Anyone Checked Out Infiniti Q50?

[ganzoom]

I've heard bad things about Tesla reliability too, and the home battery system powered by solar has to be the most stupid and pointless thing I've seen for ages. People have had similar systems in British homes for several years, and lets face it if your power is being produced by solar energy, why not use it as it's produced, and if you are out at work, buy a couple of cheap timers to switch the washing machine etc on. Got to be a much cheaper solution than the Tesla, plus you get feed in tariff payments from your supplier.

$800 million dollars in pre-orders just a week after launch, all stock sold till mid-2016, Yeaph, cannot see that idea going any where ;)

http://bgr.com/2015/05/08/tesla-powerpack-powerwall-battery-sales-estimate/

I just pointed out the Model X because you were moaning about poor mpg on the NX. Personally I think 30mpg is pretty good for a petrol SUV. You have already said a plug-in hybrid is better than the Lexus setup, but if your considering one, worth considering a full Battery EV, hence I suggested the model X. I appreciate Battery EV isn't for eveyone one, but if you want good mpg, comfort, speed, low running costs Battery EVs tick most of those boxes.

Infiniti is suppose to be working on a 'Tesla killer' as are Audi and BMW. Lexus/Toyota need to up their game, because Battery EVs are already here, where as hydrogen fuel cell tech is still pretty much a pilot programme.

[lee789]

Flippin' Americans will be any old rubbish. as much of their automotive history proves. Probably much more worthwhile for them because they don't get all the benefits for generating solar energy that we do in the UK. Got the Feeling Tesla are going to be the American equivalent of Dyson.

Re: consumption, 30mpg would be reasonable for a petrol SUV if the vehicle was not a hybrid. However, when the consumption is about double that claimed by Lexus, and there are many 3 litre diesel SUVs that do considerably better, it's very poor indeed, and completely undermines one of the main reasons for buying the vehicle.

I'm not totally knocking the car because it is very good in many areas, but anybody buying one expecting to get anywhere close to the claimed figures is going to be disappointed. You could forgive it if the performance was something special, and it should be good from a 2.5L petrol with twin electric motors. Unfortunately it is just adequate, nothing more.

[DanD]

Going back to Infinity... I regularly drive past the Reading dealership and popped in a few weeks ago out of curiosity. I was greeted like a long lost friend... the only person in there seemed soooo pleased to see someone!

I did not like the design of the cars. Far too blobby for me and too anonymous, with the exception of the QX50 and QX70 maybe (previously EX and FX respectively). I much prefer the sharp lines of Lexus models.

The cars are certainly well kitted out, but everything feels rather cheap and to some extent brittle.

It looks like you can get good discounts, but I would only lease as I would be worried about resale prices.

Given how few Infinity cars get sold, I would also wonder about the long term future of the brand in the UK, and getting lumbered with a car I can't get rid of in a few years time.

Talking of which, I saw a new MG6 last week... why oh why...

[Funkyboy]

I've just had the Q70 hybrid for a 4 day test drive. Its incredibly refined very quick and seems well put together. Averages 44mpg on motorway and 28 around town. considering the gs450 is its nearest competitor its very good value. Infinti are struggling to get going in the uk so prices are very keen if you dont buy a new one. The prices drop like a stone on new.

I was looking at one a year old. It would have have 2 yrs warranty plus you can extend the warranty. I seen on these posts you cant extend but infinti definitely have this in place now. I really fancy the is300h but this is making me reconsider. I am concerned around lack of dealers (though they pick up from anywhere in country at no extra charge) and theres always the risk they just pull out of uk if they cant make it work

[DJP]

Interesting read. I've read that the steering can feel odd, did you experience that at all?

Sent from my Iphone using Lexus OC

[Bodmeister]

I'm pretty sure the Q70 doesn't have fly by wire steering. Its only on the q50

[ganzoom]

Infinti are struggling to get going in the uk so prices are very keen if you dont buy a new one. The prices drop like a stone on new....I am concerned around lack of dealers (though they pick up from anywhere in country at no extra charge) and theres always the risk they just pull out of uk if they cant make it work

Apparently the Nissan Sunderland plant is gearing up to start producing the Infiniti Q30 soon, so its looking like Nissan is committed to pushing the Infiniti brand for a while longer. Given the amount money Nissan has pumped into the Infiniti-Red bull F1 team over the last 5 years it would be huge publicity failure for Nissan if they pulled the Infiniti brand from Europe/UK.

http://www.infiniti.com/gb/models/future_models/q30-concept.html

[Bodmeister]

