The Infiniti Q50 – the world’s first production car to be ‘steered by wire‘ – is on display at the Aloft KL Sentral hotel (special thanks to reader Justin Lee for the tip!) and so we bring you a gallery of the compact exec that’s expected to launch in Malaysia sometime this year.
Crucially, the banner behind the car makes mention of a turbocharged, direct-injected 2.0 litre petrol engine that develops 214 hp, which pretty much confirms the powerplant for Malaysia. The four-cylinder motor should be mated to a seven-speed auto.
Like the US-market example shown at KLIMS13 last year, this Q50 S features a more aggressive-looking front bumper (see regular Q50) and striking 19-inch alloys. Looks quite a treat, doesn’t it?
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Atas Sylphy!
looks sexy.from the side,looks more like mazda6.from the front looks a bit like nissan gtr35.if i have 300k right now this would already be in my garage.
the cost to build a standard recaro seat in japan is 5k.The same recaro seat build in german will cost 7k.same structural integrity,same fabric same design.they cost more because german have higher taxation rate and higher gdp.so,if you think german car are superior because the price is higher ,then your whole life have been a lie.
nice car pack with design and performance!
i would buy, these low volume models i think offer the best ownership experience
So.. The half a million ringgit question.. How much is it gonna be?
10-20k more expensive than the BMW 328i because it’s CBU.
Not necessary as its big brother M37 is selling at 425k. Cheaper than 528i when its suppose to compete with 535i. Therefore, if this beauty comes with 2.0l then price should be cheaper. Unless it comes Japan spec or US spec engine, the mighty 3.7l then the price might be above RM350k.
Those wheels are amazing. Everything else…I will have to see it for myself first.
Anytime better than Lexus.
Lexus can close shop!
Now this is a good looking car with decent specs but no, I am contented with my IS F sport.
Brands like Infiniti and Lexus will not sell well in Malaysia because of their high asking price. I mean how many of you would choose an Inifiniti over an equivalent Bmw or Mercedes for the same(if not higher) price.
In other markets they price their cars 15-20% cheaper than the equivalent models of the luxury Germans and pack their cars with more features. Such marketing technique would work to a certain extent.
But in Malaysia, I heard a Lexus IS250 is even slightly more expensive than a 328i m M sport, which is ridiculous.
No one would buy something more inferior for a higher price. Unless you are one of the minority who thinks Jap cars are better than European cars.
So many reviews have proven that Lexus can be considered a serious alternative to the definitive Merc and BMW, and Infiniti is praised in the States for having a better built interior than the comparative Merc. They have their downside like every other people, Lexus cursed by Toyotas petahtic engine inventory and Infiniti by design. But so can BMW be cursed with pathetic warranty and questionable reliability, Audi by their design, or the lack of diversity of if, the Mercs……they are rather perfect but pricing is north of Lexus. And than there’s the price you were saying; Lexus IS is the cheapest for its performance, go any cheaper and your BMW make do 50hp less, your Audi has is FWD along with the lower power and your Merc well, I’am afraid the c-class is the same price as the IS…..with 10hp less.
And than there’s the reliability, Lexus have been scoring consistent best reliability and customer services in its class ,this is in Europe and US and ,following the comments here, Malaysia as well. Lexus and Infiniti also stands out of the pack, you may come to the party in a 320i or A4 1.8 but people will flock to see your friend in the IS or a Q50 yes it’s ugly to some but is it attention grabbing….hell ya. The LS stance may be very weak in its class, but the GS and IS are very strong contender in its , the infinities are surprisingly sexy in metal, especially their crossovers. In fact Lexus and infinity is good enough to nabbed 2nd and 3rd place in foreign car sales in a generally japan-negative Korea(BMW in first)
Lexus in particular produced a car so good, that it made ze Germans to crap their pants in the 90s, Mercedes went from pinnacle of luxury to questionable quality when the original LS/celsior came out so much so that they have to admit that they have to revamp their entire manufacturing and tooling process because their current technology cannot produce a car with the LS’s quality. Lexus and infinity are great cars, but theirs sales are not held by people who believe Japanese are better but rather ,loss by people who believe In social Darwinism that the Europeans are better than the Japanese cars in the same way the Korean car sales are loss by people who believe that the Japanese are better than the Korean make. Lexus and infinity are not Germans, their doing luxury in their way ,same goes for Cadillac. I do have to conceit the Germans are better in most aspect, but the Japanese are a great alternative.
