Talking about Nissan’s luxury brand Infiniti and more specifically their Q50 sedan – in this instance the rip-roaring 3.0-litre twin turbo Red Sport flagship at nearly $75,000. I like the architecture of the Q50, its modern and clean with great fit and finish, paint quality amongst the best in the prestige class. The Red Sport – a driver’s car through and through – an unusual car that offers so much in style and straight line performance yet its let down with some small niggles that would be easy to fix. The twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6 and 7-speed automatic with manual shift paddles is a gem, 0 to 100km/hour in just 4.9 seconds is enough to make anyone sit up and take notice and it more than justifies its Sport moniker, the equipment level impressive with a host of safety and technology. The steering is Infiniti’s own fly-by wire, there’s no physical connection to the front wheels and when the going gets fast it lacks the feel and feedback of say a good BMW. The direct adaptive ‘steering by wire’ never excels and lacks the communication that a Sports GT requires. This aside, the InfinIti Q50 Red sport sedan is loaded with features for the money, and the money at the moment one suspects is highly negotiable. Nissan’s luxury brand came here with great promise but many people I speak to do not know of the brand – its awareness factor is poor and for this reason its sales struggle. It deserves to do better, its best seller the Q50 sedan in its more basic grades a very nice package. I’m David Berthon

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