There's also a reluctance to select a lower gear that would quickly send the tacho needle into the upper reaches of the range. The mapping for the transmission is quite conservative for downshifts, which is a shame, because while few owners would ever drive the Q70 in that mode, its power delivery and dynamics certainly encourage pushing the car harder.

I found the seats very comfortable and the instruments highly legible, but the trip computer display between the major instruments looks a little low-res and grainy. The interior design may not be to everyone's liking. It resembles the quasi-ornate look of the previous generation Subaru Impreza. But fit and finish was nice, with what feels like actual aluminium for the decorative trim around the door handles and centre console. A foot-operated parking brake is located in the driver's footwell near the transmission tunnel.

Rear-seat accommodation is generally fine for adults. Headroom is at a premium near the cant rail, with a sunroof fitted. Passengers in the back are kept comfortable with adjusting vents in the rear of the centre console.

Boot space was deep and practical, although severely constrained by battery packaging in the hybrid. There's a space saver spare under the boot floor to liberate luggage-carrying capacity.

In an era when V6 engines – and particularly V6 engines approaching 4.0 litres – are increasingly hard to come by in a luxury sedan priced below $90,000 the Q70 is uniquely appealing in this market segment. That Infiniti has managed to keep fuel consumption at moderate levels, as well as extracting respectable performance from this drivetrain, are points worth mentioning.

Selling just 22 units in Australia last year – and the same number the year before – the Q70 has been criminally overlooked by consumers. And unfortunately for the brand even with the extra value of this updated model, it's likely to remain a hard sell. The cynical side of my nature puts that down to lack of badge cachet...

2016 Infiniti Q70 GT Premium pricing and specifications:
Price: $82,900 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 3.7-litre six-cylinder petrol
Output: 225kW/350Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel: 6.9L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 159g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: TBA

2016 Infiniti Q70 S Premium pricing and specifications:
Price: $78,900 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 3.7-litre six-cylinder petrol
Output: 235kW/360Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel: 10.2L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 249g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: TBA

Also consider:
>> BMW 528i M Sport (from $103,900 plus ORCs)
>> Jaguar XF 25t R-Sport (from $89,800 plus ORCs)
>> Lexus GS 350 F Sport (from $94,000 plus ORCs)