2014 Infiniti Q50 boasts elegant styling, new technology
The 2014 Infiniti Q50 has been priced at $36,700. Its sport car version, coming in both rear-drive and all-wheel drive forms, has a price tag around $45,000, while its hybrid version, the Q50 Hybrid, offers 36 mpg on the highway and 354 net horsepower.
The new Infiniti Q50 is displayed on stage at the New York Auto Show in New York, New York, earlier this year. The 2014 Infiniti Q50, which comes in both a sport and hybrid model, offers direct adaptive steering, active lane control, and predictive forward collision warning.
Carlo Allegri/Reuters/File
The 2014 Infiniti Q50 awed us with its dramatic and elegant new styling at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show. Today, we learn the Q50 will start at a relative bargain price of $36,700 plus $905 destination and handling.
By way of comparison, the BMW 3-Series is nearly $5,000 cheaper in base 320i form, but the turbo four-cylinder 328i, which is a better equivalent for the Infiniti Q50, starts at $36,850, and rates 240 horsepower from its 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder. Audi's A4 sedan likewise comes in much cheaper in base form, at $32,500, but again uses a much less powerful base engine, a 211-horsepower 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder. The Mercedes-Benz C Class, at $35,530, gets a 184-horsepower 1.8-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, though the more comparable C350 sedan is priced about $5,000 more than the Q50. The new 2014 Lexus IS starts at $36,825, and it too offers a less-potent 204-horsepower from its 2.5-liter V-6 engine.
Infiniti's Q50 is, therefore, a relative bargain when considering its standard 3.7-liter V-6 engine, rated at 328 horsepower and 269 pound-feet of torque. Substituting all-wheel drive for the standard rear-wheel drive bumps the price up to $39,405 (including delivery), while a premium package adds another $1,050 (RWD) or $2,850 (AWD).
The 2014 Infiniti Q50S, the sport model, starts at $44,105 in rear-drive form, and $45,905 with all-wheel drive.
Perhaps the most intriguing model, however, is the Q50 Hybrid. Coming standard with the Premium package, the base price for the 36-mpg highway, 354 net horsepower Q50 Hybrid is $44,855. With all-wheel drive, the Q50 Hybrid climbs to $46,655. Adding the S sport trim brings the rear-drive Q50S Hybrid to $47,255, and the all-wheel drive model to $49,055.
BMW's ActiveHybrid 3 is the nearest competitor to the Q50 Hybrid, offering 335 horsepower and 33 mpg highway, but starting at $49,650, again making the Infiniti an attractive alternative on price. Neither Audi nor Mercedes offer a hybrid in the compact sport sedan class.
Infiniti will also offer some impressive new technology in the Q50, including Direct Adaptive Steering, Active Lane Control, and Predictive Forward Collision Warning, bring it on par with available technologies from the Germans.
For more details on Infiniti's latest luxury sedan, read our 2014 Q50 preview.