Good afternoon, all. I'm curious if anyone has experience with the Q50 Hybrid.

I'm no giant fan of hybrids, but I'm sorta nutty about the Q50. A Carmax not too far from me has a 2014, 54K miles, Sport package and AWD, for $26K.

I visited the local Infiniti store a couple of months ago. The sales rep there told me that the battery replacement was the biggest concern with the hybrids, but that Infiniti's setup was such that you replace individual cells, not the whole thing. And they've replaced a total of ONE since the hybrid was released.

At a quick glance, it seems that used Q50 Hybrid pricing isn't that much different from "normal" Q50 pricing, and with roughly 8-9mpg better fuel economy... well, it could be tempting.

I'll admit, I'm not really in the market for a new ride, but the Q50 always grabs my attention. A "normal" Q50 would bring only a nominal fuel economy increase over my current everyday ride, so it's not as easy a decision as, say, Mrs' Camry (which gets a YUGE fuel economy increase over my current ride). But an 8-9 mpg increase is roughly a 50% fuel economy bonus for me.

So. Anybody got experience with Infiniti hybrids, the Q50 in particular?

We've had two hybrids, both Fords. You get spoiled with the MPG.
Have had no issue with batteries. My 2008 Escape got traded a couple of months ago only because my wife needed a van and a road car. It's still a sore topic between us.
Autotrader estimates 10-15 years or 120,000 to 150,000 miles before failure.
The Honda Prius cars seem to go 200,000 with no problems.
My honest option is that you'll trade the car long before the battery is at risk.
One irk. My CMAX easily gets 40-42 MPG. However, the damn winter blend has always drops this by 3 MPG.

http://www.greencarreports.com...th-300000-plus-miles
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.c...rged-15-years-later/
https://www.autotrader.com/car...you-expect-it-221310

Thank you, Icabod. I'm a long-term guy, as ownership goes. My current ride is an '02, with 267K miles. I might not run the next one quite so long, but it's good to know the expectancy is so good.

Car and Driver had one for a long term test. They were less than thrilled.

http://www.caranddriver.com/re...ong-term-test-review

I have a 2017 Q50 and I love it. However, I would avoid the hybrid model, and not because of the hybrid bits. The infotaiment bits for 2014 were notoriously slow and improved in 2015. The big reason to avoid the 2014 (or hybrid) models all of them are fitted with Infiniti's Direct Adaptive Steer.

There is 0% steering feel as the steering column is deactivated and is completely steer by wire. You can adjust how heavy the steering wheel is, but all road imperfections are filtered out. On a regular Q50, it's a $1,000 option that should never be checked. On a hybrid, it's standard.

This video will probably scare you off the hybrid or any of them with DAS.

Thanks, guys, for the article and video.

I had seen the MT video once before. It was interesting to watch it again, having driven a Red Sport back in June. I didn't really notice the steering lack-of-feel... then again, I didn't get any track time with it.

I'll certainly make a note about not wanting the DAS. Thank you, DanH, for pointing out that it's standard on the Hybrid.

There are a lot of 2014 models on the market right now. I've read that Infinity just poured Q50 into the lease/fleet market that year, so they're showing up on the used market now.

It'll be a while before I'm truly in position to add to my fleet, but it seems now that I should look for 2015-forward models... and definitely for DAS-less versions.

If you don't need one any time soon, I would wait for the 2016 Q50 and on. The old VQ V6 was replaced with a Mercedes 2.0l Turbo and 2 different VR V6s with twin turbos. The Red Sport makes about the same gas mileage as the older VQ with an extra 100 horsepower.

Or you can go the other way and look at late model G37s. They'll be a bit cheaper, but also 90% bulletproof. You'll have hydraulic steering and most of the tech features.

Honestly, Dan, I'm down with the "old school" G37. I nearly bought one a couple of years ago, after a college student mangled the front of my current ride. (I elected to rebuild it and charge forward on my 300K-mile goal instead.) I'm a big fan of the VQ-series V6, and the 3.7 exhaust note is very "Z-like," which I like. A little bit of growl, without sounding overly rowdy.

As Q50 goes, I'll certainly hold up for a 2016 or later. I've noticed that whether VQ 3.7 or VR-series 3.0, the fuel economy is about the same. Has your 3.0 got "the growl?"

The 2.0 may be just great, but for some reason I can't get behind the idea of a 2-liter in a car like that. And thank you for the lesson -- I was not aware that the 2.0 was Mercedes-derived. (Is that the same basic engine as in the small QX SUV?)

On a tangent note: all the 2016 models at Carmax anywhere relatively near me are 2.0-liter versions. Wonder why no 2016 3.0 are showing up?

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I've noticed that whether VQ 3.7 or VR-series 3.0, the fuel economy is about the same. Has your 3.0 got "the growl?"

It's subtle, but it's there. It's far more noticeable in the Red Sport. The big gains in fuel economy for the Q50 is an extra 2 mpg highway compared to the G37. I don't know if they did some extra tuning or if it was mostly gained from going to electric power steering.

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The 2.0 may be just great, but for some reason I can't get behind the idea of a 2-liter in a car like that. And thank you for the lesson -- I was not aware that the 2.0 was Mercedes-derived. (Is that the same basic engine as in the small QX SUV?)

1) Infinti has set their lineup to mirror BMW's engine choices. The turbo 4 goes up again the 320i, the 3.0t goes up against the 330i, and the Red Sport goes again the 340i.

2) It's a cousin at least. It is the same Turbo 4 in the Mercedes C300. The big difference instead of 241/273, it's 205/258. I'm pretty sure Infiniti turned down the wick because Mercedes only cares if the engine lasts for a 39 month lease while Infiniti is on the hook for about 75,000 miles.

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On a tangent note: all the 2016 models at Carmax anywhere relatively near me are 2.0-liter versions. Wonder why no 2016 3.0 are showing up?

Just a guess, but I think Infiniti's production was mostly the 2.0t and the Red Sport. The only vehicle they had for press reviews were all Red Sports with DAS. Motor Trend did a test with 9 cars from that segment, and Infiniti was left out because they didn't have a 2.0t in their press fleet at all. When I leased mine from the dealer about a month ago, mine was the last 3.0t they had, but they had 3 Red Sports (1 stock, 2 loaded) and 4 base 2.0t with no options.

The last idea is that most people aren't buying the 2.0t because you lose about 1 mpg and gain 100 horsepower and more standard equipment for about $2,000. If I remember right, a 2.0t built like my car was about $42,000 while mine was $44,000.

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Originally posted by DanH:
Just a guess, but I think Infiniti's production was mostly the 2.0t and the Red Sport. The only vehicle they had for press reviews were all Red Sports with DAS.

(snip)

The last idea is that most people aren't buying the 2.0t because you lose about 1 mpg and gain 100 horsepower and more standard equipment for about $2,000. If I remember right, a 2.0t built like my car was about $42,000 while mine was $44,000.

Makes sense, I guess. I was under the impression the Red Sport was somewhat limited, but it seems I was wrong. I've only seen a couple of 2.0 badges on Qs around here. Perhaps most buyers local to me are like you and me -- when $2k gets better equipment and 100 more horsepower... I'm in!