Oh an IS250 retails at RM 269k while a 328i starts at RM289k. The 328i M-sports is priced at RM309k which is higher than the IS-250 luxury but lower than the IS-250 F-sport at RM333k….which gets the LFA dials, bigger nav and that distinctive grill. The BMW has more go (6.9 sev vs 8.1sec on the sprint but personally the IS has more style, your mileage may very but considering your last sentence I think i already know your pick.
I’ve generally enjoyed your comments AVH and I suspect you speak with a volume containing some experience of ownership with the luxury brands.
The current Lexus IS’s drivetrain is unfortunately from 2006. That is its weak link. Given how Toyota is planning a Supra successor and how the GT86 has wowed the enthusiast the world over, I suspect and hope to see a turbocharged IS in 2016; or in the alternative, keep the V6 which is reliable and would last beyond the 2.0litre Beemer and Silver Arrow’s four, and make it well, better. Either that or the IS needs to go on a 300kg diet to catchup.
You’re well informed as to the shock Lexus gave the European makes in 89 when the LS came out. As far as I am aware, the LS400 from 1990 is still worth keeping- something difficult to say for the BMW 7 series from that day.
What I feel most people do not realise about Lexus is that the ownership experience is a league above Mercedes. That said, as far as the car itself goes, I do quite like the current E-class.
In the luxury market, people are not quite as bothered about the century run timings, nor about ‘smoking’ the next guy. The whole ownership experience is a big issue, that and the car should be comfortable. Power is important, but you would find it hard to miss that 10 more hp in the daily KL jam, which is where and when most luxury cars are driven. During the daily grind, a nice stereo and a silent cabin really go a long way.
One thing I wished I would see: I’d be happy to purchase from whoever comes and collects my car from the office to take it for service, and then returns it all without me having to send it in myself. That to my mind, would be the next step up. Not just the courtesy car.
Thanks for the compliment ,but no , I have zero ownership experience in a luxury car, in fact zero experience in buying a new car as ‘my’ car extends to a used car that my parents have bought and me generally taking over it as they rather dislike driving and me traveling more than them. The points I lay out is from my time researching and reading articles, in no way have I said I personally know how they drive. The lux market is waaaay beyond me at this moment(several light years away).
I do have a friend who just got himself and old 7series, the James Bond one, it is in abysmal state, and given the fortune he is putting on the car(raletively speaking) and still not running put me off ever getting a luxury car. Comparatively when I was taking my 2 decade old proton and
Thanks for the compliment ,but no , I have zero ownership experience in a luxury car, in fact zero experience in buying a new car as ‘my’ car extends to a used car that my parents have bought and me generally taking over it as they rather dislike driving and me traveling more than them. The points I lay out is from my time researching and reading articles, in no way have I said I personally know how they drive. The lux market is waaaay beyond me at this moment(several light years away).
I do have a friend who just got himself and old 7series, the James Bond one, it is in abysmal state, and given the fortune he is putting on the car(raletively speaking) and still not running put me off ever getting a luxury car. Comparatively when I was taking my 2 decade old proton for its services and another guy shows up with a LS400 to the same rusty old mechanic for the same purpose gives me a little idea how utilitarian the LS is. Fast forward today and yes, it is a general Lexus curse to be stuck with Toyota truly limited and aged powertrain offering, there are plans to get the 2.0l turbo into the IS which is truly overdue when you compare to the German makes. In almost all review, it is always the engine that is the Lexus’s Achilles heel, but it does a great job juggling between Mercedes comfort and BMWs go, the IS F-sport gets a nice Mark Levinson stereos which can attribute Its questionable price over the 328i M-sport which dosent get any premium speaker of sort(the interior is also personally leagues behind the IS, which is forgivable in an Audi coz it’s old, but not the new Beemer)
As of now, I’am not on the luxury market and possibly won’t be for a very, very long time. But given that I skim through endless forums and all I generally get the perception that Lexus are better cars than the Germans with a way inferior powertrain, and therefore unable to get the sense of perfection that the Germans get. I do feel thou styling is questionable , it’s much better than the truly conservative styling of Audi and Beemer(espacially the former) and tries very well to stay distinct instead of following the crowd. And regarding the said personal services, if I buy a car of that price, I wouldt trust someone with my car to take it to service centers and all.
all eyes on TURBOCHARGED starting this year as company already developing or building the 2.0 turbocharged engine and below capacity to all the models in the future
Syphilis bigger brother. Maybe HIV.
