LERN ME: Infiniti Q50

I've been doing a lot of research on potential daily drivers for when my current DD Mazda 3 kicks the bucket. It's got 165k+ on it, and if it's anything like when my wife's 2010 3 started to go, it will get bad real fast and I'll need to get out of it quick, so I'm exploring lots of potential options. One of the many cars on the list is the 2014+ Infiniti Q50 sedan, which is depreciating into range now. You know, one of these:

I'm mainly looking at the AWD S models, because I live in New England and miss having AWD in the winter. 

I was looking on the car shopping sites and seeing CPO Infiniti Q50's with AWD, the S package, and the 3.7L V6 in the mid-high $20k range. My parents have a 2014 Q60 AWD coupe (aka the old G37 coupe), and I like driving it a lot, but the infotainment system is terrible. The newer gen Q50 has a more modern setup, so hopefully they fixed that. CPO cars have a 6 year, unlimited mileage powertrain warranty, which sounds awesome to me, since I drive a lot.

So, anyone have any experience with these? I know the VQ 3.7 is a good engine (that sounds like Chewbacca) and I know they can only be had with the 7-speed automatic (I didn't mind it in my parent's, it mostly does what you tell it to do). I've also heard that it has a steer-by-wire setup that sent the automotive press into a tizzy when that was announced.  

What say ye GRM Hive?

Following with interest.  I have a '13 G37 sedan, though I wonder how they classified the years, because mine was built in Oct '13 and went into service Oct '14.  I love driving the car, I'm having an absolute blast.  But as noted, the infotainment system is terrible.  I can't stream anything, it doesn't even have an Aux port...WTF Nissan??  I'm not much of a tech guy, but I want to stream my favorite (and only one I listen to) podcast, Everyone Racers...shameless plug here...check them out by the way, they're awesome...and GRMers.  That, and the cup holder sucks...yes, that matters to me. 

Overall, it's exactly what we were looking for, I am very happy.  However the G37 shows its' age when put side by side with a car like the F30 gen 328i ('13+), because it's an older platform.  My wife fell hard for the F30, but I couldn't pull the trigger due to fears of reliability issues...especially on the earlier years ('13/'14).  I'd be interested in the Q50 too, as it's much more modern.  I really like the VQ, even the exhaust note.  It's thirsty, sure, but has great power and is rock solid reliable. 

I was doing research and came upon the Q40, which is basically a G37 but rebaged to fit the new corporate naming structure before the Q50 was ready. They are popping up at crazy cheap prices as a somewhat forgotten car. Not sure if they got the new infotainment or not, but they did have the 3.7 VQ and 7-speed auto. Something to consider.

Everything I've read seems to be good, and the Red Sport is apparently pretty bonkers (and has some loose ties to the GT-R). It seems the only knocks I see are that they appear more dated than the BMW's, MB's and Audi's.

Yes, the Q40 is the same exact car as the G37, just with the name change.  It was offered in 2015 only.  I'm not 100% sure on this, but pretty positive that there was technically no 2014 G37/Q40.  The new Q50 came out in 2014, and the G37 was produced late through the 2013 calendar year...hence my cars' October '13 build date.  I'm guessing the last of the G37s were sold in calendar year 2014 as 2013 models, alongside the new Q50.  For whatever reason, Nissan offered the G37 one more year, in 2015, just rebadged as the Q40. 

It has the same infotainment system, 3.7L VQ and 7spd auto as the '13 G37.  I don't think there were any changes at all to the car. 

In reply to CobraSpdRH :

The Q40 is the previous-gen G37 sedan with a different badge, which means it as the crappy infotainment setup. The one in my parents' 2014 Q60 (that is basically a G37 Coupe) is slow and counterintuitive. 

Put it this way: I'm an IT guy as my daytime gig, and I had trouble trying to figure out how change the freaking radio station. It's a PITA to use when parked, and damn near impossible to navigate while trying to drive. My mom can't use it at all, and my dad (also a techie) just resorts to "asking Siri" to make things happen, and makes hands-free calls that way. He set up his satellite radio stations as the presets when he bought it, and NEVER goes into the menus to attempt to change anything. As great as it is to drive, that stupid infotainment setup will keep me away from the earlier cars. 

The new 2014+ cars have not one, but TWO screens, and according to some reviews I read, they were really sluggish on early models. A software reflash seemed to fix this. 

I know it sounds dumb, but sitting in a car on my commute means that I need to at least like the freaking stereo. 

The q50 must be a decent car, or have a great lease deal, because I’ve seen a TON of them over the last 2 years. Curious to see what the big deal is. 

SWMBO bought a '15 Q50a last May.  I think "a" stands for "aaaah, you can't afford leather and nav, so here's some nice vinyl"  I drove it for a couple of months as my back and forth to work car while she was driving my truck.

