What's in a name? In the case of Infiniti's lineup, either not much, or everything.
Just as Acura did years ago, Infiniti has cleaned house of their old badging, with all crossovers now dubbed QX and all sedans labelled Q. Initially, this move ruffled a feather or two, not just among the critics, but among the fans. Infiniti isn't as big a company as Mercedes or BMW, so a major change in the nomenclature is bound to cause a little confusion.
Even so, now that the dust has settled, you can kind of see that a rename might have been the right move. QX80? That's something big. Q50? That's something on the smaller end of the Infiniti scale. You might once have known it by G, and fans of Nissan's luxury brand probably miss calling their machine by the seventh letter of the alphabet, but perhaps this newly redesigned machine is good enough to brand its own name on the public's consciousness.
Design
Infiniti's fluidic style of design works in some places better than others. Want to see an example of it not quite making the grade? Check out the bulbous QX80 mega-SUV.
Here on the smaller end of the scale, however, the Japanese 3-Series-fighter actually looks pretty good. There's a cohesiveness to its swoops and swirls, although the overall effect is let down a bit by the 17-inch alloys fitted as standard to my non-sport tester.
A shame that. Like many cars, the Q50 is clothed in the imagination of a designer who immediately sees the car wearing huge blinged-out rims, and by the time you strap on a set of real-world shoes, the effect is somewhat blunted. Even so, the Q50 stands apart from other manufacturers, and even has its own signature details, such as the serpentine kink in the rear window.
Environment
That curvy effect continues to the Q50's insides, but in a slightly reduced fashion when compared to the previous G-branded model. This is a more conventional layout than Infiniti's previous swooping dash, and slightly better for it.
The centre stack is controlled primarily through two large screens, with the lower one handling most of the touchscreen controls. There's a lot of information here, but the icons are large, the menus can be "swiped" like a smartphone, and there's a high degree of customization to be fiddled with.
Moreover, if you're somewhat suspicious of all this touchscreen nonsense, the Q50 has redundant regular button controls for almost all of its functions. There's an iDrive-like controller set down between the seats, and a swathe of buttons on the steering wheel for quick access.
In a physical sense, the Q50's main cabin attribute is comfort. The seats don't pinch, they support, providing more in terms of cushiness than aggressive lateral bolstering. Not that there isn't enough side-support here for a sport sedan, just that the Q50 feels luxurious enough to appeal to those who want to drive South for the winter rather than fly.
Rear seat room is improved a bit by thinner seat-backing, but is still compromised in the way all front-engined, rear-drive-bias four-door sedans are. However, it'll happily haul the kids.
Performance
Power for this "Japanese BMW" comes from a 3.7-litre V-6 that makes a strong 328 horsepower as it revs all the way to 7,000 r.p.m. It both sounds great and has very strong acceleration feel, falling in line with its ancestral G's strengths.
However, start hucking the Q50 through the corners, and it becomes apparent that Infiniti has also been benchmarking Mercedes as a brand. This standard version of the car doesn't have a surfeit of lateral grip - there's enough to qualify it as a premium product, but something is missing of the old razor-sharp feel.
The old car was a bit of a four-doored 370Z, all dressed up in a tux and ready to go to the ball. This new car seems built to recognize a new age, one where sport is slightly further down the scale than comfort.
Still, it is plenty fast, and in the slippery conditions that accompanied a snap of cold weather, the Infiniti's Attessa all-wheel-drive system certainly proved its worth. Having campaigned a number of all-wheel-drive cars in racing for several decades, Nissan/Infiniti have managed to create a four-pawed system that doesn't feel front-biased, nor prone to an over-eager traction control system.
The steering is the one major disappointment, although that too is like most modern BMWs. The standard system, as fitted here, provides only modest feedback, and the optional Direct Adaptive Steering is completely divorced from the road.
This latter is quite a clever piece of engineering that makes the Q50 entirely drive-by-wire. Heck, if it's good enough for a fighter jet, it's good enough for a car, right? Sort of - this is one of those areas where demands for driver's aids and the potential for autonomous steering control are influencing some of the basics on cars.
Personally, I'd take a little more road feel, but in Sport mode, the Q50 delivers the kind of grunt that base 2.0-litre turbocharged competitors can't touch. It's more comfort-oriented than the G, but the speed is still there.
Features
Pricing for the Q50 starts at $37,500. Along with the touchscreen interface and various downloadable apps, the Q50 comes bundled with all sorts of interesting tech. Bluetooth streaming and smartphone integration are a cinch. While this standard model was light on options, it's worth noting that Infiniti's available around-view 360-degree camera system is excellent, and their forward-looking traffic detection and active lane control are as good as the Mercedes versions. Fuel economy gets scores of 12.5 litres/100 kilometres city or 8.7 l/100 km highway. Real-world results were closer to the city mileage figure, even with some highway cruising, but with the thermometer dropping, that's to be expected.
Green light
Strong acceleration; smooth, comfortable ride; easy-to-use infotainment.
Stop sign
More luxury than sport; lack of steering feel; V-6 can be a little thirsty.
The checkered flag
Not the G redux, but a new kind of sedan from Infiniti. Quick and quality, that's Q.
Competition
Lexus IS350 ($47,000): From Infiniti's main rival comes a strong sport sedan contender with the face of a Cylon. The IS is fast, sporty, and well-put-together. It's also fiercely aggressive in the styling department. However, the Q50 represents both great value at its significantly lower pricepoint, as well as excellent performance. The IS is probably the sportier of the two in terms of feel, but the Infiniti's mighty V-6 heart can't be discounted.
