I FINALLY had a chance to take an extended drive in an RS today. My local dealer has numerous RS models in stock. I was hoping to take the base model, no packages, out for a spin but it was at the auto show. Ended up in one with the premium plus package, black interior. They had one with a red interior and it sold very, very quickly.

Anyway, the premium plus doesn't change the suspension or the steering and it didn't have DAS or the tech package. So standard electronic steering plus the adaptable suspension.

I started out in sport mode on smooth roads but quickly went to Sport+. I didn't notice any real change in the steering or in the damping really but I did not do the same stretch of road back to back with different settings.

I did take the time to hit some of the rough stuff I encounter daily and I can say the ride is very well controlled in that regard and very very similar to the stock IPL suspension. My car, with Aragostas are much more firm.

I didn't really get a chance to see how well body movement is controlled in sport+ mode. It's one of those high priority things for me personally. I hate a lot of roll and what feels like polar movements at either end. Under normal driving, the car feels a bit more taunt that my IPL with stock suspension.

Steering is devoid of all feel. It feels linear and natural on turn-in but there's no feedback at all. I could live with it. I'll have to try DAS just to see...

The overall driving position seems a hair lower than in my car. It sort of surprised me when I got back into my vehicle as I seemed to be sitting higher with a better view over the hood. I actually prefer the wheel/seat/pedal relationship a bit more in my G but that could be I didn't have things adjusted perfectly on the Q60. Plus I have long legs.

The RS is substantially quieter than my car at cruising speeds. Everything else was pretty natural, I felt comfortable in the car right away. I like the smaller paddle shifters. They have a nice feel to them.

Maybe it's a placebo but I felt like the paddles enacted a gear change, especially on downshifts, more quickly than my car. It's still not fast enough however.

Power. To really sum the power up, it's effortless. The car accelerates decently even in 7th on the highway. No need to downshift to get a decent amount of acceleration.

I did have the chance to all out floor it as did the salesman who drove the car initially. This actually gave me a chance to feel the chassis working while he accelerated hard. The really sad part is the RS (rear wheel drive) had more traction than my IPL. I'm beginning to wonder if my rear differential is really working.

The power nannies are there in spades however and you get the exact same reaction from the computer, stepping on the appropriate rear brake for you. Same noise, same feeling. I'd say the car is moderately tossable in this regard.

The car was deceptively fast. I didn't feel like the power was overwhelming. Completely controllable and linear from idle on up. Being a new car, I didn't go all the way to redline. The RS really walks right up to that "edge" of where power has a direct 1:1 ratio of your butt clenching or getting butterflies in your stomach. Or smiles even. As is, anyone could drive this car. An exhaust and a bit of meddling will really wake this car up. Of that I'm sure.

Speaking of exhaust, I don't think I heard it the whole time. I thought I heard what may have been pumped in sound. It was by no means unpleasant but it was as restrained as an English gentleman prize fighter at tea time. You know he's got the goods but you don't hear about them. Speak softly and carry a big stick, right? On average, it feels like a 5-second 0-60 car, day in and day out. We're not talking about launching perfectly with the wind blowing the right direction on sticky pavement. We're talking your average joe flooring it from a stoplight.

I'm tempted. I'm not a first year car guy and I'd like to see just a tinge of "edge" put into this car.

Looks wise, I'd always liked the Q60 but today it left me a bit flat. I was able to see at least five colors and black, to me, was the best. I drove a Graphite Shadow and my current IPL is the same color. The rear end is a bit soft, a bit plebeian without a spoiler. The front also lacks the aggression below the bumper line needed for an RS model. The lights promise but the rest just doesn't deliver.

I did't pay much attention to the stereo, nav, screens, any of those things, other than dynamic mode shifting. Thankfully, you can adjust modes on the fly and you don't have to be in park.

Hopping back into the IPL, I immediate appreciated three things; steering, seating position and the sound it made while accelerating. It felt more visceral in that you felt the road and the engine needs revs to really go. Yep, it didn't feel as fast as the RS but it was a substantial difference. The torque however, was far, far different. Overall the RS is just much easier to drive, and will be day in and day out, on public roads. It's just missing that tinge of excitement and has all the controlled competence most will every need.

I do think, after writing this, I'll wait. The M2 looks exciting but I doubt I'd be able to test drive one. And then there's the RS3 which should have all the grin factors along with everyday livability. We'll see. Now if Infiniti comes out with an RS-R, we may have a deal.

Or I could just add a few parts to the RS and bring out a slightly harder edge.

Either way, it's an extremely competent car that, I'd imagine is just stellar on long road trips. I'd definitely take it over anything that wasn't a straight-up M, RS or "real" AMG. Maybe that's Infiniti's goal.

 

I can't wait until I drive a Red Sport. I am currently pondering selling my G and getting a Boxster S.... We will see

 

From a strictly driving dynamic you'll find the Boxter in another league. That's a very connected car with sublime balance. The Q is a far different animal. More relaxed.

 

Pretty much my feelings as well.. Its just missing something that would otherwise make me say "I gotta have it now".

Edge is a good word for it. Its extremely composed and "gentlemanly". I wish it would cuss and spit on the sidewalk without permission sometimes. A DCT or an aggressive exhaust note would be all the difference.
But to me its obvious that they wanted to leave room for a performance version.

