Infiniti QX30 Sport 2019 Review

The Infiniti QX30 Sport that is the subject of this review was locked in for a road test before the news broke in March that the prestige brand is dropping out of the European market and production of the QX30 at Nissan's Sunderland plant in the UK will cease from July of this year.

It makes this review essentially redundant now. Infiniti has sold just 15 units of the Q30 and QX30 for the first three months of this year. In the few remaining months, prospective QX30 buyers will likely look somewhere else, unless retained value means nothing to them or they can negotiate a really good deal in runout.

It's not hard to decipher the writing on the wall for the QX30. Translated, the passage lists the plethora of rival models that have reached Australia since the local launch of the QX30 in 2016.

Those competitors include the Jaguar E-PACE, Lexus UX, the MINI Countryman, Volvo's award-winning XC40, the Audi Q2 and the BMW X2.

All of these cars are outselling the Q30 and QX30 combined for the year to date. Sales will likely worsen further, compounded by Infiniti taking a stick to local pricing. That kills the resale value for the households that have bought the QX30 in the past.

On top of that, not everyone is in love with the design. The interior is looking a bit old-fashioned too, and provides cramped accommodation for rear-seat passengers. There's a general lack of engagement for driving enthusiasts as well.

The QX30's shortcomings are quite stark, alongside those newer rivals that have now entered the market.

Take for instance the QX30's driving position, which lacks enough reach adjustment in the steering column. There is a bump in the floor under the accelerator pedal, so the heel of the driver's right foot feels slightly elevated.

The brake pedal is mounted significantly higher than the accelerator, and a driver can almost slide the right foot underneath the brake pedal from the accelerator.

While the driver's seat is a middling contender for comfort, it comes up short for lateral (under-thigh) support.

Scattered across the cabin of the QX30 is a proliferation of Mercedes-Benz controls to change gear, operate indicators, set cruise control, start the engine and adjust the seat. Controls to adjust the seats are Benz-designed switches on the door cappings, finished in black plastic, rather than the matt silver finish or brightwork of Mercedes-Benz offerings.

The instruments look plain, compared with the instrumentation of other models in the market segment, but the QX30's are easy to read at a glance. Straightforward to operate, but without the facility to enter a destination address verbally, the satellite navigation system is functional and confines itself to instructions such as 'turn left at the end of the road'. A quirk of the system is its frequent warning of a speed camera in the underground carpark at carsales' head office.

Rear-seat accommodation in the QX30 is not especially generous. Legroom and kneeroom measurements are adequate for children only behind a driver of average height. The Infiniti's sunroof also encroaches on headroom slightly, although it's climbing in or out that demands care. The QX30 is really a car designed for two adults in the front and a couple of kids up to early teenage years in the back.

Further niggles? You can adjust volume from the steering wheel, but there's no toggle on the wheel to change audio tracks or radio stations.

Squeaking from upholstered fixtures rubbing together and tyre and suspension patter across uneven joins in the bitumen are frequently in evidence on rougher road surfaces.

The horn honks when you lock the car, which will upset the neighbours when you're coming home late at night from a party, but it can be disabled through the settings menu.

There's the Benz-style parking brake release, which takes a little while to explain to someone who has never driven the car before.

While Infiniti has equipped the QX30 with a skiport, adjustable vents and a 12-Volt power outlet for the use of the rear-seat passengers, there are no USB ports back there.

Infiniti sells the standard QX30 Sport without a powered tailgate, which isn't a problem at this price point, except that the tailgate is heavy to lift manually.

If the Infiniti QX30 leaves something to be desired as a package, it at least compensates in part with its driving dynamics.

Ride comfort is decent over smaller imperfections – particularly in light of the 19-inch run-flat Goodyears fitted – and a little suppler than most of its rivals we've tested in the recent past. The ride becomes a little busy over the rippled bitumen of country roads, but the Infiniti's body control is quite effective at speed.

