A new name, new sheetmetal, and hands-free driving for the
G37
The 2014 Infiniti Q50 is meant to be the best-ever sport
sedan from Nissan’s premium division. It might be, but, for better or worse,
the Q50 will be remembered instead as one of the first cars with the ability to
be driven nearly autonomously. With every available electronic aid engaged,
it’s possible to drive the Q50 on a straight stretch of road with your hands of
the steering wheel and your feet of the pedals.
Whether you consider this to be progress or the beginning of
the end of driving pleasure depends on your perspective.
With every
available electronic aid engaged, it’s possible to drive the Q50 on a straight
stretch of road with your hands of the steering wheel and your feet of the
pedals.
Setting aside the electronics, the Q50 is not so much an
all-new sport sedan as a refreshed and rebodied Infiniti G37. When the Q50
debuted at the 2013 Detroit auto show, it seemed overstyled under the bright
lights, but now that we’ve seen and driven it in real life, we rather like it.
Total interior volume is up by three cubic feet, and there’s a bit more head-
and legroom in the front seat.
Total interior
volume is up by three cubic feet, and there’s a bit more head- and legroom in the
front seat.
If one thing characterizes the Q50, it is the steering.
Infiniti’s Direct Adaptive Steering system effectively has only electronic
control units (and a backup electric clutch on the steering shaft) between the
steering wheel and the front tires – there’s no actual physical connection,
which is a first in the auto industry. Tuned with the much-ballyhooed
assistance of Infiniti Red Bull Formula 1 driver Sebastian Vettel, the Q50’s
steering allows you to select four different combinations of response and effort.
In theory, steer-by-wire technology allows engineers to
infinitely fine-tune the steering, and Infiniti product planners hint that a
special Vettel-tuned performance package is in the works. Given his efforts in
tuning Direct Adaptive Steering so far, perhaps Seb should stick to F1 cars,
because in its current iteration, the steering feels artificial, disconnected,
and even unpredictable.
The Q50’s steering
allows you to select four different combinations of response and effort
Hands-free driving is made possible by the Q50’s optional
Active Lane Control, another world-first piece of technology. It uses
camera-based recognition of lane markers to make fine steering adjustments to
compensate for cross-winds, changes in road surface, and driver inattention.
There are circumstances when the driver can motor in “Look, Ma! No hands!” mode
as far as he or she dares.
As for the rest of the 2014 Infiniti Q50, it’s quite a good
rear-wheel-drive (or, optionally, all-wheel-drive) sport sedan. But in
blanketing the Q50 with a suite of electronic nannies, Infiniti is gambling
that it can retain the enthusiasts it has so carefully cultivated over the past
decade even as it chases luxury-car buyers who are all too happy to find other
things to do with their hands than grip the steering wheel.