I was given VIP passes to Goodwood last year via the Infiniti Redbull partnership. Infiniti had a lovely motorhome hospitality thing going on . Unfortunately all the people I spoke to said they wouldn't buy any of the current range. So they have a very long way to go. The new Q30 may help but I doubt it. It's a rebranded Merc A-Class. The Q50/ Q70 are no way near the competition including Lexus. The GS and IS are superior imho. Of course the general public will veer towards the 3 series/A4 because of the stupidly cheap lease deals

[ganzoom]

I was given VIP passes to Goodwood last year via the Infiniti Redbull partnership. Infiniti had a lovely motorhome hospitality thing going on . Unfortunately all the people I spoke to said they wouldn't buy any of the current range. So they have a very long way to go. The new Q30 may help but I doubt it. It's a rebranded Merc A-Class. The Q50/ Q70 are no way near the competition including Lexus. The GS and IS are superior imho. Of course the general public will veer towards the 3 series/A4 because of the stupidly cheap lease deals

Didn't know the Q30 was just going to be a re-bodied A-Class. I presume that means Merc and Nissan have some kind of partnership going. Merc perviously had some dealing with Tesla, and Nissan are clearly heavily invested in EV.....Maybe we'll see something interesting from Infiniti yet on the full EV front. All I know is that every time I now drive the IS300H, I just wish it had a full EV drivetrain, I'll happily live with a full EV range of 200 mile.

[Bodmeister]

Infiniti doesn't have the budget to create a brand new model. In fact they have left Mercedes to develop the Q30 due to time constraints,albeit with Infiniti body and interior options. Engines are pure Merc from the start.

[Ian J. Parsley]

You can get them serviced etc through Nissan.

The big issue for me is they do not look particularly outstanding. And, frankly, despite their relative rarity, everyone has heard of Lexus; whereas try Infiniti on people who don't follow F1...

[lee789]

Unless things have changed in the last few months, you can't get Infiniti's serviced at Nissan. In fact Infiniti specifically told Nissan dealers not to touch the cars, and won't even supply them with parts. One of the things that put me off, along with appalling MPG, high tax, dealers miles and miles away, no option for an extended warranty, and depreciation of 60% in the first year.

[DJP]

I've gone and done a very dangerous thing. I've booked a test drive in a Tesla S on Saturday via the Westfield showroom. Haven't told the missus yet, I mean it is only a test drive....

[ganzoom]

I've gone and done a very dangerous thing. I've booked a test drive in a Tesla S on Saturday via the Westfield showroom. Haven't told the missus yet, I mean it is only a test drive....

Just hope they don't take you out in the P85D version....Though now the P90D - L is around a 0-60 time over 3 seconds seems so lame :)

I'm still managing to resist test driving one, depsite them doing a 'demo' day event a few miles from my house....Second hand examples have also just dropped into the £50kish bracket (From a sale price of £70-80k 12 month ago).

[Martin F]

I was just in a Tesla S taxi yesterday, and that centre console IPad is humongous!!

[rayaans]

I was just in a Tesla S taxi yesterday, and that centre console IPad is humongous!!

Heard the news? Tesla S has been hacked already lol. Apparently it's quite easy to do as well

[ganzoom]

Nearly as quick round the track as a twin turbo V8 RS7, but a fraction of the running costs...and that's not even the quickest version of the Model S!!

The more I think about it, the less sense it makes to buy anything else, the first RHD P85D due to be delivered next few weeks, and apperently the order books are as full as ever - 4 month+ UK waiting list, bare in mind this is the P85D is £80K+ so not a cheap car in anyone's book...Cannot wait for my Leaf lease to be over, I'll be ordering my Model S in 12 months time, wonder just how the range will develop in the next 12 months...P100D with sub 2.5 second 0-60 time and 300 miles+ of real world range, that'll will do me fine :)

[Steve44]

I was just in a Tesla S taxi yesterday, and that centre console IPad is humongous!!

Heard the news? Tesla S has been hacked already lol. Apparently it's quite easy to do as well

And they've fixed it already. And the update is downloaded over the air. To all Tesla's at once. No trip to the dealer, no recall etc etc. The hack was inevitable, the fix and delivery mechanism is how it should be for all manufacturers.

[DJP]

Based on my research to date, which is no more than reading a few reviews, I'm likely to be blown away by the acceleration and in particular the immediacy of it. The fact that using it to any great extend is hugely limited is one of the reasons I didn't buy something like the Audi R's or an ISF. I knew I'd get incredibly frustrated at horribly low mpg for most of my driving and having all that power just aching to be released. I remember a colleague used to have a BMW 540 and it was a nightmare to drive, it just wasn't designed to be driven around town/suburbia.