The natural handling trait is very mild understeer. On a trailing throttle the front wheels of the QX30 bite, but the rear wheels don't change direction and the QX30 doesn't really nose in much closer to the apex. But that's fine; it's consistent and dependable, and the roadholding is better than expected.

With power applied the Infiniti holds its line properly, with the car's stability control subtly working away in the background and sorting out any waywardness. Even so, there is still some all-wheel drive awkwardness as the front wheels scrabble for grip on the exit from tight bends.

The brakes are strong and fairly progressive, with enough pedal feel for soft stopping if necessary.

Only one point detracts from the Infiniti's driving dynamics: the heavy but lifeless steering. There's a distinct lack of on-centre feel, but the QX30 turns in fairly precisely. It's only in a straight line that the Infiniti needs frequent correction of the taciturn tiller.

Under the bonnet, the turbocharged Mercedes four-cylinder produces enough torque at low revs for unfussed motoring around town. It rarely needs to shift down a gear on hills, even when the tacho needle is hovering around 1500rpm.

The QX30 offers three powertrain modes: Eco, Sport and Manual. Frankly, performance is quite detached in the Eco mode. From a standing start there's some pedal travel and hesitation before the vehicle begins to move. First-time drivers may think the car is still in neutral, the response is that lethargic.

In the Sport or Manual modes, the QX30 feels livelier. Torque builds progressively from about 3000rpm with the right foot buried in the carpet. While the engine doesn't sound quite as sporty as that of a MINI Countryman S or even the Lexus UX200, nor does it sound like a garden mulcher. Not altogether surprisingly, it has the aural character of a Mercedes powerplant – a bit more clinical than many of the rivals.

For the sake of saving fuel, the engine is frequently called upon to hold revs at 1500rpm, when it labours slightly. At 100km/h and 1600rpm the engine hums lightly. Road noise is fairly well suppressed at that speed, but there's quite a deal of wind noise present.

During the first few days – limited to daily commuting – the QX30 posted a fuel consumption figure of 10.9L/100km. On a 70km test drive the figure was slightly better, at 10.7L/100km – a number still put to shame by quite a few medium SUVs we've tested over the past 12 months, and a long way from the official combined-cycle figure. Consumption would have been worse without the idle-stop system conserving some fuel.

The transversely-mounted engine drives through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, changing from neutral to drive or reverse without the smoothness of epicyclic (torque converter) automatics fitted to similarly-priced competitors. On the move, the DCT slurs gear changes, rather than shifting crisply as we've come to expect from the transmission type.

Even when operated manually, the transmission shifts up automatically a few hundred revs shy of the 6500rpm redline. In general the QX30 is nicer to drive with the powertrain set to Sport or Manual, and the transmission is more responsive using the shift paddles, which turn with the steering column.

The QX30 comes with very effective headlights that illuminate the road a long way ahead of the car on low beam. They are also adaptive, lighting up the bend as the steering wheel turns.

An intelligent high-beam assist feature is useful, although it doesn't dip the lights automatically for built-up areas, as some systems do, but it does adjust back to high-beam in a soft, measured way after the oncoming car has passed. This ensures the Infiniti driver won't be blinded by reflected glare from road signs and his or her pupils have time to dilate appropriately.

The QX30's AEB (autonomous emergency braking) is conservatively calibrated in absolute terms. It really wound back the vehicle's speed quickly when a Land Rover Discovery in front braked and turned left hurriedly at an intersection as the QX30 closed from about 40 metres behind. Even after the Discovery had completed its turn the QX30 wouldn't release the brakes for a second or two.

It's good to know that the QX30 will keep you and the family safe in an event like the one described above, even though its own model life will shortly come to a crashing halt.

How much does the 2019 Infiniti QX30 Sport cost?
Price: $51,088 (as tested, drive-away)
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 155kW/350Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch
Fuel: 6.9L/100km (ADR Combined), 10.7L/100km (as tested)
CO2: 159g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star (Q30 tested by ANCAP, 2015)