INFINITI Q50 GOES AFTER GERMAN EXECUTIVES

The new Infiniti Q50 sedan was unveiled at the 2013 North American International Auto Show in Detroit this week. The car is touted as a direct competitor to those pesky Germans called 3 Series, A4 and C-Class, as well as the rising Volvo S60. Infiniti launched a whole range of cars in South Africa late last year and will be looking at the Q50 quite closely too.

The compact executive sedan is the first to use the new Q naming strategy in recent times, although it was previously used in the 1990s for the bigger sedans like the Q45. With the “new” naming strategy, expect to see more Q-named cars coming from this Nissan brand.

Q50 is actually just in time to meet up with one of its most direct rivals in the form of the new Lexus IS, also revealed at Detroit and definitely destined for Mzansi. It features two engines as far as the American spec goes, the first of which is the 3.7-litre V6 with 245kW and 363Nm of torque, just like in the 370 Z. Then there’s a hybrid based on the 3.5-litre V6 engine that pushes out 264kW in total, while returning a good fuel cycle apparently. At least three more engine variants will have to be introduced at some point in order to effectively take on said Germans. The cars run on a 7-speed automatic gearbox which makes them quite smooth and easy to shift.

Some technologies that are featured included LED-infused headlights, two-zone climatic control, Bluetooth connectivity, a touchscreen display and others.