Used 2015 INFINITI Q50 Consumer Reviews
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Unpredictable acceleration, uneven stops
FotG, 04/26/2016
2015 INFINITI Q50 Hybrid Premium 4dr Sedan AWD (3.5L 6cyl gas/electric hybrid 7A)
9 of 15 people found this review helpful
There is very little consistency from where you put the pedal and how the car accelerates. The standard transmission mode is the most consistent and the most driveable. The sport mode is so wildly unpredictable that it's pretty much unusable. Sometime the car takes off like a rocket, and some times there is a 2-3 second delay before anything happens. The braking is uneven and when between 30 and 40 miles per hour there is a sudden decrease in acceleration force and the brake pedal has to be pressed much harder. The transmission is too aggressive at shifting up to higher gears making it hard to maintain a constant speed. I read the reviews of this car and saw it was a love it or hate it kind of car, but I was not expecting it to be so unpredictable. Strangely enough, nearly all of these problems go away if you shift manually, but it also disables EV mode. Software in the car seems rough around the edges and as if it was rushed to production. They are typically small problems but they get annoying after awhile. Ex: dash screen and top screen remember what you last set them to, bottom screen doesn't. Won't remember your selected drive mode. One thing I do like is the direct adaptive steering. But only in the heavy/quick mode. The standard mode gets twitchy when making quick left then right turns (such as an apartment parking lot). The bottom line, I would not buy this car again, acceleration and braking are too unpredictable, which are consistent with a surprisingly high amount of car reviews. I didn't notice any of these issues in the test drive. My advice is get a weekend demo if you are looking into this car.
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Direct Adaptive Steering performs poorly
PsyMed, 08/22/2015
2015 INFINITI Q50 Premium 4dr Sedan AWD (3.7L 6cyl 7A)
25 of 45 people found this review helpful
Edmunds full expert review has nothing good to say about the Direct Adaptive Steering option, and now I know why. My new, fully loaded Q50 Premium hash Direct Adaptive Steering and run-flat tires. After driving it over 1000 miles on mostly highways, I'm deeply troubled by the rather abysmal performance, road handling, and maybe even the real-world safety of this steer-by-wire system. (As of this writing, I do not know the extent to which the rather miserable run-flat tires may be contributing to this poor performance, but I suspect it may be quite significant. I will have more to say about these tires shortly.) For those who may not be familiar with Infiniti's Direct Adaptive Steering ("steer-by-wire"), there isn't a conventional mechanically coupled linkage between the steering wheel and the front end. Rather, the system relies on an electronic interface between the steering wheel and the front end. Thus, unlike conventional steering, there is no instantaneous telegraphing and biomechanical feedback of the sensations that a driver normally feels between one's hands on the steering wheel and the road, particularly lacking the natural progressive resistance that one would normally feel as the steering wheel is turned ever more to the left or to the right. The lack of this natural sensation between the drivers hands and the road would be totally unnerving and disorienting. So, Infiniti has attempted to simulate this sensation by driver selectable settings found within the Infiniti Drive Mode Selector app, found by scrolling through the apps on the touch pad. After tapping the DMS app, one first selects Steering, after which one has four steering modes between "Effort" and "Response" to choose from, including (1) Light/Casual, (2) Standard/Standard, (3) Standard/Quick, and (4) Heavy/Quick. Basically, the settings determine the degree of resistance one feels when turning the steering wheel. With DAS, the vehicle has an unnerving habit of wandering, floating, and swerving or yawing from side-to-side, requiring nearly constant steering corrections. Unlike conventional steering, when one is negotiating a curve on a highway with DAS, you can't simply turn the wheel in and hold it there as you progress through the curve. If you attempt to do so you will quickly find that a few seconds after you turn the wheel slightly, the vehicle will stop going in the direction of the turn and will begin to go straight, so you have to keep turning the wheel back in the direction of the curve. This in turn results in the vehicle wandering from side to side. But wait, there's more. With DAS, the vehicle tends to fall into and follow, for example, any uneven seams or other such things in the road surface. In addition, when one is passing, or being passed by trucks (and even other cars) the wind drafts will blow the car to the side and require diligence with the steering wheel because one must anticipate and compensate for this. I cringe