It’s surprising to us that the stylish Infiniti Q60 luxury coupe isn’t more popular than it is, given it has the visual horsepower to keep up with German competitors like the Mercedes-Benz C-Class and BMW 4 Series and Japan’s Lexus RC.
The situation is even more confusing when you consider the Q60’s Red Sport option, which packs a 3.0L, twin-turbo V6 good for 400 hp and 350 lb-ft of torque.
For 2019, that engine is carried over, along with a less-potent 300-hp version of the same engine that becomes the Q60’s base powerplant for 2019, as Infiniti has eliminated last year’s 2.0L turbo four-cylinder option along with the basic Pure trim package it came with. That’s not too much of a surprise: the Mercedes-Benz sourced engine was relatively weak with just 208 hp; we suspect Infiniti may bring its newer variable compression four-cylinder to this car once it has proven itself in the QX50 compact crossover.
Other changes include the addition of a performance exhaust system for Red Sport 400 models, along with black mirror caps. There are also fewer option packages on offer now, because many of the features formerly grouped in them are now standard.
That leaves six trims: 3.0t Luxe AWD, 3.0t Sport AWD and 3.0t Sport with ProAssist and ProActive, all with the 300-hp motor, and three versions of the 400-hp Red Sport designated ProAssist, ProAssist and ProActive and ProAssist and ProActive with silver optic fiber.
ProAssist and ProActive are the two packages into which Infiniti splits its active safety equipment. Cars with both are fitted with automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, rain-sensing wipers, 360-degree exterior camera system, auto-levelling and adaptive headlights, forward collision warning, front and rear parking sensors, blind spot warning and rear cross traffic alert with automatic braking.
We could tell you we think Infiniti has put itself at a disadvantage by not offering a manual transmission in the Q60, but the way the auto industry is going, few potential buyers will miss it. The seven-speed automatic transmission fitted to every car gives up a gear to most competitors, but we doubt most would miss that, either, to be honest.
Standard features in the entry-level 3.0t Luxe include a 13-speaker stereo, auto-dimming rearview mirror, navigation, the Infiniti InTouch infotainment system.
Infiniti hadn’t published fuel consumption estimates for the 2019 Q60 when we wrote this, but we expect they will be similar, if not identical, to the 12.4/8.8 L/100 km (city/highway) and 12.5/9.2 ratings for the 2018 3.0t and Red Sport models.
