Infiniti QX30 GT 2016 Review

Infiniti QX30 GT
Australian Launch
Yarra Valley, Victoria

Most compact luxury SUV buyers disappear into a Bermuda triangle in which Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz lurk, but Infiniti hopes that before buyers slip off the radar its QX30 will win them over with its distinctive styling, sharp price and high spec list. The QX30 is priced from $48,990.

When I was growing up, you knew a prestige car when you saw one because you saw so few of them. Mercedes-Benz or BMW (and to a lesser degree, back then, Audi) had few models and asked a lot of money for them, so they were exclusive.

Since then, these brands have washed their respective logos until threadbare, selling a stack of different models from little hatchbacks to their signature uber-saloons and every little niche in between.

If these brands appeared next in high-end kitchens with their logos adorning cake mixers -- beautifully crafted in titanium and carbon-fibre with AEB (Autonomous Egg Beater) technology -- it wouldn’t surprise me.

So enter the Infiniti QX30, an entry-level all-wheel drive compact SUV that will make your driveway a point of difference in streets filled with products from the German triumvirate.

At the outset, your neighbours might cast an envious eye over the QX30 because it doesn’t have the crisply pressed lines of their not-so-exclusive premium vehicles. Admittedly, the QX30 looks a bit like a Mazda3 relative, but let’s not dwell on that.

You won’t have thrown as much cash at your Infiniti dealer (when you found one) as your neighbours and you’ll feel just a little smug knowing that some of the toys your QX30 came with were options worthy of a mortgage for your neighbours’ cars.

The tall body/short glasshouse looks good but -- unless you like to sit low in a car -- it feels like you’re driving a chop-top in the QX30. The driver’s seat can be raised but for even a vertically challenged type like me your head soon meets the headlining.

In spite of this, vision is actually pretty good as you peer out of the front and sides. A fair bit of guesswork is needed when backing up, but the GT does have parking sensors. Given how hard it is to see much back there, it’d be nice if they threw in a camera in this spec (it’s standard in the Premium version).

Front seats lack side support and Infiniti has been a bit mean with seat base length, rear seat headroom is tight for six-footer-plus occupants and small rear-door apertures make getting in and out a bit awkward. There’s ample leg and elbow room inside for four, but like most of its ilk, this isn’t a five-adult vehicle. It’s more a two-plus-two-and-a-half.

There are no surprises with reading gauges or punching buttons behind the wheel. Except that the too-small centre touch-screen is better left untouched -- you’ll soon find yourself at the end of the limited menus and nowhere to go. The screen seems to be designed to operate from the controller on the centre console.

Missing from the centre screen menu is Apple Car Play or Android Auto, which is the kind of software that should be bundled in a vehicle like this.

There’s also no fancy keyless entry/start here. You have one of those old-school fobs, suspiciously like a Mercedes-Benz key. A shame that Infiniti doesn’t even offer keyless in the QX30 Premium, let alone the GT.

A five-door fastback design can look good but often delivers bad news when you want to chuck a lot of gear in the boot. Here the QX30’s tall body does you a favour because it has a 430-litre capacity boot space, squared off so most of it’s useable.

You don’t get a spare tyre -- so you’re stuck when you get a nasty puncture when driving on flinty gravel. There’s just an inflation/repair kit supplied by Mercedes-Benz, no less.

Other than in the initial travel of the accelerator pedal, the QX30 delivers strong, responsive acceleration. The turbo-four is a good engine, with plenty of mid-range punch and a keenness to rev. The dual-clutch transmission has crisp shifts, although the ‘Sport’ mode is a little lacking in athleticism.

Driving off on smooth roads, you’re accompanied by a suspension patter, as though the damper valving is too small. All is forgiven though as the suspension gets a work out on rougher surfaces-- it is compliant, settles quickly and consumes bumps without complaint.

On the dirt the QX30 is a natural, absorbing bumps well and tracking true -- although when asking the engine to download much of its 155kW, the steering wheel suffers a torque-steer wiggle.

The 18-inch tyres grip well and the QX30 rounds up corners with little body roll and is pretty neutral for a tall FWD hatch. Steering is direct but not very communicative.

Infiniti simply doesn’t (yet) have brand cachet, and that’s the QX30’s worst flaw. It covers off most areas well, but does need some specification improvements and a better infotainment screen to make it a more cohesive alternative in its category.

2016 Infiniti QX30 GT pricing and specifications:
Price: $48,900 plus on-road costs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 155kW/350Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch
Fuel: 6.9L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 159g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: N/A

Also consider:
>> Audi Q3 quattro (from $52,900 plus ORCs)
>> BMW X1 xDrive (from $59,990 plus ORCs)
>> Mercedes-Benz GLA 250 4MATIC (from $59,990 plus ORCs)