- Doors and Seats
4 doors, 5 seats
- Engine
3.0TT, 6 cyl.
- Engine Power
298kW, 475Nm
- Fuel
Petrol (95) 9.3L/100KM
- Manufacturer
RWD
- Transmission
Auto
- Warranty
4 Yr, 100000 KMs
- Ancap Safety
NA
2018 Infiniti Q50 Red Sport first drive review
Time for a game of word association: who comes to mind when you see the name "Stephen Curry".
It might be Infiniti's high-profile brand ambassador, the star hoop-shooter for the successful Golden State Warriors basketball squad.
Or it could be the Australian actor famous for playing Dale Kerrigan in The Castle, the bloke who gave us "dad, I dug another hole" among other quotable gems.
Curry (the 'baller) featured prominently an Infiniti Australia media presentation for the revised Q50 sedan, as the international face for the brand.
He's an appropriate figure for the marque, a second-generation NBA star huge in America but comparatively anonymous in Australia.
That's because Infiniti is reasonably successful in the states, where it comprises almost 7 per cent of luxury car sales. But its Australian arm struggles to reach 1 per cent of the local prestige segment in a market where brand power is crucial.
Infiniti's Q50 sedan is its most authentic model.
Positioned as a rival to the Audi A4 or BMW 3-Series, the Q50 finds more homes than SUV siblings such as the compact QX30 (a rebadged Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class) or massive QX80 (a dressed-up Nissan Patrol).
Infiniti tweaked the Q50 for 2018, sharpening its styling while bringing a subtly revised interior.
The brand dropped its diesel engine option, leaving four powerplants on the table for prospective customers who can choose between four and six-cylinder propulsion.
Entry-level variants priced from $54,990 plus on-road costs bring a turbocharged 2.0-litre engine with 155kW of power, while environmentally-conscious customers might be tempted to spend a little more to get hold of a $73,400 hybrid model that blends a naturally aspirated 3.5-litre V6 with an electric motor and battery pack to bring 268kW of green grunt.
Performance-minded motorists will gravitate toward twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 models that bring 224kW for $70,400 or 298kW of power for $79,990 plus on-road costs.
All four versions drive the rear wheels through seven-speed automatic transmissions, though the hybrid is available with all-wheel-drive.
At Infiniti's insistence, we tested the Q50 in the new Red Sport trim which features the most powerful engine in the range, along with performance-minded additions including 19-inch wheels, a sports body kit, dual exhausts, red-painted brake calipers, rear LED lights and an upgraded steering wheel and gear lever.
The new machine looks good to our eyes, bringing a purposeful stance and attractive lines that suit its role as an executive performance car.
The Red Sport’s interior also has plenty going for it, with black semi-aniline leather trim highlighted by red stitching and diamond-quilted seat bolsters that lend prestige appeal.
While stacked infotainment screens in the centre console take a little time to master (Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are not available), the Q50’s 16-speaker Bose stereo brings plenty of wallop at no additional cost.
There are plenty of toys to play with including a 360-degree camera, lane keeping assistance and active cruise control, but a foot-operated parking brake does not feel particularly sporty or advanced in this segment.
Infiniti’s new steering wheel makes up for that somewhat, bringing a nicely sculpted tiller with shift paddles moved from a fixed position on the steering column (pinched from the Nissan GT-R) to a more conventional setup mounted to the back of the wheel.
Heading out on the road, steering is not a strong point for the Q50, which persists with Infiniti’s “Direct Adaptive Steering” system that does not use a mechanical connection between the steering wheel and front tyres.
The “steer by wire” relationship instead interprets driver inputs in a similar fashion to the steering wheels used in racing simulators, translating driver effort into movement at the front wheels.
Infiniti says the advantages of such a system are that it makes for better-integrated driver aids such as lane keeping assistance, as well as the ability for motorists to customise their car’s steering effort and ratio - how hard you have to twist the steering wheel, and how far you turn it.
Pitched as a rival to driver-focused executive sedans such as the Audi S4, BMW 340i or Mercedes-AMG C43, the Q50 doesn’t deliver the sort of engagement you might expect from a performance sedan.
That steering system actively filters feedback out of the steering, robbing information about the road surface and front tyre behaviour from your fingertips. It can feel quite disconcerting at times – and that’s before you encounter odd clicking and resistance when using all of the available steering lock during low speed manoeuvring.
The steering’s digital approximation of how a sports sedan should feel carries through to entirely unconvincing engine sounds played through the stereo in the car’s sports modes.
Infiniti’s machine lacks the fizzy organic connection offered by its best rivals, and that lack of feel from the front end can make it difficult to judge exactly what’s happening underneath you.
Its suspension is little better – stiff-walled run-flat tyres and multi-mode Dynamic Digital Suspension result in a ride that feels brittle over broken surfaces.
The Q50 Red Sport’s saving grace is its engine, which offers more straight-line shove than any prestige car at this price. Taking a moment to spin the turbos up, the motor gathers pace before rushing toward its redline, sometimes flaring into wheelspin at the top of its tacho.
Reasonably planted in dry conditions, the Red Sport should be treated with caution in the wet, as that peaky motor, unintuitive steering and liberal stability control system can result in the tail swinging well out of line.
Better to look at than it is to steer, the Q50 is an ornament to personal taste and a desire to avoid the European status quo.
But the brand has bigger issues than its steering. Arriving home in the Red Sport one night, a neighbour approached to chat about the car, opening with "How's the Tesla?" The bloke is a Nissan man.
He wears its Supercars merch, drives a brand-new Pathfinder and keeps an eye on various test cars rolling through the Drive garage.
Yet he has never heard of Infiniti, can't remember seeing a Q50 before and doesn't watch basketball.
But he has seen The Castle, and can tell you all about Infiniti's chances of overtaking the luxury car establishment.
"They're dreaming."
2018 Infiniti Q50 Red Sport pricing and specifications
Price: From $79,900 plus on-road costs
On sale: Now
Engine: 3.0-litre V6 twin-turbo petrol
Power: 298kW at 6400rpm
Torque: 475Nm at 5200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic, rear-wheel-drive
Fuel use: 9.3L/100km