Infiniti Q60 Red Sport 2017 review

You probably already know this, but for those who may have missed this class, Infiniti is Nissan's luxury division, just like Lexus is Toyota's upmarket sub-brand. But don't look at Infiniti as a fancy Nissan. No, look at it as a really trendy Nissan.

Actually, this is unfair, because while Infiniti does share a lot of Nissan stuff like transmissions, car platforms, and office space in downtown Atsugi, Japan, there are a lot of Infiniti in Infiniti. Take the Q60 Red Sport, which we drove on Australian roads for the first time. This is a car that is not only equipped with technologies that no other Nissan has, but is the first car in the world, and this is just the beginning. More on this later.

2017 Infiniti Q60 Red Sport

The Q60 Red Sport is two-door, rear-wheel drive and wants to be considered a worthy rival to the Audi S5 Coupe, BMW 440i and Mercedes-AMG C43, but to be honest with each other, its direct rival is the Lexus RC 350. Just think of Infiniti as a mysterious premium economy car. segment between everyday Toyota and Nissan and expensive Mercedes and Beemers.

The Red Sport is the pinnacle of the Q60 lineup and it has finally landed in Australia, five months after the other two classes in the lineup landed here. It was the GT and the Sport Premium, and at the time neither set our world on fire.

So going to the Red Sport showcase looked like we were heading into the last film in a trilogy with little to no expectations. It would only make Red Sport's impact on me even more impressive.

60 Infiniti Q2017: RED Sport
Safety Rating
engine's type	3.0 L turbo
fuel type	Premium unleaded gasoline
Fuel efficiency	8.9l / 100km
Landing	4 Places
Price from	$42,800

Is there anything interesting about its design? 7/10

This Q60 is the first of a new generation and its body is all Infiniti - no Nissan in it - and it's by far the most beautiful car the brand has released.

That teardrop side profile, huge hind thighs and perfectly shaped tail. The Q60's grille is deeper and more angular than other cars in Infiniti's broader lineup, and the headlights are smaller and sleeker. The hood is similarly curved, with its large pontoon humps over the wheel arches and defined ridges running down it from the base of the windshield.

Does anyone buy a two-door sports car thinking it will be practical?

It's an expressive and beautiful car, but it can compete with some amazing rivals like the S5, 440i, RC350 and C43.

All these two-door animals have similar dimensions. At 4685mm, the Q60 Red Sport is 47mm longer than the 440i but 10mm shorter than the RC350, 7mm shorter than the S5 and just 1mm shorter than the C43. The Red Sport is 2052mm wide from mirror to mirror and just 1395mm high.

This Q60 is the first of a new generation and the bodywork is Infiniti.

From the outside, you can only tell the Red Sport apart from other Q60s by the brushed-finish twin tailpipes, but under the skin there are a few big differences.

Inside, the cabin is well crafted with high build quality. Sure, there are some weird asymmetric aspects to the styling, like the waterfall design on the dashboard, and it seems odd to have a large display above another large display, but this is a premium cabin. Although in terms of sophistication of prestige, it is not entirely inferior to the Germans.

How practical is the interior space? 5/10

Does anyone buy a two-door sports car thinking it will be practical? Well, the Q60 Red Sport is practical in that it has four seats and a trunk, but rear legroom is cramped. I'm 191 cm tall and I can't sit in my driving position. Part of that may be due to the massive leather front seats, because I can sit behind my driver's seat in a BMW 4 Series, which has a 40mm shorter wheelbase than the Q60 (2850mm) but with much thinner sport buckets.

The limited rear headroom is a by-product of the nicely sloping roof profile, but also means I can't sit up straight. Again, I don't have this problem in Series 4.

Bear in mind that I'm about 15cm taller than average, so shorter people might find the seats perfectly spacious.

Yes, but the shorter you are, the more difficult it will be for you to put your gear in the trunk, because the Q60 has a high ledge to the cargo area, through which you need to throw your luggage.

Inside, the cabin is well crafted with high build quality.