The beauty of the Tesla, from what I can tell so far, is I can waft around for next to nothing most of the time, and then experience some mind blowing acceleration when the opportunity arises.

I don't normally look forward to visiting the likes of Westfield, but tomorrow will be an exception. I wonder what I will think of its lines and interior, given how superb I think the IS300h F Sport looks? I'll be sure to report back!

[Stuno1]

Tesla is an interesting proposition. Silly fast, looks nice etc

Issue for me is how practical is it? I know charge time is still a long time and range is t that great. So popping to anywhere over 100 miles away means researching and ensuring there is a charge point near by. I heard there had been a massive step forward in terms of Battery development with aluminium batteries in development requiring half the charge time and double the use time compared to current batteries. When these hit cars they will be a real choice for far more people. As it stands they are too limiting for me.

Re Infiniti its daft as poop you can't use Nissan. That has put me off as I was looking at one for my wife's next car. Madness as this will do nothing but massively limit sales.

[Funkyboy]

Tesla is an interesting proposition. Silly fast, looks nice etc

Issue for me is how practical is it? I know charge time is still a long time and range is t that great. So popping to anywhere over 100 miles away means researching and ensuring there is a charge point near by. I heard there had been a massive step forward in terms of battery development with aluminium batteries in development requiring half the charge time and double the use time compared to current batteries. When these hit cars they will be a real choice for far more people. As it stands they are too limiting for me.

Re Infiniti its daft as poop you can't use Nissan. That has put me off as I was looking at one for my wife's next car. Madness as this will do nothing but massively limit sales.

All tesla's do significantly more than 100 miles per charge the minimum is over 200 with the 85kw Battery pack giving 325. He's building a new Battery factory (the biggest in the world) to develop one with 500 mile range. Also when the new battery's are developed they can be swapped in 90seconds into all the model S's. It's done by machine you can watch it on you tube

[ganzoom]

I don't normally look forward to visiting the likes of Westfield, but tomorrow will be an exception. I wonder what I will think of its lines and interior, given how superb I think the IS300h F Sport looks? I'll be sure to report back!

Let us know what you think, am sure your be blown away by the power train. I know the powertain in my Leaf makes our IS300H feel like a steam engine, so cannot begin to imagine what a Model S is like to drive :)

Tesla is an interesting proposition. Silly fast, looks nice etc

Issue for me is how practical is it? I know charge time is still a long time and range is t that great. So popping to anywhere over 100 miles away means researching and ensuring there is a charge point near by.

The range of the Model S is significantly more than 100 miles, closer to 300. The Tesla supercharges deliver charge at a rate of 420 miles per hour of charge, there are hints this will increase to 525 miles. Also don't forget you can charge any EV from any 3 pin plug. I've recently took my Leaf (100 miles max range) to a field in the middle of the Peak District for a 'holiday', plugged it in at a random power point, and it was fully charged ready to go the next morning when we were ready to leave. Cannot see you doing that in a hydrogen/petrol/diesel powered car.

For day to day use EVs are actually much more convient than normal cars. I plug my Leaf in every 3-4 days overnight, and don't have to waste time finding a petrol/charging station. Think about how you use your phone, would you rather have a cheap way to recharge every night at the convince of your house, or a expensive fuel cell that lasts for longer but you can only get from some shops. I've had my Leaf now for over 5 months, and done over 2400 miles, I'm not buying another petrol powered car ever again.

[Stuno1]

500 miles would be superb! Still leaves the issue of time taken to charge though and having to find charge points. For example if I went to see my folks in the lakes where would I charge the car? How long would it take?

[ganzoom]

How long would it take?

Depends on efficiency. 3.5 miles per kWh is what the Model S gets in real life use. A 3 pin plug delivers 3.3 KW per hr, so over 8hrs your get about 100 miles. A dedicated home EV charger at 7 KW per hour will get you about 200 miles of range over night. This is based on you puting the car to charge at midnight and leaving at 8am.

My Leaf is managing 5 miles per kWh, so a 8hr charge overnight on a 3 pin plug gets me 130 miles of range - But sadly the Leaf cannot go that far :(

My electricity costs me 12p per kWh, so an overnight 8 hr charge from a 3 pin plug is just over £3. When I get a Tesla I'll move to an E7 rate, where over night the rate is only 6p per kWh, day time rate goes up to 14p per kWh. Either way it's cheap compared to £70-80 a pop at the petrol station.

[Stuno1]

That is a lot cheaper. Clearly the longer the range and shorter the charge time the more realistic an option they will become for people. Can't help but feel people would be put out if I asked to use their power to charge my car.