Infiniti Q50 Geneva Edition

[sinbaddio]

Hi all, I recently bought an Infinit1 Q50 2.2D, Geneva Edition.

After much deliberation of what to buy, I settled on an Infiniti. Mainly because I fancied a change from the usual German fayre, but also because it represented great value. The car's a 64 plate, 3 years old in November. It's absolutely loaded with gadgets and the interior is a lovely place to be. The 2.2d engine is I believe a Mercedes unit. It's ok, I'm not a diesel fan but the 3.5 V6 hybrid was a financial step too far.

I'm a week in and I have to say it's been a very pleasant week. I've done about 250 miles across lots of different roads, motorways, A's and B's. It's a very composed drive. When all's said and done it's a diesel saloon car so it's never going to over excite but it's a phenomenally competent all rounder - and you hardly see any! In fact, on howmanyleft there were only 5 Geneva Edition's ever registered in the UK! I particularly like the colour combo - it reminds of the Bornite metallic on my R129 500SL. Here are some pics:

[Truckosaurus]

Brown cars are cool.

Definitely a car to buy 2nd hand as they are, I believe, the most depreciating car on the market.

[sinbaddio]

Truckosaurus said:

Brown cars are cool.

Definitely a car to buy 2nd hand as they are, I believe, the most depreciating car on the market.

Agreed. Infiniti Stockport currently have a raft of pre reg bog standard 17 plates for £18k!

[samoht]

Irresistably reminds me of this:

‘I can confirm that a vehicle on the M6 toll road was approached by officers from our Rapid Depreciation Unit,’ said a spokesman for West Midlands police.
http://sniffpetrol.com/2012/07/05/policeclosem6tol...

Seriously though, I like that colour combo, and it's good value while actually looking quite posh - not like a Kia Magentis or something.

[Martin_Hx]

Yeah i like these, its good to be different! Also like the brown

[GrantD5]

Be a great mix of Mercedes & Nissan.

Enjoy.

[HIAO]

Seen a few Infiniti's around Geneva funnily enough.

Although none called Geneva edition.

[anonymous-user]

It looks quite nice, I have to admit. The interior looks especially comfy.

However, I wish you bought the quick version, the S Hybrid, for ultimate PH points

[AmitG]

Would love to hear more about this one. I like cars that are off the beaten track, and I thought long and hard about an Infiniti, but given their low sales, I was never quite sure whether they were here for the long haul. I know they are trying to compete with Lexus but they've been here for years and I still see hardly any around.

Mind you I've seen a few of the new, small Infiniti (I think it's the Q30?)

[alpha channel]

I'm starting to see more Q50's knocking around my neck of the woods as well (plenty of Q30's but then again they're built up here).

[col1983]

Good choice op! I had a serious look at these a year or so back...amazing some of the deals on nearly new / pre-Reg cars. I had a 48hr test drive in one and all was going fine until a rather unpleasant drive down the M42 on a windy, heavy rain evening during rush hour. The noise in the cabin of the weather and the nearby lorries was incredible - loud to a point where I couldn't actually make a phone call on the Bluetooth. It was as if there was no sound insulation in the roof.

The dealer was adamant they weren't all like that so I'm guessing I just had a Friday car...not sure how yours is? The one I borrowed was an SE (I think - definitely not a sport and didn't have leather) but aside from that I was very impressed.

I'm definitely watching with interest...you may even persuade me to have another look...

[sinbaddio]

Hi all,

Thanks for the feedback. About three weeks and 1,000 miles in and so far so good.

Good points -
Rarity - most people either have no idea what it is or think it's a Lexus.
Comfort - it really is a nice place to sit. I've done a couple of one day round trips 250 miles + and it's very relaxing. The interior feels much more special than a current model 3 series that I recently had.
Gearbox - I believe it's a Merc box (?) and it's really quick, smooth and decisive.
Space - it's pitched at 3/C/A4 territory but my kids insist there's way more space in the back than any of those

Not so good points -
Engine - again I believe it's Merc, but it seems quite lumpy at idle and low revs (even for a diesel)
Interior ergonomics - too much going on. It looks great but three weeks in and I stall haven't fathomed it all out. One thing in particular that annoys me, the Sat Nav map shows on the top screen, but when you make a handsfree call, the call details take over that screen and the nav disappears. The phone could be on the bottom screen (which it does if you make the call pressing buttons on that screen rather than the wheel) or the nav could move to the dash screen. There's a chance this could be user error...... I've yet to even use the iDrive style thingy.

What's it drive like? It's reasonable, rear wheel drive and a very torquey engine makes for decent progress. The back does and will squirm coming off a roundabout if you're in the mood. Comfort wise, it rides like most in this sector, firm but comfortable. The 3.5h would have been the icing, but alas not right now.

Even Mrs S likes it, so much so that she's already started making noises about upgrading in the next year to the Q60 coupe when the kids are older and not requiring shipping around as much (high praise indeed!)

col1983 - I've had no issues with interior noise. In fact I did around 80 miles in the driving rain and wind coming down the M6 from Preston to Crewe and it was quite serene.

All in all, I'm really pleased with the car, especially for the money. It's suffered in the region of 65% depreciation in its first 30ish months and 18,000 miles. Good for me, not so much for the original owner...

Feel free to fire over any specific questions.

Cheers, Sinbad.

Edited by sinbaddio on Monday 31st July 15:53