Infiniti Q50 turbo driving review
As the Japanese luxury automotive manufacturer further expands powertrain options for their premium sedans, a new turbocharged petrol engine is now available to Infiniti Q50 drivers. The 2.0-litre direct injection petrol engine joins the 2.2-litre direct injection turbo-diesel engine, and the celebrated high-performance 3.5-litre V6-hybrid powertrain which were launched in SA just over three months ago.
Infiniti’s global strategy is to become a premium segment challenger. They are aware of the challenge they face and say that their first mission is to match the requirements of the competitors in this segment. Vice President of Infiniti for EMEA, François Goupil De Bouille, says that they are aware that Infiniti will fail if it copies what the Germans are doing.
Infiniti is taking this time to invest heavily in the market and from next year will be building a strong foundation within the market. By 2018 Infiniti wants to accelerate its growth.
When it comes to the brand, Infiniti uses terms such as: innovative, unconventional in design, premium, aspirational and a challenger. These words stand out when you step inside this vehicle. Infiniti may have a long way to go before they can truly compete against the Germans, but they are most certainly on the right track.
We drove the Q50 hybrid a few months back, and now we got to take the 2,0 petrol for a spin. The modern, lightweight 4-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine (which is sourced from Daimler) develops 155 kW of power and 350 N.m of torque, sending drive to the rear wheels via a 7-speed automatic transmission. This engine has oomph! We were told to test the overtaking power when we had an opportunity to do so. It certainly pulls. The ride is smooth and road noise is almost non-existent. It was a comfortable and easy drive. When in the passenger seat, I could have happily had a snooze…had my driving partner allowed it!
The only thing that really came up for discussion regarding the car with my driving partner on the launch was the direct adaptive steering (DAS). This is a system that took 15 years to develop. Basically, it is steer-by-wire, in other words, when you steer, the steering wheel doesn’t receive input via the wheels but rather the input goes to an actuator that drives the steering rack and then turns the wheels accordingly. My driving partner felt this steering would take some getting used to and in fact, didn’t really appreciate it all that much. However, I didn’t seem to have a problem with it. Even though the input is first sent to another system before the wheels, there is no hesitation. The response is better than you would expect.
The Premium is priced at R430 000 and the Sport from R477 000. The all-new Infiniti Q50 can also be personalised, but to simplify matters there are also five different option packs:
Multimedia pack – R30 800
Navigation system, Advanced Bose audio with 14 speakers.
Welcome Pack (Standard on Sport and Hybrid models) – R21 800
Tyre pressure monitoring with individual display, power and heated door mirrors with folding and reversing synchronisation, intelligent key with smart access and enhanced memory, welcome lighting system, powered adjustment for rake and reach on the steering column, powered front seat adjustment with memory and powered lumbar support for the driver.
Visibility pack – R20 310
Adaptive front lighting, smart beam to help prevent high beam blindness to oncoming traffic and around view monitor with moving object detection for clear and safe parking.
Steering Pack (Standard on Hybrid Sport models) – R12 000
Direct Adaptive Steering and Active Lane control to give a more customised and precise feel to the steering whilst maintaining a more central path within a lane without the need for minor steering adjustments.
Safety Shield Pack – R27 000
Intelligent cruise control, lane departure warning and lane departure prevention, blind spot warning and blind spot intervention, forward emergency braking, predictive forward collision warning, distance control assist and back up collision intervention