 

I hope they have a performance version sometime down the line. Looking at the G37 it's had about a 7 year lifespan so this q60 is going to be here for a while, and therefore a better performance model should be released sometime down the line. Like the IPL was released for the G37 from '10 to '13 and later years I'm not sure, the IPL came through about 2 years after the G37's release. So I am looking forward to a better performance model in the future. It wouldn't be justice to the G's legacy if they don't release one,and I'd be pissed

 

Long time ago, my wife took her G37s Sedan for oil change and got a Q50 loaner for overnight. Exactly how I felt, I was unpleasantly surprised.


Nice car in the Q60, but I'm very disappointed at the complete reuse of Q50 center stack, can't help but feel somewhat outdated compared to the current German offerings.

 

It seems our concerns about the car are real (despite getting our messages deleted).

"Effortless" is a nice way of putting it, we were so afraid that it will struggle merging in traffic and going uphill .

 

I actually have a few spots on the way to work where HARD acceleration is often needed to avoid death. It can be trying even in a G. But I digress...

Curious if anyone knows whether or not there's a break-in regiment electronically prescribed for the new Q60? Meaning things are electronically limited, somewhat, vs when the car has reached its break-in mileage limit. BMW does this and they actually refresh the ECU at the first service where you get full revs, full boost/overboost and full power.

Would make sense for Infiniti to do likewise and might explain the decent but not overwhelming power. I did get up to 6K rpm during my test drive.

 

i dont know, they added a twin turbo in the Q that was suppose to be on the IPL G anyway, so that upgrade was already outdated and prerequisite for the new Q.

If they can borrow an entire engine from Mercedes, why not borrow a better transmission instead? Infiniti already has a VCT 2.0 L in the works, and wont be needing the Merc engine any longer, they should have just staved off on the 2.0L until their own in house VCT was released and instead borrow a transmission from else where, since they are too lazy to do DCT or 6MT on the Q.

Automatics arent bad either, and although the current 7 speed it is getting the job done, there are better shifting transmissions out there, like the M3's 8 speed. I saw in a review that the M3's 8 speed transmission shifts .10 milliseconds faster than the GTR's DCT.

unless they do have a zestier sport model coming up in the near future, I can forgive the fact that they went with the 7speed for the time being. If not, then instead of borrowing a Mercedes engine, and since they wanted to stay auto, they should have borrowed the 8 speed from BMW instead.

However, I wonder if Infiniti's in-house 7 speed can be calibrated to shift faster? it probably does in sport + mode, so there may not even be a problem after all. Unless you are a die hard 6MT fan.

 

I am currently driving a base 2015 Q50 while my G is at the dealership...

I definitely notice the difference in steering feel. I would have never known how much feel there is in my G's steering were it not for the Q. It takes some adjusting, but at the end of the day I could live with it. But I do look forward to getting back in my G to really feel the difference.

Handling and ride wise... I have a pretty nice set of curves that I can take pretty briskly depending on traffic... I got a chance to take it briskly in the Q... I felt a little more confident in the Q than I do in my G and it felt more flat as well. But that may be because the G has 40k miles on it now and I just may be feeling that new car tautness. And I may be wrong, but the ride in the Q seems a little firmer than my G and its a sport... but I may be able to chalk that up to the run flat tires. I also want to say I feel the rear end rotating in the Q more than I do in my G in the curves...

The transmission... I drive a 6MT so I am biased there. I do feel like there is a wait for it to kick down in the Q... but it probably takes the same amount of time for me to downshift myself in the G. In manual mode the Q seems pretty responsive.

But overall I agree with the overall consensus... the Q50 just feels more grown up, but I won't say performance wise it is a step back from the G. Its still the same machine, it just feels different, which isn't a bad thing for me. I don't think its a leap forward, I just think they really focused on refining what the G had to offer and therefore it feels like an easier car to drive on a day to day basis which may make it feel less performance oriented to the enthusiast. Under the refinement I can still feel that the car has very decent performance capabilities. I would love to test out a Sport... or better yet a Red Sport. For sure it gets better MPGs than the G! Ugh!

 

I agree on most of your points. I have a 11' G37s and it was at the dealer for a 60K service, so I was given a 3.0 300hp Q50s as a loaner. The Q50 is definitely more on the luxury side of the pendulum than sport.

Some of the things I notice from the get go:

1. No cold start exhaust noise. Sounds like pumped in noise when really hitting it hard.
2. The engine seems or rides smoother than the 3.7
3. No or less feeling in the steering wheel (even in Sport settings)
4. The power seems be equivalent to my G37, but just does it more quietly.


Now I don't want to seem like that I'm putting the down the Q50 when I say this, but I wasn't WOW'd by it. I thought it was pretty nice, I really love the aggressive front end, and I'm jealous of the MPG I was seeing while driving it. But I missed my G for the 2 days that it was in the shop.

So I'm curious now on how the Red Sport drives.

 

Yea I have a 3.7 so couldn't compare it there. But I can say the Q50 made me aware of some of characteristic traits of the VQ37 that I also notice in my car that at times I wondered if they were normal. But it seems they are. Lol. Def that cold start up. The first time I test drove a VQ37 was in a M37 and the cold start up kinda alarmed me and I asked the salesman about it. Used to it now.

But I would say its more like the Q50 has clothed it self with more luxury and kept the same amount of sport, it's just not as evident. Like I said I can def feel that the Q50 has some chops and from what I recall the performance numbers it puts down match or better the G, just doesn't feel as connected.

 

are you guys talking about the normal electric rack steering, or the new DAS steering system?

 

I am speaking of the normal electric rack steering. I have not driven a car with DAS yet.

 

i just tweeted InfinitiUSA if they are going to release a sportier model with less weight, plus DCT or 6MT. they said to "stay tuned" and gave a link asking me to sign up for their newsletter. :/