Audi SQ5 vs Infiniti Q30

What's the difference?

Let’s forget the money, for a second, because yes, you’re paying more for the Sportback variant. But if you can afford it, then why wouldn’t you. This is a sleeker, sportier and more stylish answer to the regular Q5, which was already a super-solid offering in the segment. And as far as I can tell, the practicality sacrifices you have to make are minimal at best. 

So why not?

The Q30 Sport is a left-field choice in the premium hatch segment. For those who don’t care about badge equity and are looking for something different, the Q30 provides maybe 70 per cent the feel of its well-established competition while offering decent value courtesy of standard safety and spec inclusions.

The biggest letdown is how much better it could be with just a little extra in every department. Even in this top-spec the drive experience is a bit generic, and it’s missing an up-to-date multimedia experience limiting its appeal to a younger audience.

Even with its promising mixed heritage, the Q30 hardly feels more than the sum of its parts.

Our adventure began with the SQ5, and, to my eye at least, it looks mean, and more like a jacked-up hot hatch than sportier version of a mid-size SUV.

Speaking of which, it looks bigger than a mid-size, too, as though the flattened roof has pushed the rear out for more length, at least visually.

By far its best angle, though, will be afforded to the people in front of you on the road, with each peek in the rear-view mirror revealing a wide, forward-leaning grille, all black honeycomb mesh, with a cat-clawed bonnet and headlights that sweep back into the bodywork, hinting at speed before it even sets off. 

Side on, the massive 21-inch alloys hide red brake calipers, but it does also reveals a tale of two SUVs, with the front half looking taller and straighter, while the rear roofline is more raked as it flies towards a fairly small rear windscreen with a roof spoiler that juts out over it. 

At the rear, the quad exhaust tips (which sound great), and a boot spoiler moulded into the bodywork complete the package.

But even in lesser lesser Q5 45 TFSI guise, this Sportback looks the business, I reckon. Though a little more premium than performance-focused, perhaps.

As the name suggests, the Sportback version gives you, well, a sportier back, and it all starts at the B-Pillar, with a more raked roofline that gives this version of the Q5 a sleeker, more slippery look. 

But they aren’t the only changes. In Sportback models, the single-frame grille upfront is different, and the grille is also positioned lower, and seems to jut out from the bonnet more, for a lower, more aggressive look. The lights are also positioned a little higher, and those massive air vents on either side are different, too.

The cabin is the usual level of Audi niceness, with a big central screen, big digital screen in front of the steering wheel, and a sense of genuine solidity and quality wherever you look.

There are some questionable materials at work, though, like the door trims and the hard plastic that your knee rubs against when driving, but all in all, it's quite a lovely place to spend time.

The Q30 drew more than just looks for its badge. It genuinely looks like a concept car from a motor show stand. Not the paper mache Mars rover early prototype kind, more like the six-months-before-production kind.

It’s all swoopy with curves cutting all down the sides, and Infiniti has done a good job imprinting the brand’s signature design queues – like the chrome-framed grille and notched C-pillar - on the front and rear three-quarter views.

It’s genuinely hard to tell it shares major componentry with the last-gen (W176) A-Class from the outside and I’d place the overall look somewhere between Mazda and Lexus’ design languages for better or worse.

While the front is swoopy and resolved the rear is a bit busy with lines everywhere and bits of chrome and black trim all over the place. The tapered roofline and high bumpers set it apart from your regular hatchback fare. 

It might grab the eye for the wrong reasons, but it certainly gives the Q30 a slick look when viewed in profile. I wouldn’t call it a bad looking car, but it is divisive and will appeal only to certain tastes.

Inside is simple and plush. Perhaps a little too simple when compared with the new (W177) A-Class with its entirely digital dashboard or the 1 Series with its M bits. One could even argue the Audi A3 has done ‘simplicity’ better.

The seats are nice in the two-tone white-on-black trim and the Alcantara roof is a premium touch, but the rest of the dash is a bit too basic and dated. There’s a smattering of buttons down the centre stack which are replaced with more intuitive touchscreen functions on most rivals, and the 7.0-inch touchscreen looks small, distantly embedded in the dash.

The materials are all nice to the touch, with most important touch-points clad in leather, but it also feels a little claustrophobic, with the abundance of dark trim, thick roof pillars and a low roof-line, especially in the back seat. The switchgear, which is mostly dropped straight out of a Benz A-Class, feels good.

