Infiniti Q50: Rental Car Review

"phenotyp" (phenotyp)
02/17/2019 at 18:20 • Filed to: review, infiniti, infinitiq50

By popular demand (by which I mean BrianGriffin’s request), a re-write of my week in a Q50, since Kinja ate my previous draft.

Fuck you, Kinja.

Anyway. I had a Q50 for 7 days, thanks to Enterprise bumping me up after I told them that I wasn’t going to drive a truck. I didn’t bother taking any pictures myself, because it was cold and rainy all week, and plenty of people have taken better pictures.

First impressions:

Man, Infiniti really wants to be the Japanese BMW. When our daughter asked my wife what kind of car it was, she said “BMW,” which doesn’t speak too highly of either BMW or Infiniti, if you ask me. As a benchmark, I’m comparing it to the E60, which was the last sedan I owned and lived with for a few years, and really liked, though it’s probably more comparable to the F10 5 Series. I’ve only driven one F10, and it was possibly the most !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . So I’m sticking with the E60.

(gratuitous pics of my E60s)

SO. Back to the Q50. It is... an car.

SO ANGRY

OR SLEEPY

NOT SURE WHICH

... which kinda sums up the driving experience. Most of the time the twin-turbo 6 just hangs out under 2K RPM. Pedal travel vs engine action is completely non-linear, with a bunch of grunt up front, then a whole lotta nothing, then too much all at once. This thing really likes to break loose if you put your foot to the floor, especially since it was cold and wet all week while I had it. I used the “manual” option twice, and determined that it wasn’t worth the bother.

The interior:

Good God, I felt like I was underwater the whole time I drove this thing. I’m 6'1". The cowl is so high, I have no idea how anyone shorter than me could possibly park it.

Did it feel like my grandma’s Buick?

Yes.

The screens were completely inscrutable. There are two, and the control knob behind the shifter seems completely disconnected from screen content. The lower screen has a bunch of options, and I only used the Bluetooth pairing for my phone, which I guess worked. Move the lower screen left or right, and it’s just a bunch of blank screens. Change driver settings? No clue. On top of that, the screens are SUPER BRIGHT! and not connected to interior lighting settings, so even when you turn down the instrument lights, the screens are blindingly bright at night. Which I guess makes sense when you consider that it was designed in like 2006.

So I spent a week with a car that was pretty much unusable, in the screen department. I know people have shat upon iDrive for like 15 years now, but having owned 4 BMWs, I’ve really liked how much I’ve been able to control and do throughout the the system, and this thing was not even worth digging into. Maybe if I had bought it I’d be more diligent about figuring out how it works, but if you have to work at figuring out how something works, it’s probably not very good.

Driving it:

The steering wheel is just a vague suggestion.

Is it connected to the wheels? I’m not sure.

The throttle pedal? It’s nothing, then nothing, then nothing, then too much.

It feels uselessly huge. It really feels like Grandma’s Buick.

Clarkson Voice: “would one buy one?”

No.

DISCUSSION (15)

Honeybunchesofgoats > phenotyp
02/17/2019 at 18:26

For what it’s worth, I like that interior. I’m sure it’s awful to see out of, and I can’t say I’ve ever been even slightly interested in an Infinity, but it does look nice.

phenotyp > Honeybunchesofgoats
02/17/2019 at 18:28

100% garbage.

Honeybunchesofgoats > phenotyp
02/17/2019 at 18:30

But at least the HVAC is independent from the touch screen!

phenotyp > Honeybunchesofgoats
02/17/2019 at 18:31

Well, that may be true. I’m not sure.

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > phenotyp
02/17/2019 at 19:07

Thanks for the write-up and it confirmed my fears. I also like how you comped it to BMW, which is what I’m cross-shopping ;)

I haven’t been in either 5 series, though I have had time in the drivers seat of both the E70 and F15 X5...I preferred the E70, my fiancée preferred the F10, so I get the two-sides of the coin thing.

I’ve sat in a Q50 a couple of times at my favorite showroom I’ve never bought anything from, CarMax. I couldn’t force myself to drive it because the interior just felt so..off.

Going to drive an E90 328 and E82 135 back to back tomorrow.

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > phenotyp
02/17/2019 at 19:18

Reading thru that review I’m going ...

yup.... yup.... .yuppp... pretty much.

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind
02/17/2019 at 19:20

E90 328i and E82 135i? - Oh boy you are going to be so spoilt by them especially the 135i, and not want to drive any other car, ever. Except maybe a Porsche.

phenotyp > BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind
02/17/2019 at 19:21

Yeah man. As far as the car is concerned, it’s just not something I would buy. The E60s I loved, the F10 I didn’t, and the Infiniti just felt like a Buick.

GoodIdeaAtTheTime > Honeybunchesofgoats
02/17/2019 at 21:07

Its not. When the display control unit goes (common problem) it takes out the navigation, audio, and climate control. The hvac is integrated into everything. Those are just the controls, nothing more.

Chariotoflove > phenotyp
02/18/2019 at 00:08

This makes me sad, because I really like the looks of it, and I want it to be a good car.

phenotyp > Chariotoflove
02/18/2019 at 00:16

As far as looks are concerned: it’s fugly. I can’t get over the angry-catfish looks.

It’s gratuitously crap, driving-wise. I honestly wouldn’t recommend anythkng about it.

Chariotoflove > phenotyp
02/18/2019 at 00:20

Honestly, it’s the Q60 I really like. I know the front end is kind of weird, but for some reason, I still like it. Don’t judge me too harshly.

All this said, I still wouldn’t have it on my shopping list. Unless they make a convertible. Then I’m interested.

phenotyp > Chariotoflove
02/18/2019 at 00:25

They’re not gonna make a convertible.

Write this one off, far as I’m concerned.

RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire > phenotyp
02/18/2019 at 14:00

There “sport” mode throttle mapping will vastly improve throttle response. Problem is, you’ll end up going a lot faster in a car that doesn’t give much sensation of speed. I think they nerfed the throttle response for gas mileage and to keep people from lead- footing it everywhere ...

Carfanatic > phenotyp
02/18/2019 at 14:32

Travvy.kinja.com Who the hell wrote this review? I’ve owned my Infiniti Q50 for over a year now and I fucking love it, you just sound like an idiot that doesn’t know how to use a car. Either that or you got one of the .01% that was just a shitty make you know because nothing is perfect even robots. Anyways anyone who reads this I really hope you see my comment before making your decision because this guy honestly just sounds like an idiot I would HIGHLY recommend this car.