Things we like about the car:

1. Exhaust on that car shouldn't sound as mean as it does.  I find myself grinning every time I fire it up.
2. It easily moves from "really fast" mode to econo mode.  I drive it in eco mode for the commute (non freeway) and saw an honest 22 mpg.  Move it to performance mode and turn off traction control and it'll light up the rears in first and second and chirp third. 
3. Handles very well and until I saw your post, didn't realize it had drive by wire steering
4. Really comfortable cruiser.
5. Once I figured out the radio controls, it wasn't very bad

Things we don't like:

1. Wife wishes she had butt warmers for her back. Probably available on the non cheapie model.
2. I'm not of small stature and find the front seats a little narrow, but not too bad
3. Back seat doesn't have quite a much legroom as I'd like.
4. Runflats suck.
5. MPG's suck in normal or higher mode.  SWMBO is a bit of leadfoot and, even with a freeway commute averaged about 19 mpg
6. Infotainment is goofy
7. Because we don't have navigation, we also don't have a digital speedo. Just kinda odd thing for a modern car not to have

On the infotainment.  Yes, there are two screens.  One thing that annoys me is that it defaults to a weird page (I can't recall which one), so it's a couple of knob and switch turns to get it to display what I want in the car. Once I have, it's fine, but I wish I could change the default.  I found the interface confusing at first, but after driving it a few times I figured it out.  Kinda like moving from Windows to Mac.  Some stuff makes sense, some doesn't, but it was just a relearning exercise.  I can't remember if ours has an aux port or not, but with bluetooth and an iPod/iPhone connector (which are separate), haven't found the need for it.

Overall, we really like the car.  I can't say SWMBO loves it because it doesn't match the SRT8 Charger, but it's close enough to keep her happy.

-Rob

Glad you posted that Rob.  Pretty sure the '15 still uses the 3.7L and 7spd.  That combe makes the car fast...seriously fast.  My G37 can fly.  Like you, I smile every time I fire it up.  We park it in the garage, and it's even cooler to hear it fire up in there.  I'd love to put an aftermarket exhaust on it, but have no desire to spend that kind of coin especially since I won't keep the car very long. 

Interesting the car is still tight inside.  My wife and I aren't very big, so it doesn't bother us, but we do notice the G37 is a bit tight inside.  Especially in the front passenger footwell and rear seat area.  Surprised the Q50 didn't get bigger inside. 

Is the infotainment glitchy or just a PITA in general?  I'm not a huge fan of infotainment screens, I like my tactile feel buttons.  However, I recognize that screens are the way cars are going.  My '13 FoST infotainment was logical, but glitchy.  That bugged me.  A confusing system is something I can get used to, but one that simply doesn't respond drove me nuts.

You have to have a gentle right foot if you want decent mpg out of the VQ.  My commute is 60 miles each way, of which 50 is highway.  So I do 100 highway miles and 20 suburban miles each time I drive to work.  When on the highway, about 70% of the time I'm cruising at 80mph, the other 30% is Atlanta rush hour.  With that driving, I can squeeze 26mpg if I'm careful, 24-25mpg if I'm just normal driving and about 22-23mpg if I'm having some fun or hit more traffic.  Premium unleaded too...ugh.

The SRT Charger was never on our list...too costly, but the Charger R/T and 300C w/Hemi were.  We ruled them out because my wife wanted something a bit more BMW feeling than big bruiser cruiser.

Happy to help.  I haven't seen anything glitchy about the infotainment, just odd controls.  For example, I listen to Sirius a lot and it took me several times to retrain my brain for which forward and back buttons were for channel and which were for preset channels.  I.E. if I just wanted to scroll up the channels it's the buttons on the right side, but if I wanted to scroll through my preset channels, it's the buttons on the left.  Silly things like that.  Steering wheel controls are the same type of relearning.

Regarding the comparison car, the SRT8 was my wife's favorite car of all time.  When we bought the Q50, we couldn't quite afford another one and I tried to get her to look at the R/T's, but she said she'd be disappointed.  Not that she doesn't like her Q50, she does, it's just a different type of car but still has enough oomph to keep her right foot happy. 

Oh, and I do remember one other thing that annoys me.  It came with three keys.  The buttons on the key she uses will unlock and lock the doors and unlock the trunk, in addition to unlocking the car if she's just keeps it in her pocket and puts her hand on the door handle.  The key I use, however, won't unlock the doors with the buttons (but will lock them) and will unlock if it's in my pocket and I put my hand on the door.  The third key only unlocks with handle, the buttons don't work at all.  Batteries on all of them are new.  I'm sure it's buried somewhere in the configuration, but darned if I could figure it out.

Also, her's is black and I have to admit that from the front view, that car just looks mean as hell.

-Rob