Is this the one with Seb Vettel as the one of the provider of technical input? Was reading somewhere how the trick helm is nowhere near as good as it should have been. Though it is a fly by wire, it still has a passive mechanical linkage that connects the steering wheel to the road wheel just in case of electrical gremlins..
oohhh… shinny…. I like.
》》exterior design better than lexus!!! this 1 or lexus, i rather get a merc/bmw/audi hahaha.
finally…good design from infinity. looking for more infinity on the road. hardly seen one (act. never see even one..haish)
OMG… THIS CAR IS DOLBY 5.1 Surround system… is A freaking CINEMA CAR… with 12 speaker?
This must be the Mercedes Benz engine Infiniti we are looking at here.
Being a Jap, handling will def lose out to Bmw(as it has been all these while). Japs have come close(in the form of the Lexus IS), but they never manage to trump BMW in this area.
Other than that, one thing the Japs lack is brand recognition. No one would ever perceive either Lexus or Infiniti to be more prestigious than the three Germans.
So for the same amount of price, 95% of the time the buyer would choose either a BMW or a Merc.
Perhaps that explains why Lexus sales in Msia(put aside the CT200h due to tax exemptions) have been absimal.
why the dislikes, guys? he speaks the truth.the average joe in the street says, “I have driven a jap car all my life, now i’ve come into money why should i get another jap car?” they didn’t say jap cars are inferior, they just want to change to a breath of fresh air.
and bmw claim to ultimate driving machine, let’s say that when you compare any bmw with other brands’ offerings of similar prices, yes it does handle better. but that is of course negated by the fact that bmws hp and torque are almost always LOWER than their competitors, and that a bmw is almost Annoying when it comes to NVH and comfort.
The headlights look like the Mitsubishi Lancer!
I’m pretty sure that’s just you
Is IS killer or GS?
bring in the version with the gtr engine
I like to read comments by people like AVH and silwen. I learn a lot form them..
The brand is just a well specced Nissan. Nothing more than that.
Based on US reviews, the Lexus IS is more fun to drive as its more balanced, with a tendency to understeer (remember this is an RWD car). Its 2nd best handling after the BMW F30 3 series & Cadillac CTS (which are tied in terms of handling). However, having said that, you can drift the IS, and do it safely. They probably shared data with the people who developed the Toyota 86.
The Q50 is more of a hooligan, and will oversteer all day long. Guess it depends what you want. An oversteery car by default or a balanced handler which can switch from safe understeer to equally safe oversteer whenever you want it. But bear in mind, this is only applicable for models with the bigger engine (3.5 for the IS & 3.7 for the Q50). Dont expect to oversteer much a 2.5 litre IS. So in the respect, the Q50 makes more sense as it has a powerful turbocharged 2.0 (Lexus still has no turbo’ed IS, not even for the IS-F), which will give you the power & torque for a more enjoyable drive, but without the penalty in terms of weight & road tax.
Put it this way, the IS250 will handle better, but there is not enough power to really utilise it in a fun way. The Q50 2.0 turbo, though slightly lesser handling, has an engine that is en equal partner for the chasis to hanlde. Thus, it is more rewarding to drive. But moving up, the Lexus IS350 is just too good for the Q50 3.7 litre model.
Sorry meant to say Cadillac ATS above, not CTS. CTS is in the 5 series class. My bad.
so, it’s up on their website and some car magazines, listed around 250k which isn’t too pricey~
however, after comapring the spec for the 2.0turbo Standard with the Premium edition, it lacks sunroof (or what they call “moonroof”), BOSE speakers, navigation system…and there is only one model listed there…hope there’ll be more configuration available for us Malaysian…
this is a car that will ceratinly enjoy a lot of head turning!