I got a 2010 loaner while my transmission was being diagnosed and the electronics went haywire after work and it wouldn't start. Infiniti of Cincinnati immediately delivered a brand new Q50 until I get my tranny gets replaced. I can't say enough good things about their service department.

The Q50 feels totally different from my G37. It seems much bigger and is much more refined/mature. The interior appointments are much nicer. The touchscreen is nice but takes time to get used to. It also shows a lot of fingerprints and comes with a screen cloth.

Accelerating from stops seems ambiguous while the car tries to figure out your intentions ( maybe this is from years of driving manuals). Once it gets going the manual mode makes the car a little more engaging and responsive. On the highway the car is solid, steady, and inspires confidence especially at speed in Sport mode.

The handling is adequate and much improved over a base G37x. I would keep the stock suspension, add sway bars, real tires, and beg Infiniti to get rid of the 4x4 gap so spring/coils aren't necessary. I like the car but I would want a manual and different power plant options before plunking down $50K.

 

I'm definitely keeping my 2010 G37s Anniversary Edition sedan. That new Q50 just can't seem to grow on me at all.

 

That many "much"s. I would get rid of my G37 in a heartbeat if I felt the same as you did. So, "much" improved over a G37x yield just an "adequate" handling? The AWD is far from a Camry mind you.

Thought interns should now all be back to school, but boy was I wrong. Infiniti should've hired better troll.

 

lol, so you don't like my initial impression that I found some positives and negatives about the Q50? The interns may be back in school but the d-bags seem to be out in full force.

 

I wonder if they have changed the gearing? The 7AT in my '09 xS was not ambiguous at all ... my butt dyno says it was a lot quicker to 30 than my 6MT. Combination of aggressive gearing and AWD traction. There is no first gear kickdown on the 7AT, but that can be solved with a squeeze of the paddle shifter. I wish the 6MT had a first gear ratio like the 7AT - we'd be out hunting 5.0 Mustangs.

The guy who bought my xS loves the look of the Q50, but he's 20 years younger than me. I like the G look a lot better - especially the back end. Maybe I'm just old ...

 

Our AWDs handle like big barges compared to the Q50s and non AWD G37s. Sorry to burst your bubble.


OP, i would agree with you 100%.

 

Seems like comparing a G37x to a G37s is not really a fair comparison in terms of what Infiniti offers in it's lineup.

However, I would pick the G37x, each and every time over the sport due to it being a DD and I need to be able to deal with feet of snow on the ground. No more RWD cars as DD as long as I live where it snows.

 

WannabeSport,

You are entailed to your opinion, but I think you are dead wrong. Put decent tires on your xS and it will come darn close to a 6MT. I drove the two back to back on my favorite section of twisty road, where I can eek out maybe 1 or 2 mph more in the 6MT.

If you hate xS's so much, why in the heck did you buy one? Certainly you knew that you were getting the standard suspension and steering, right?

G

 

you guys are an absolute hoot sometimes.

 

Most X owners usually don't understand the difference. That's why we keep getting these apple 2 oranges opinions.

 

Still handles like a barge.

If you can sit here and HONESTLY tell me that you think your xS handles better than your S, then you are either 1. Not pushing the car to its limits. (Try it some time, it gets ugly.) or 2. Have no idea what on earth you are talking about.

I have never had an AWD. So I figured "How much different can it really be?"


Boy was I wrong. Like 2 totally different machines. But I have expressed my feelings on this car and it will not be a sad day when I turn it in as this car has soured me on Nissan and Infiniti. But you live and learn.

Back to the Q50.

 

I have a new 13 S and love how it handles (I agree with others that the 1st Gens were more raw, but the G grew up nicely)....not sure about the XS, but it seems that the added diff in the front should not change the handling characteristics that much from that of the S?

I think the Q looks fine (even the rear than many feel was lifted from Hyundai) and agree the interior feels a bit more refined that the current G37; I am disappointed that it uses essentially the identical power-plant as the G37. You would think that they would try to change a few things around to make it a little different, but it's identical.

With that said, at the current prices which the G37s are flying out the door, I feel that there is nothing in the same league as this car for the price.

In fact, the tried and proven G37S/G37XS may be one of the best performance values the industry has seen in the last 5-7 years (similar to the first Gens a decade ago). Say what you will about the design being tired and needing a refresh, but after 7 years, it feels like they have ironed alot of the kinks out and I'm personally pretty happy with the end result.

 

^^^You don't think the new hybrid powerplant is not switching things around a bit?

I took my G in for a regular service last week. I think that HYUNDAI lifted the styling Q's from the Q. I didn't have enough time to take the Q out for a test drive however:

1. The interior of the Q is far nicer then the current G. Didn't miss the analog clock.
2. Taking the grill in isolation from both the G and Q it's amazing how butt ugly both grills are without any other visual styling cues. I was really amazed at this. However, the styling of the Q is subtly nicer than the G. As always opinions on styling are always...YMMV.

 

Wannabesport - can't really read it, but I assume they are Pilot A/S?

The S handles better, no question. I am just saying that if you put the same tires on them the differences isn't as great as you think. And you can put sways on the xS which help with the understeer. The quick steering on the S makes a significant difference in how agile the car feels, though.

I personally call a 1987 Buick a barge ... A G37 of any kind is a world above that. In fact, a world above the FWD Acura TL that I traded in for my xS. I haven't driven the TL with SHAWD so I can't comment on that one.

 

I don't do no season tires. These are Michelin Pilot Super Sports. Same tires you get on an M5, and honestly the tires outhandle the car.

I have debated putting sway bars on but I really do not want to buy anything for this car. I'd rather it just handle well from factory especially if they put a red S on it.

I had a 6MT Sport with Michelin Super Sports and now this G37xS with Michelin Super Sports. The difference is there, and I notice it. I think Infiniti shouldn't have been lazy and actually made this car handle better than its journey counterpart. Either that or my car is broken and handles worse than the rest, but I am verrrry underwhelmed with this cars performance in the turns. I think the last gen TL holds the road better than this G does and by a large margin.