Infiniti Q70 Hybrid - Any Experience?

[emicen]

So I got a phone call from my father whose been offered what he believes to be a good deal on one of these trading his 530dGT against it.

Whatcar review gives it 1 out of 5. Would very much like to hear what any real world owners think or people who have tried them over any real period of driving?

He does reasonable mileage and most of them are motorway commuting so I'm not that sure how well suited a hybridised large car would suit this, would be good to hear real world numbers.

[daniel1920]

I just checked out that review, I was interested in what makes a car so bad to be 1*.
But when you check the individual items it shows:
Performance 4*
Ride & Handling 3*
Refinement 4*
Buying & Owning 2*
Quality & Reliability 4*
Safety & Security 5*
Behind The Wheel 3*
Space & Practicality 3*
Equipment 4*
If anyone can explain how that averages out at 1* overall. PLEASE COME TEACH ME YOUR MANMATH

[thelawnet]

Sometimes these 1 star reviews are based on buying the car new, and compared against the alternatives, which might be better for the money/depreciate less/use less fuel.

If you are buying used at half the price of the best in class car, then the 1 star car could now be a 5 out of 5.

[emicen]

Well this is true, the change is only looking to cost £8/9k over trade in on his 5GT. My main concern would be longer term costing a lot more to fuel, or horrors of reliability since there's little reference for Infiniti's hybrid platforms in the UK.

Think I might have to see if he can get an extended test drive to see for the economy side.

[nickjoneswarwick]

I bought one (m35h) with 8k on the clock a year ago and since then have covered 26k miles. Absolutely love the pace, refinement, abundant equipment, rarity and the sound of a petrol v6. I drove 120 miles from Reading to Somerset today and got 39 mpg on a jammed M4. Not bad for something that hits 60 in about 5.5 seconds. Infiniti service has been amazing, the utter opposite of previous experience with Mercedes.

[kevlaruk]

I have a G37S saloon, baby infiniti (comparable to 3 series) and love it. Not many manufacturers make cars with larger engines these days. It's also really refined and a nice place to be. I imagine the Q70 being even better seeing as it's the top of the line car in their lineup.
Definitely worth considering...

[Andy665]

A couple of years ago I was working on a new car launch event at the Estonia GP circuit, as usual there were competitor vehicles for delegates to drive, the A70was withdrawn from the slalom test as the pit straight was not wide enough for it when it span - which people did regularly, XF, 5 Series, A6 etc were all absolutely fine

In isolation not a bad car, against its direct competitors - woeful

[nickjoneswarwick]

Useful pistonheads review here:

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=104...

makes some excellent points. What it does leave out is the price differential for a used example. The comparison table at the bottom is against some excellent machinery, but spec'd to the same level as the Infiniti, with a few thousand miles on the clock? A 13 plate 535d is nearly £10k dearer. And it's a diesel.

I'd also add that most users aren't going to use these as track cars, but fast machines that mainly sit on the motorway but have plenty of pace for a bit of fun as and when required. I love mine and have absolutely no regrets.

[MG511]

Car Magazine ran an M35h on long term test, reports are here http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results... I'd rather have one (or a Lezus GS hybrid) than a German diesel, but maybe I'm just weird.

[nickjoneswarwick]

Different from most is definitely not the same as weird!