The Q5 Sportback range stretches 4689mm in length, 1893mm in width, and around 1660mm in height, depending on the variant. It rides on a 2824mm wheelbase. 

And remember when I said there were few practicality penalties for the new sportier look? This is what I meant.

Up front, it's basically the same Q5, so if you know that car, you'll know this one, with its spacious and airy feeling front seats.

In the back, though, things are a little different, just not quite as different as I was expecting. The new sloping roofline has actually only reduced headroom by 16mm. I’m 175cm tall, and there was clear air between my head and the roof, and plenty of leg-room, too.

The central tunnel arrangement means you probably don’t want to squeeze three adults across the back, but two would really be no problem at all. That way, you can deploy the back seat divider to uncover two cupholders, use the two USB charge ports or adjust your climate controls, including temperature settings.

In the 45 TFSI and SQ5 models, the rear seats also slide or recline, meaning you can prioritise luggage space or passenger comfort, depending on what you're carrying.

Up front, there’s heaps of little cubby spots, including a key storage spot under the aircon controls, another in front of the gear shift, a phone slot next to the gear shift, two cupholders in the big centre console, and a surprisingly shallow centre console that’s home to a wireless phone charger and a USB port, joining the regular USB port under the drive mode selector.

And at the rear, Audi reckons there’s 500 litres of storage, only about 10 litres less than the regular Q5,  which grows to 1470 litres with the second-row folded.  

Infiniti calls the Q30 a “crossover” rather than a hatchback and this is best reflected through its pumped ride height. Rather than hugging the ground like the A-Class or 1 Series, the Q30 sits propped up, almost like a small SUV.

There’s also the QX30 which is an even more pumped version of this car complete with plastic guards in the vein of Subaru’s XV. The QX30 is also your only way to all-wheel drive now that the Q30 is front-wheel drive only. 

While the extra ride height means you won’t have to worry about scraping expensive body panels on speedbumps or steep ramps you won’t be wanting to get too brave off the tarmac.

Interior space is fine for front passengers with plenty of arm and legroom, but back seat passengers are left with a small, dark space which feels especially claustrophobic. Headroom is not great no matter which seat you’re in. In the front seat I could almost rest my head on the sun-visor (I’m 182cm tall) and the back seat was not much better.

Rear passengers do score nice seat trim and two air-conditioning vents though, so they haven’t totally been forgotten.

There’s average amounts of storage up front and in the back, with small bottle holders in each of the four doors, two on the transmission tunnel and a tiny trench – useful for keys maybe – in front of the air-conditioning controls.

Even the centre console box is shallow, despite a large opening. Once I had collected enough loose objects on my trip I started to run out of room for things in the cabin.

There are nettings on the back of the front seats and an odd extra one on the passenger’s side of the transmission tunnel.

Power outlets come in the form of a single USB port in the dash and a 12-volt outlet in the centre box.

The boot is a much better story despite the swoopy roofline with 430 litres of space available. That’s bigger than the A-Class (370L), 1 Series (360L), A3 (380L) and CT200h (375L). Needless to say, it ate up two large duffle bags and some extra items we brought with us for our week-long trip.

This is due to its impressive depth, but it does come at a cost. The Q30 only has the sound system’s base and an inflator kit under the boot floor. There’s no spare for long distance trips.

One irritation I have to mention is the shift-lever, which was annoying in its tilt-shift operation. Often when trying to change to drive from reverse or vice versa it would get stuck in neutral. Sometimes I wonder what’s wrong with a shifter which locks in position…

If you’re shopping in this segment, there’s a good chance you’re not looking for a bargain buy, but the Q30 shines in some areas its competition doesn’t.

A promising start is the complete lack of a lengthy and expensive options list with items which should be standard. In fact, apart from a reasonable set of accessories and the $1200 premium 'Majestic White' paint, the Q30 has no options in the traditional sense.

The base Q30 scores 18-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights with high-beam assist, heated leather seats, flat-bottomed leather steering wheel, leather trim on the doors and dash, Alcantara (synthetic suede) roof-lining and a 7.0-inch multimedia touchscreen supporting DAB+ digital radio and built-in navigation.

