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Infiniti's QX50 Concept debuts in oh-so-close-to-production form in Detroit

Infiniti debuted the new QX50 concept today at the Detroit Auto Show, a preview of the midsize crossover set to hit the market soon and an evolution of the 2016 QX Sport Inspiration. This previews the followup to the current QX50, which debuted way back in 2007 as the Infiniti EX. The QX draws on Infiniti's current design language and looks like a slightly shortened version of the larger QX60. While this is still a concept, don't expect the full production version to stray too far from what we see here. Infiniti's press release is full of phrases like "driver-centric, passenger-minded" design, but in reality it's just a handsome but mostly traditional shape. The big news is that the QX50 will be the first application of Infiniti's trick variable-compression 2.0-liter turbocharged inline four. The engine's design promises both high horsepower and high fuel economy. Infiniti is claiming 268 horsepower and 27-percent better fuel economy when compared to the outgoing model. View 17 Photos Also coming on the new QX50 are a suite of active safety and autonomous features. While the details on both are extremely vague, Infiniti claims that the autonomous tech will allow the driver to retain ultimate control over the vehicle. That seems a bit counter to how autonomous driving works, so it will be interesting to see how the system actually functions. The active safety systems are said to be proactive, with future versions using lasers, radar, and cameras. While the outgoing QX50 was a rear-wheel-drive swoopy crossover, this new model appears to send power to the front wheels. Infiniti's release doesn't expressly say, but it does hint towards it with notes about a shorter hood and a "front-biased intelligent all-wheel drive system." This makes sense, and we don't see many enthusiasts lamenting the loss of a dated, rear-drive crossover. No word on pricing or when we'll actually see a production version. The current model turns 10 this year, albeit with a mid-cycle refresh. Look for news of a final production version very soon. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Related Gallery Infiniti QX50 Concept View 24 Photos Image Credit: Live photos copyright 2017 Drew Phillips / Autoblog Design/Style Detroit Auto Show Infiniti Technology Emerging Technologies Crossover SUV Concept Cars Videos Original Video 2017 Detroit Auto Show infiniti qx50 variable compression ratio

Infiniti extends long-wheelbase Q50 L for the Chinese market

Want to sell your luxury sedan in China? You're going to need a long-wheelbase model. Not because the still-dominant Chinese government mandates it, or because the customers are taller, but because Chinese buyers tend to like being chauffeured around in the back of their luxury sedans instead of driving themselves, so the priority is on rear-seat space over driving dynamics.
We've seen the likes of Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo all roll out long-wheelbase versions of their compact and midsize sedans specifically to cater to Chinese tastes. Even Infiniti - which now bases itself in Hong Kong - offers a long-wheelbase Q70 L not only in China but around the world, and has now bolstered its extended offerings with the reveal of the Q50 L, set to debut at the Chengdu Motor Show later this month.
Set to be produced locally for the local market, the Q50 L adds nearly two inches to the wheelbase of the Q50 to the benefit of rear-seat legroom. Power comes from Infiniti's 2.0-liter turbo four offering 208 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque, driving to the rear wheels through a seven-speed automatic transmission with drive-by-wire steering.

2017 Infiniti Q30 First Drive

Audi and BMW have owned the premium C-segment for almost a decade now thanks to the A3 and the 1 Series (and 2 Series). Benz's A-Class has become less of a retiree's option and has spawned a popular (if not particularly good) sedan (the CLA) and a crossover (GLA). Down in the lower-class decks, machinery from Subaru is punching well above its weight, while Volkswagen's Golf owns the market in Europe. This all left perennial premium pretenders like Lexus and Infiniti with a problem: how to convince buyers their C-segment machinery was genuinely premium if they were based off a volume-selling donor body from Toyota or Nissan? Mercedes-Benz opened an odd window of opportunity for Infiniti. See, Benz's parent, Daimler, and Infiniti's motherships, Renault and Nissan, have had a technical alliance since 2010. A big technical alliance. So Infiniti was able to develop its hatch to sit atop the A-Class chassis, powertrain, and suspension architecture, though you'd barely know it by looking at the Infiniti from the outside. It has a style all its own, and you're not going to mistake a single angle on the Q30 for anything that comes out of Stuttgart. Nobody makes deeper cuts and curves into its metal than Infiniti. The Japanese brand claims that design is at its core, and whether you love or hate that design, it's hard to argue that point. The Q30 feels like a nicer, easier, more luxurious place than the A-Class on which its based. "Infiniti design is very three-dimensional on every panel. We want to give the sense and the feeling that every Infiniti has been made by an artisan, by hand, not by computer," the company's London-based design boss, Simon Cox, argued. Some will love it, some will hate it, and Infiniti can live with it either way. The point is that the brand is now on the field in a segment that is projected to keep growing at more than 9.4 percent globally, and it got there at a fraction of the normal cost of an all-new car, without having any easily identifiable cap tips to the Benz's far more conservative exterior design. The Benz bits are more obvious inside. Infiniti did such a good job of grafting its design ideas onto the interior hard points that it feels like a nicer, easier, more luxurious place than the A-Class, even if the Benz will be between eight and 10 percent more expensive in most markets. The dash top is clean, swooping, and stitched together beautifully.