The guys at Infiniti have received their fair share of criticism for anything from driving dynamics to reliability. But at least they're making more interesting pseudo-German cars than Acura and their designs aren't as vulgar as the latest Lexus cars. Of course, our firm favorite from the land of rebadged Nissans is the Q50, an all-new sedan available with a wide pallet of engines.
Over in America, people are buying these things mainly with V6 or V6-hybrid engines. But most people in Europe and Japan can't afford to pay the taxes for a 300 horsepower sedan, so smaller turbo units are offered.
Since the late part of 2014, Infiniti has been using two Mercedes-Benz engines. One is a 170 hp 2.1-liter diesel made in Germany, the other being the latest 2-liter petrol unit assembled in Tennessee, the same one used by the CLA and the new C-Class.
It makes 155 kW (211 PS) and a rather substantial 350 Nm (258 lb-ft) of torque, delivered to the back wheels by a 7-speed automatic. In Japan, the Q50 is sold as the Nissan Skyline 200GT-t with the same engine and all-wheel drive, but AWD is not available in Europe at the moment.
As far as performance is concerned, it gets from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 7.2 seconds, according to this real-life test performed in Germany. That's actually 0.1 seconds faster than officially claimed. What's more, the sound is decent for a turbocharged 2-liter engine.
Besides getting the same engine as a Mercedes C 250, there's another benefit to this particular Q50. Unlike the all-wheel-drive-only Q50 Hybrid, the turbo does without electric batteries in the rear section of the car. This means it boasts a bigger boot, from 400 liters to 500 liters. It's two tax brackets lower.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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