Trunk volume is 341 liters, which is significantly less than the 4 Series (445 liters) and RC 350 (423 liters). Just to complicate things, Infiniti uses a different volume measurement system from German and Lexus (which use VDA liters), so it's probably best to take your suitcase, pram, or golf clubs to the dealership and try it out for yourself.

To be clear, there are only two seats in the back. Between them is an armrest with two cupholders. There are two more cupholders on the front, and there are small pockets in the doors, but they won't fit anything bigger than a 500 ml bottle unless you pour the contents in there.

Storage elsewhere in the cabin is not very good. The bin under the front center armrest is small, the compartment in front of the shifter looks like a mouse hole, and the glove box barely fits a chunky manual. But it's a sports car, isn't it? All you need to bring is your jacket, sunglasses, seniority leave, right?

Does it represent good value for money? What functions does it have? 7/10

At $88,900, the Q60 Red Sport costs $18 more than the Sport Premium, and that's just $620 more than the Lexus RC 350. The price also means the Q60 Red Sport is a decent chunk less than the Audi S105,800 Coupe for $5 as well as BMW 99,900i for $440 and Mercedes-AMG for $43.

The Infiniti badge may not command the same respect as the German ones, but you get better value for money with the Q60 Red Sport. The list of useful standard features includes automatic LED headlights and DRLs, a power moonroof, a 13-speaker Bose audio system, two touchscreens (8.0-inch and 7.0-inch display), sat-nav, and a surround-view camera.

Infiniti Australia doesn't have an official 0-100 mph time for the Red Sport, but in other markets the brand screams 4.9 seconds from the rooftops.

There's also touchless unlocking, an electrically adjustable steering wheel, dual-zone climate control, power adjustable and heated driver and passenger seats, aluminum pedals, and a leather-wrapped steering wheel.

There are some areas where the Q60 falls short of the Germans. For example, the Audi S5 has a virtual instrument cluster, and the 440i has a great head-up display.

What are the main characteristics of the engine and transmission? 9/10

If power is more important to you than prestige, then the Q60 Red Sport 298-litre twin-turbocharged V475 engine with 3.0kW/6Nm is the perfect reason to cross the S5, 440i, RC 350 and C43 off your shopping list and cancel the call to the service center. bank manager.

The C43 is the most powerful of the German competitors at 270kW, and Infiniti beats it. The 520Nm AMG and 5Nm S500 outperform the Infiniti in terms of torque, but not the 440i with 450Nm. By the way, the RC350 is equipped with a 233kW/378Nm V6 engine – pffff!

This engine is affectionately codenamed VR30 and is an evolution of Nissan's widely praised VQ. However, this engine is not yet powered by any Nissan. So, for now, it's unique to Infiniti and is used in the Q60 and its four-door sibling, the Q50. An extremely important difference between Sport Premium and Red Sport is that the former does not have this engine - it has four cylinders.

The Q60 Red Sport is powered by a 298-litre V475 twin-turbo engine with 3.0 kW/6 Nm.

Infiniti Australia doesn't have an official 0-100 mph time for the Red Sport, but in other markets the brand screams 4.9 seconds from the rooftops. We were about a second behind when we did a primitive and only approximately accurate test with a telephone stopwatch.

I shifted gears for this run using steering wheel-mounted paddles, but looking back, I should have left that to the smooth shifting of the seven-speed automatic.

So the Q60 Red Sport is phenomenally good.

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How much fuel does it consume? 8/10

Infiniti says that with a combination of highway, country and city roads, you should see the Red Sport get 8.9L/100km. I drove it like the manufacturer literally handed me the keys with a full tank of free fuel and a 200km Targa High Country road between me and an earlier than scheduled flight or waiting four hours to get back to the next slot. . Sydney. And yet, I only drained the tank with a flow rate of 11.1l / 100km according to the trip computer. Under these conditions, I wouldn't be surprised if I looked down and saw 111.1 l/100 km.

