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2016 Infiniti Q50 gets 2.0L turbo four

After adding a US-built, 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder to the European and Chinese-market Q50, Infiniti will finally add this engine to the US-spec car. Official details are exceedingly scarce, with the company only saying the 2.0-liter will hit dealers this winter and that additional info will be made available this fall. We can, however, make a few safe assumptions based on the engine's output in Europe. According to our previous story on the Decherd, TN-built engine, the turbocharged mill will offer up 211 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque. That plants it squarely between the outputs of the 2.0-liter turbo in the BMW 320i and 328i, though it's down on power compared to the engines offered in the Cadillac ATS, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, and upcoming Lexus IS 200t. There's also a 100-plus-horsepower gap between the Q50's two gas-only engines. Considering all of these things, not to mention Infiniti's reluctance to reveal official specs, it seems safe to wager that the Japanese brand will find a way to squeeze more power out of the current 2.0-liter turbo. That'd allow the Q50 to better challenge the competition's entry-level offerings while bringing the starting price point down from the roughly $38,000 it sits at now. That's grain-of-salt conjecture on our part, though, so caveat emptor. Expect to hear more on the Q50's new engine later this year. Until then, scroll down for the official press release cover all of Infiniti's 2016 updates. INFINITI – WHAT'S NEW FOR 2016 For 2016, the Infiniti lineup in the United States expands once again, literally, with a new longer, roomier Infiniti QX50 premium crossover. With its wheelbase extended 3.2-inches, the 2016 QX50 offers greatly increased rear passenger room, as well as additional cargo space. It also features new exterior styling. There are additional changes in store for 2016, starting with the addition of a new 2.0-liter turbo 4-cylinder engine for the Infiniti Q50 sports sedan available in the winter of 2016. Other Infiniti Q50 enhancements will be announced at the North American International Auto Show in January. In addition, revisions to the Infiniti QX60 luxury crossover will be announced at that time. The Infiniti QX80 full-size SUV keeps it fresh for 2016 with a new Signature Edition, which includes Driver Assistance and Split Bench packages, Saddle Tan high-contrast interior, bodyside moldings and chrome mirror caps. The QX80 Special Edition is limited to just 1,000 units.

The yin and yang of the 2017 Infiniti Q50 Red Sport 400

When we first drove the Q50 Red Sport 400, Infiniti had the car out at a prepared slalom-and-cone course in a large, open parking lot. The car was stacked up against another Q50 without the Direct Adaptive Steer steer-by-wire system, and the course was designed to show that the DAS-equipped Red Sport 400 (it's a $1,000 option) required less steering input to master the same course. With all due respect to Infiniti, which is invested in this unfortunate system and has been working hard to revise it, the comparison doesn't make a lot of sense. The non-DAS Red Sport 400 has a steering ratio of 15:1 in RWD and 16.7:1 in AWD forms. The DAS system can vary between 12:1 and 32.9:1 in RWD and 11.8:1 to 32.3:1 in AWD flavors. At its extremes, the DAS system's ratio is vastly different than the fixed-ratio cars. So sure, with a super-quick steering ratio available, the DAS driver's going to do less work. It's all in the gearing. Does this mean it's better, that the steering feel is more natural, that it's easier to hustle quickly? The amount the driver saws at the wheel isn't an indication of that, necessarily. After a few days in a rear-drive Red Sport 400, I'm saying that the spooky disconnection between the driver and the front wheels would be a severe deficit to a driver on a real autocross course. It's not like the DAS system is choosing bad ratios within its range, it's just not supplying the feedback to make it enjoyable. Knowing what your front tires are up to is critical. I can hear you saying right now, "But what Q50 Red Sport 400 owners are going to autocross their cars?" Sure, but it was just a means to an end: showing off the DAS in a good light. And in that case, it probably did. The thing is, in isolation, not back-to-back with a non-DAS car with a slow steering ratio, the DAS system has the same issues it's always had: It simply doesn't feel natural. It doesn't feel intuitive. There doesn't seem to be any real advantage over a slightly quicker rack. I don't hear about people making buying decisions based on how much work they have to do sawing at the wheel, do you? So, that's one side of the Q50 coin – one that's hard to ignore if you're an enthusiast and steering feel is an important connection between you and the vehicle you just dropped a large hunk of change on, and will be spending a lot of your time in. The other is that there's a really compelling reason to drive a Red Sport 400: The 3.0-liter, twin-turbocharged V6 is a monster.

2014 Infiniti Q50

Avoiding An Identity Crisis... For Now
Infiniti is a brand that has been quietly undergoing major upheaval - and not just with the numbers and letters on its trunklids. Back in December, Nissan's premium brand rankled fans and pundits by announcing it would redo its alphanumeric nomenclature, yet that decision was but a PR speedbump - there are bigger fish to fry. After all, this is a marque that was on the chopping block just a couple of years ago, and now it has a major opportunity to succeed thanks to new investment, new independence (Infiniti is now responsible for its own design, engineering, marketing, quality and human resources), a new global headquarters in Hong Kong, and new marching orders from new leadership that calls for a revitalized and expanded portfolio.
Yet if you think that the Q-based naming convention is the first sign of the brand's new direction, you might have missed Infiniti's biggest signal flare: the 2013 JX crossover. Fine premium three-row crossover that it may be, it's still the first Infiniti in ages that operates without a scintilla of driving entertainment at the core of its genetic makeup. (The last - and perhaps only - previous example was also Pathfinder-based, the 1997 QX4). To be fair, three-row CUVs have a laundry list of priorities before driving enjoyment figures in, but the message the JX (henceforth known as the QX60) sends is clear: Infiniti is going after more segments and more customers. Plans are afoot to expand the company's product line by a whopping 60 percent over the next five years, and in short, that means Infiniti is no longer content to be the unsung Japanese BMW - it needs vehicles that satisfy a wider swath of consumers. Despite all this, Infiniti officials we spoke with were keen to assert that driving pleasure remains very much core to their mission, and to that of this 2014 Q50 in particular.