Although not a ground-up redesign, the 2015 Q70 – which you might remember as the M – arrives with revised exterior styling, a few technical tweaks, and a new long-wheelbase model. So are those changes enough to help the Q70 secure a stronger foothold in the highly-competitive luxury segment? Come with us as we find out.
First impression
Emulating the styling of the smaller Infiniti Q50, the Q70 arrives with the latest iteration of Infiniti’s corporate face. That includes more aggressive-looking headlights with LED accents, a more sculpted front grille and a few extra chrome accents. The Q70 retains its exaggerated front fender arches, giving the car a Maserati-like look from some angles.
Adding several inches to a vehicle’s wheelbase is often detrimental to the car’s overall styling, but we actually prefer the Q70L to the standard Q70. To our eyes the rear doors of the Q70 look truncated while the longer rear doors of the Q70L just seem to fit with the sedan’s flowing lines.
The rear of the 2015 Q70 has been updated with new taillights, thicker chrome accents and a revised lower bumper section.
Overall, the styling changes to the Q70 give the sedan a much stronger curb appeal.
Unfortunately the Q70′s styling updates are limited to the exterior of the car, leaving the interior mostly unchanged. Now approaching its 5th birthday, the interior of the Q70 is starting to feel a little long in the tooth, soldiering on with very little in the way of storage and a center stack that is overly cluttered with buttons. The LCD screen nestled between the Q70′s gauges is almost laughably outdated, especially considering this is Infiniti’s flagship luxury sedan.
The Q70′s interior at least looks the part thanks to silver-sprinkled wood accents and plenty of semi-aniline leather.
The Q70′s front buckets proved comfortable and supportive during our-day long test drive, but the real story is the rear quarters of the Q70L. Thanks to nearly six inches of added wheelbase, the Q70L offers rear seat legroom rivaling that of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and Audi A8L.
But while we were impressed with the Q70L’s rear seat space, we were let down by its lack of amenities. Unlike the similarly priced Hyundai Equus and Kia K900, the Q70L doesn’t offer power adjustable rear seats or even a ventilated seating option. Heated rear seats are at least standard on the Q70L.
Driving impressions
Infiniti left the Q70′s powertrains alone for 2015 – they consist of either a 3.7L V6 or a 5.6L V8 mated to a seven-speed automatic transmission – focusing instead on making improvements to the sedan’s throttle response, steering and suspension.
But even with those enhancements, the Q70 still needs some polishing. While the Q70′s ride is comfortable, there is far more chassis flex than we’d expect from an aspiring sports sedan. That phenomenon wasn’t limited to the longer Q70L, either, as the regular Q70 also exhibited some flexing.
Steering in the Q70 is mostly direct and accurate, but it’s a little vague on-center. As with most modern steering system, the Q70 doesn’t offer much road feel.
The Q70′s optional 5.6L V8 – which delivers 420 horsepower and 417 lb-ft of torque – delivers brisk acceleration, but we actually prefer the 3.7L V6 and its more-than-adequate 330 horsepower. We’re not alone in that stance as the vast majority of Q70 buyers stick with the standard V6.
The Q70′s seven-speed transmission provides smooth shifts, but we found it reluctant to downshift during some passing situations.
Like most modern luxury cars the Q70 is available with a long list of technologies and safety suites, but we found some of the systems to be behind the times.
For example, the Q70′s lane keeping system relies on braking corrections rather than steering inputs to keep the vehicle in its lane. As a result, the system can only keep the Q70 in its lane on very gradual curves. That’s a glaring whiff on Infiniti’s part, especially considering the Q70′s little brother, the Q50, has one of the best lane keeping systems on the market.
We also weren’t bowled over by the Q70′s forward radar system. It seemed far too willing to slam on the brakes when they weren’t need.
Some road noise is apparent, but the Q70′s noise canceling system does a good job overall of keeping the cabin quiet.
Leftlane’s bottom line
Infiniti targeted the 2015 Q70 at the white space of the luxury market, and we’re afraid that’s just where they landed. Offering more style than substance, most buyers will probably gloss over the Q70 for vehicles like the Mercedes E-Class and Cadillac CTS.
And the outlook isn’t much better for the Q70L. In addition to having an extremely limited target market (the long-wheelbase, mid-level luxury sedan market isn’t exactly booming in the United States), the Q70L’s value proposition falls short when you compare it to the more lavishly equipped Equus and K900.
If you have your heart set on an Infiniti sedan, the Q50 is the way to go.
2015 Infiniti Q70 3.7 RWD, $49,850.
2015 Infiniti Q70 3.7 AWD, $52,000
2015 Infiniti Q70 5.6 RWD, $62,850.
2015 Infiniti Q70 5.6 AWD, $65,350.
2015 Infiniti Q70L 3.7 RWD, $51,350.
2015 Infiniti Q70L 3.7 AWD, $53,000.
2015 Infiniti Q70L 5.6 RWD, $64,550.
2015 Infiniti Q70L 5.5 AWD, $67,050.
Photos by Drew Johnson.
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