Infiniti Q60 S 3.0T Sport Tech 2017 first drive

This is the replacement for a car that you may have heard of but quite possibly never seen. The Infiniti G37 coupé, a quietly handsome V6-powered car of surprising potency, is one of the rarer Infinitis in this country. Since that descriptor applies to all of them bar the new UK-built Q30 and QX30 crossovers, chances are that you may never have seen one coming the other way.

The Q60 that replaces it may face a similar fate although, like its predecessor, it deserves a wider audience. This all-new coupé may win more attention by promising useful improvement in almost every direction, and Infiniti’s gradually rising presence, not least through the Q30, should also help its case. The Q60 certainly has the content to attract buyers of compact, classy and smoothly swift coupés, although the competition is pretty fearsome, coming from the BMW 4 Series, Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupé and a renewed Audi A5.

It’s propelled by either a 205bhp 2.0-litre turbo or a 400bhp 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6, the bigger engine coming from the new VR family that replaces Nissan’s highly regarded VX motor, as used by the 370Z among others. The 2.0-litre powers the rear wheels only whereas the 3.0T tested here propels all four wheels, the rear axle potentially receiving up to all of the engine’s torque in the quest for agile handling. Both models get a BMW-style drive selector, ranging through Snow, Eco, Standard, Sport and Sport+ modes, and the V6 model also has adjustable electronic dampers, labelled Dynamic Digital Suspension in Infiniti speak.

Both versions provide Infiniti’s controversial direct adaptive steering, whose odd tactile character undermines the Q50 saloon. The good news is that the Q60 system comes in second-generation form, while still allowing choice. In combination with the Standard, Sport or Sport+ driving modes, you can overlay default, Dynamic and Dynamic+ steering response modes via the infotainment screen. The steering system is claimed to react more quickly than a mechanical system, adjusting itself up to 1000 times a second. Further technical flourishes include an active shutter radiator grille and narrower door mirrors that also direct air along the car’s deeply sculpted flanks, although this Infiniti’s 0.28 Cd is not so remarkable these days.

Those deeply sculpted flanks are part of a restyle that includes a decidedly more emphatic grille, and Infiniti’s trademark crescent-cut side-window-to-D-pillar trim is also harder to miss. Arch-filling 19in rims come as standard and are upgradeable to 20in. The interior has been modernised, too, with the centre console presenting two stacked screens, the lower panel finger triggered. The screens provide plenty, including an around-view monitor, Infiniti InTouch concierge services and endless programming and information choices, from steering modes and three-flash lane-changing to weather forecasts and the stock market’s status.

Surprisingly, given Infiniti’s love for the technical, the instruments are conventional rather than configurable virtual dials, although the main pair are ringed with crescent-cut aluminium circles. The modernisation also includes an obvious upgrade in material quality for this subtly stylish, more swoopy cabin.

It doesn’t take long to discover that six cylinders, twin turbos and four-wheel drive equal quick. This is a 5.0sec-to-62mph car and one that could easily broach its 155mph limiter. The seven-speed automatic gearbox does a good job of masking the V6’s slightly indolent sub-1500rpm work rate. A very solid surge of melodic thrust rapidly emerges and without much disturbing the tyres' purchase on the road below, on dry days at least.