Our Sport adds a 10-speaker Bose audio system (which could have been better…) dual-zone climate control, a fixed panoramic sunroof, fully-electric front seats and Nissan’s 360-degree ‘around view monitoring’ parking suite.

It might have premium aspirations, but value-wise Q30 is still specified like a Nissan.

The standard safety suite is also reasonably impressive, and you can read more about it in the safety section of this review.

Our Q30 Sport comes in at a total of $46,888 (MSRP) which is still premium money. The price pits it against the BMW 120i M-Sport (eight-speed auto, $46,990), Mercedes-Benz A200 (seven-speed DCT, $47,200) and fellow Japanese premium hatch act - the Lexus CT200h F-Sport (CVT, $50,400).

Herein lies the Q30’s biggest problem. Brand recognition. Everybody knows the BMW and Benz hatches by virtue of their badges alone and the Lexus CT200h is known by those who care about it.

Even without the extensive options list, it makes the price of entry against such established competition tough. While you might see a couple of them around Sydney, the Q30 is a relatively rare sight which garnered more than a few quizzical looks in the towns of NSW’s mid-north coast.

The standard spec is also missing the all-important Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity. It rendered the 7.0-inch multimedia screen clumsy and largely useless, although the old-fashioned built-in nav gives peace-of-mind when you’re out of phone reception range.

If you have an Apple phone you can make use of the iPod music playback feature via the USB port.

There are three engines total here, kicking off with the 2.0-litre TDI in the Q5 Sportback 40. It produces 150kW and 400Nm - enough for a sprint to 100km/h in 7.6s. The 2.0-litre TFSI in the Q5 Sportback 45 petrol bumps those figures to 183kW and 370Nm, lowering your spring to 6.3s. 

Both pair with a seven-speed S tiptronic automatic, and feature a 12-volt mild-hybrid system to smooth out acceleration and lower fuel use, as well Quattro ultra, which can disconnect the rear drive shaft so only the front wheels are driven.

The SQ5 gets a seriously lusty 3.0-litre TDI V6 which deliver 251kW and 700Nm, and a sprint of 5.1s It also gets a 48-volt mild-hybrid system, and an eight-speed tiptronic transmission.

For 2019 the Q30 has had its list of engines trimmed from three to just one. The diesel and smaller 1.6-litre petrol engines have been culled, leaving a 2.0-litre petrol.

Thankfully, it’s a strong unit producing a once-V6-range 155kW/350Nm across a wide band from 1200-4000rpm.

It feels responsive and isn’t let down by a slick-shifting seven-speed dual clutch automatic transmission.

The new-generation A-Class equivalent, even in 2.0-litre A250 guise produces less torque with outputs of 165kW/250Nm, so for the money the Infiniti scores a solid serving of extra punch.

All Q5 Sportback models are fitted with a 70-litre fuel tank, which should produce a driving range in excess of 1000kms - though prepare for pain at the pump. Sometimes premium fuel in Sydney can run to around $1,90 a litre, for example, so the good stuff will cost you around $130 bucks a tank in the petrol cars.

Audi says the Q5 Sportback 40 TDI will sip 5.4 litres per 100km on the combined cycle, while emitting 142g/km of c02. The 45 TFSI needs 8.0 litres per 100km on the combined cycle, and will emit 183g/km of c02. The SQ5 sits somewhere in the middle, with 7.1 litres per 100km and 186g/km of c02.

Over my week-long test the Q30 returned a figure of 9.0L/100km. I was a little disappointed with this figure given much of the distance covered was cruising at freeway speeds. 

It’s made worse when you pitch it against the claimed/combined figure of 6.3L/100km (not sure how you could achieve that…) and the fact that I left the irritating stop-start system on for much of the time.

For a leader in the luxury hatch class consider the Lexus CT200h which makes full use of Toyota’s hybrid drive and pitches a fuel consumption figure of 4.4L/100km.

The Q30 has a 56-litre fuel tank and takes a minimum of 95 RON premium unleaded.

How to best describe the drive experience in the Q5 Sportback? That's easy. And it's 'easy'.

Honestly, I know this is ostensibly the sportier version of the Q5, but the truth is that, in the 45 TFSI version we tested, it's a comfortable, light-feeling drive experience that only ever reveals its sporty nature when you really command it to.

