Bridging the gap between luxury sedan and aftermarket body kit designs is the 2015 Infiniti Q50 sports sedan. This compact sedan has both the looks of a menacing street racing car and the power to back it up! Relatively unchanged from the 2013 redesign, the Q50 replaces Infiniti’s G line.
ENGINE & DRIVE
As a driver of the 2015 Infiniti Q50, you have the greatest pleasure of all passengers, being in control of 328 horsepower delivered by the 3.7L six cylinder engine. This throw you back in your seat power propels the 2015 Q50 from 0-60 in 5.2 seconds (4.9 seconds for the 2WD version). Paired with a seven speed automatic transmission with manual mode, the Q50 can also drive its passengers around smoothly and quietly (if you choose).
The nimble handling and the firm yet responsive steering of the 2015 Infiniti Q50 AWD makes the driver forget that this is a four door sedan and transports them instead to a sportier faster paced world. Add to this, the built-in drive mode selector and you have a vehicle designed and built for the driver.
Rated at 12.5 L/100km in the city and 8.7 L/100km on the highway, our real world test drive recorded 13.5 L/100km of consumption over 250 km of combined city and highway driving. However, to be fair about 75% of the driving was in the city and I have to admit that a lot of the driving was quite spirited!
The intelligent AWD system improves performance and handling but will also add about $2,500 to the purchase price, add 0.3 seconds to the 0-60 acceleration time, and increase gas consumption by 0.5 L/100km. As a driver you will have to weigh your driving style against the higher price tag for performance.
INTERIOR & EXTERIOR
The pleasingly aggressive styling of the 2015 Infiniti Q50’s exterior suits its engine and creates a menacing looking vehicle aptly called a sports sedan. But the many curves, accent lines and body kit-like design of the front end may not last the test of time. Dual exhaust and chrome highlights remind passers-by that this is indeed a luxury vehicle.
I found the design of the Q50’s interior very in keeping with its sports sedan title – ultra modern with 2 touch screens, minimal buttons and dials, and a great combination of quality materials from leather to chrome and carbon fiber like finishes. I thought it was a great idea to have 2 screens each dedicated to different controls, but it did take a while to get familiar with. The iPad-like middle screen was navigated the same way as a tablet (even had downloadable apps) and displayed media and climate controls. While the top screen was more of a display showing the time and other useful. This dual screen design may be overwhelming for some people though – especially those not used to apps and tablet-style controls.
I liked that the 2015 Infiniti Q50 came with 2 USB ports as this is very handy in today’s world. However, they don’t do much to charge phones as I had my Samsung Galaxy S5 plugged in for 30 minutes and only got a 2% charge out of it.
A few features that I was expecting to be included as standard, were surprisingly absent from the base model of the 2015 Q50 AWD. The two main ones were no dual zone climate controls and no heated seats. These are two features that usually come standard on most of the vehicles currently on the market. I was disappointed that navigation didn’t come standard as the Q50 is considered a luxury sedan and more importantly the two screen design is rendered ineffective without having useful display items (like maps and navigation).
Although comfortable, I found the leather seating design a bit bland and would have liked a bit more side support and maybe some colored stitching to really emphasize the sportiness.
Overall the interior had a pleasing design with the integration of a variety of great materials, all put together with a high quality build.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I thoroughly enjoyed driving the 2015 Infiniti Q50 AWD with class leading horsepower and extremely peppy acceleration! If you’re a driver that wants power and performance but also needs to consider the practicality of a sedan, then you should check out the 2015 Infiniti Q50.
