If you like the idea of a long-wheelbase Japanese sedan, you can thank China's appetite for luxury cars: Infiniti created the Q70L for that country and then added the car to its North American lineup as a new flagship sedan, positioned a notch above the standard-length Q70.
For 2018, the Q70L carries on with no major changes. The InTouch infotainment system is now standard, and Infiniti has added the term LUXE to model designations and introduced new Essential, Sensory and ProACTIVE trim package monikers.
Aside from its extra rear-seat legroom, the Q70L's advantage over its smaller sibling is the availability of a V8 engine that lends the 5.6 LUXE trim 416 hp and 414 lb-ft of torque. The base Q70L 3.7 LUXE gets a 3.7L V6 making 330 hp and 270 lb-ft, and both engines are mated to a seven-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive.
We suspect the lack of attention Infiniti has paid the Q70L in recent years speaks to the brand's recognition that it's never been viewed as a big sedan powerhouse the way its German competitors are.
Thus, while the Q70L is a good-looking car and a strong performer, but its powertrains -- both based around big-displacement engines -- are the product of a past era of luxury car engineering.
And that's a bit of a shame, considering the car has a lovely interior boasting such standard niceties as expensive-looking silver-dusted wood trim, heated/ventilated quilted leather seating with 10-way power adjustments up front, heated rear seats, heated steering wheel, Bose stereo, navigation, 360-degree camera, front and rear parking sonar and a power tilt-and-telescopic steering column
Despite the Q70L's apparently having been left to languish, it also gets standard active safety features in the form of blind spot warning/intervention, lane departure warning/prevention, forward collision warning with emergency braking and adaptive cruise control. There are also adaptive headlights that steer with the front wheels to light the car's path in corners.
The Q70L is also a strong value, its standard feature list comprising many items that are optional elsewhere in the luxury sedan segment; Infiniti offers no options in this car.
Fuel consumption estimates are 13.2/9.8 L/100 km (city/highway) for V6-powered models and 14.9/10.3 with the V8.
This vehicle has not yet been reviewed