Left in its Auto drive mode, the Q5 45 TFSI will positively waft around town, road noise kept to an absolute minimum, and feeling somehow smaller and lighter than its dimension would suggest.

You can dial-up the aggression by cycling through the drive modes, of course, but even in Dynamic guise it never feels too harsh, too aggressive. More that you've simply tightened the screws a little bit.

Plant your right foot and the 45 TFSI will collect speed in a way that Audi refers to as "hot hatch-like", punching towards the 100km/h sprint with verve and aggression. But having just stepped out of the SQ5, it still feels somehow sedate, and almost relaxing, rather than out-and-out aggressive.

And that's because the SQ5 variant is clearly, purposefully, the performance-focused variant here. I think this V6 engine is an absolute peach, and its the kind of powerplant that inspires you to stick with the vehicle's most dynamic settings, putting up with the just-too-firm suspension settings so you can access more fo the grunt more quickly.

And it feels constantly ready for action. Tap the accelerator and the car bristles, dropping down a gear, revving higher and preparing for your next command.

Through bends, it feels smaller and lighter than you might expect, with plenty of grip and steering that, while not overflowing with feedback, feels true and direct.

Short answer? It's the one I'd take. But you'll pay for it.

Thanks to its shared underpinnings with the A-Class the Q30 Sport drives largely like you would expect a premium hatch to drive. It’s just lacking a bit of character.

The engine is responsive, the transmission is fast and the availability of peak torque from just 1200rpm will lead to spinning the front wheels if caution is not applied. Power is no real issue.

Although Infiniti says it has tuned the Q30 in Japan and Europe, the ride has an undeniably Germanic flavour. It doesn’t feel quite as tight as the A-Class or 1 Series but it doesn’t feel as soft as the CT200h, so it strikes a decent balance.

The Q30 uses MacPherson strut suspension in the front and multi-link at the rear, more suited to a premium car than the torsion bar rear on the new Benz A 200.

The wheel has a nice amount of feedback, and thankfully doesn’t use the larger Q50’s strange ‘Direct Adaptive Steering’ which has no mechanical connection between the driver and the road.

If you’ve driven a decently-specified A-Class before the drive experience will feel familiar. The added ride height seems to remove a bit of feel from the corners, however.

There’s also the inclusion of three drive modes – Economy, Sport and Manual. Economy mode seems to be the default with Sport simply holding gears for longer. Steering-wheel mounted paddle-shifters could be used to mill through the seven gears in 'Manual' mode, although this didn’t add much to the experience.

The addition of active cruise control and adaptive high beams proved to be fantastic for reducing fatigue on long highway stints during the night, but the lack of a padded surface on the inside of the transmission tunnel proved uncomfortable for the driver’s knee on longer trips.

I persisted with the stop-start system to test it, but it proved slow and irritating. Under normal circumstances it would be the first thing I’d turn off.

Visibility was also a bit limited out the rear three quarter courtesy of the low, swoopy C-pillars.

The Q30 scores some decent active safety goodies alongside the usual refinements. Active safety items include auto emergency braking (AEB) with forward collision warning, blind spot monitoring (BSM), lane departure warning (LDW) and active cruise control.

There’s also Nissan’s signature ‘Around View Monitor’ 360-degree reversing camera which sounds more useful than it is. Thankfully there is also a standard reversing camera.

The Q30 carries a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating as of 2015 but has not been tested to the more demanding 2019 standards.

The rear seats also benefit from two sets of ISOFIX child seat mounting points. 

As previously mentioned, there’s no spare wheel in the Q30 Sport, so best of luck with the inflator kit if you end up with a flat in the outback.

All Audis are covered by a three-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, which really isn’t great in a world of five-, seven- and even 10-year warranties.

The brand will let you prepay your services, required annually, for the first five years, with the regular Q5 Sportback billed at $3140 and the SQ5 billed at $3170.

As with all Infiniti products, the Q30 is covered by a four-year/100,000km warranty and a three-year service program can be purchased with the car. Pricing was not available for the 2019 Q30 model year at the time of writing, but its 2.0-litre turbo predecessor averaged $540 per service once a year or every 25,000km.

Credit where credit is due, the Q30 edges out the European competition by a year of warranty length and general service pricing. This market segment is still wide open for a manufacturer to take the lead offering five or more years of warranty coverage.