What is it like to drive? 7/10

This was the part that made me the most nervous. You see, the Red Sport's performance looked good on the spec, but sometimes reality leaves you with numb steering and ultra-responsive stability control.

The lack of hum and barely audible sound of the exhaust at idle did not impress me. Having left on the highway and felt the “sticking” of the steering wheel, nothing happened either. The ride was a bit stiff due to the run flat tires and the suspension was a little wobbly, but it was comfortable overall. I was driving in standard driving mode.

Then I found the "Sport+" mode and everything worked exactly as it should. The Sport+ stiffens the suspension, changes the throttle pattern, speeds up the steering to improve its response, and reminds the stability control system that it's the guard that should stay outside and only come in when there's a problem. It's essentially an "I've got this mode" mode, and luckily the steering is much smoother, with more weight, and doesn't feel like you're struggling with it when changing direction.

I raced through the desert with a giant smile on my face.

The Sport Premium trim doesn't get Sport+ mode, another difference.

Infiniti is calling the Q60 Red Sport direct adaptive steering the world's first digital steering system. There is nothing but electronics connecting the steering wheel to the wheels, and the system makes 1000 adjustments per second. This should give you good feedback and an instant response to your actions.

The Red Sport is the pinnacle of the Q60 range and has finally arrived in Australia.

Customers can also opt for rack and pinion steering – this was not installed on the vehicles we were given to drive.

New adaptive dampers are also constantly tuned, which allow the driver to set them in standard or sport mode, as well as control body lean and rebound.

With all the electronics in the world, the only digital thing missing from the Q60 Red Sport is the speedometer. Of course, the analog tachometer and speedometer are crisp, but they lack divisions between each increment of 10 km/h.

However, I raced through the desert with a huge smile on my face. The Red Sport was balanced, corner entry was excellent, the chassis felt taut, handling was nimble, and the power coming out of tight corners would be enough to break traction (if you're so inclined) in second and third gears. tail, while remaining collected and controlled.

The Infiniti Q60 Red Sport looks beautiful, its side profiles and rear are amazing.

This twin-turbo V6 feels powerful, but it's nowhere near as insanely wild as the 441-hp V6 in the Nissan GT-R R35. No, it's softer and sometimes makes me want more power, although 300kW should be more than enough. It was the only time I wanted this Infiniti to be bigger than a Nissan.

The Red Sport brakes are the same size as the Sport Premium, with 355mm discs with four-piston calipers up front and 350mm rotors with two pistons at the rear. While not huge, it was enough to lift the Red Sport pretty well.

A louder, more aggressive exhaust sound would provide the perfect soundtrack to round off the impressive Sport+ driving experience.

Warranty and safety rating

Basic Warranty

4 years / 100,000 km


guarantee

ANCAP Safety Rating

What safety equipment is installed? What is the safety rating? 8/10

The Q60 Red Sport has yet to receive an ANCAP crash rating, but the Q50 has received the highest possible five stars. The Q60 comes with an outstanding level of advanced safety equipment including AEB, blind spot and lane departure warning with steering assist.

There are two ISOFIX anchorages on the back and two top cable attachment points.

How much does it cost to own? What kind of guarantee is provided? 7/10

The Q60 Red Sport is covered by Infiniti's four-year or 100,000-mile warranty. Service is recommended every 12 months or 15,000 km.

Infiniti has a six-year or 125,000 km service plan package at no extra cost. The company says buyers can expect to pay $331 for the first service, $570 for the second, and $331 for the third, but these are only indicative prices.

Verdict

The Infiniti Q60 Red Sport looks beautiful, its side profiles and rear are amazing. The interior isn't as upmarket as an Audi, Beemer or Merc, but the build quality is excellent. Although it's not as expensive as the Germans, I think it's still a little over the mark. This engine outperforms all its rivals, and the Sport+ mode is the magical setting that transforms this car from a regular car into a nimble and useful one. If you can handle a harder ride, I suggest leaving it in Sport+ mode.

Is the Q60 Red Sport the perfect mid-range performance and prestige between high-end and everyday? Let us know what you think in the comments below.