to think how it might perform when driving on the freeway with strong gusting winds and slippery road conditions. On the bright side, my experience thus far has been that DAS performs decidedly better when driving around town as well as on country roads. Quite frankly, I am utterly baffled as to how this steer-by-wire system ever made it into production. What in the world were they thinking? It remains to be seen whether or not there will eventually be a Technical Service Bulletin about this glaring problem, and if so, whether or not a firmware update will even be possible in order to fix the problem. While driving on highways with the Driver Assist is on, the vehicle will wander/bounce back and forth within its lane if you let it, rather like a bobsled. In fact, unless you're very diligent about keeping the vehicle on track, the degree of wandering from side to side has me worried that I might get pulled over by the police for driving is if I am intoxicated! My experience thus far has been that the vehicle wanders the least in the Heavy/Quick setting. As previously mentioned, I remain very suspicious that the run-flat tires may be part of the problem, and I would be very curious to see how it performs when I eventually replace them with a set of Michelin Primacy tires. The Internet reveals that the majority of consumers don't like run-flats because they impart a rough ride; they cost a third more than conventional tires; and they wear very quickly. I find it to be absolutely infuriating that the automotive industry is increasingly cramming these tires down our throats. Indeed, I have read reports that BMW for example may void the warranty if these tires are replaced with conventionals. Fortunately, with the 2015 Q50, these tires can be replaced with conventional ones without voiding the warranty. In addition, the vehicle has a spare tire that can be replaced with a conventional one.
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2015 INFINITI Q50 for sale near you
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Marvelous!
Sarah, 08/24/2015
2015 INFINITI Q50 Premium 4dr Sedan AWD (3.7L 6cyl 7A)
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
Wow, Infiniti AWD Q50 is absolutely beautiful, powerful, and luxurious! The options of ECO mode, sports mode, and snow mode make it a great combination of safe, fast, powerful, and just impressive. Love my Infiniti!
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New to Infiniti
Greg, 07/10/2015
2015 INFINITI Q50 4dr Sedan AWD (3.7L 6cyl 7A)
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
When we looked at new cars in 2013, we were interested in the G37, but found that the Q50 had just been introduced. It had all of the options we wanted (AWD, strong power, look of luxury) so we opted for the new model instead of the outgoing G model. Overall the car is great with the exception of electronic systems that are the center piece of the interior. I have never seen a car's systems take so long to come online. Once you start the car, at best, all of the radio functions will finally become available after about 30 seconds to a minute. Also (and I find this to be hazard that Infiniti should fix), the back-up sensors and grid also take about 30 seconds to a minute to become available. When you are in a crowded shopping area and your first action when leaving is to back out of the parking spot, all safety systems should be immediately available. Our other car's (not an Infiniti) backup systems, radio and all other electronics are immediately available at the turn of the ignition. Even when the electronics are available, the Q50 has several glitches. When we first got the car, the radio would "freeze", meaning once you turned to a station, you could not switch stations or even turn the volume down without stopping the car, turning it off and restarting. I think they finally fixed that issue with one of the several updates, but we still have glitches in the radio and controls from time to time. I think the Q50's navigation system is significantly better than the one in our other car and is extremely user-friendly and easy to use while driving. Overall a good car with impressive power, comfort and other features, but as a new model, it has some needed improvements that likely will not be available for another model year or two. Will consider another one when we look again, but will also explore the competitors again as we are not 100% sold.
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Q50 All options
Rob Buser, 05/26/2016
updated 06/06/2022
2015 INFINITI Q50 Sport 4dr Sedan (3.7L 6cyl 7A)
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
19 inch wheel option is a must. Technology package is very cool. Fun sedan. Gets lots of looks and compliments. Just traded this one for a new Q50S with all the same features and technology options. My car is not a hybrid as shown above. Don't know where Edmunds got that. It is naturally aspired 3.7L, V-6 motor. Same motor as in Nissan 370Z.
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