Infiniti Q50 vs Nissan Sukura

What's the difference?

The Q50 Red Sport is a premium sedan that's great value, with a cracker of an engine. While Infiniti has improved the ride and steering, it still feels to me that the engine is too powerful for the wheels and chassis to handle. But if you're looking for something of an untamed beast, this car could be for you. Just don't say we didn't warn you.

The Sakura won't be for everyone, but why does every car have to have mass appeal? Can't we have some unique offerings in the mix, too? With a slightly bigger battery, Nissan could definitely find and audience for the Sakura in Australia, and I might even be near the front of that queue.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.

The Q50 Red Sport looks cranky from front on, which I like in a car. Yes, the grille is simplistic and gaping, the nose is a bit bulbous, and sure, side on the car looks like a Lexus IS 350, but those rear haunches and the aggro body kit with its front splitter and boot lid spoiler make for an impressive looking four-door sedan.

The update brought restyled front and rear bumpers, those red brake calipers and the dark chrome 20-inch rims and new LED tail-lights.

Inside, the cabin is an asymmetrical paradise (or hell, if you're a bit OCD like me) full of sweeping lines, angles, as well as different textures and materials.

The red stitched quilted leather seats are an addition that came with the update, so is the new steering wheel and the ambient lighting.

The 'Sunstone Red' colour of our test car is also a new hue which looks a bit like Mazda's Soul Red. If red is not you, there are other colours – hope you like blue or white or black or grey because there's 'Iridium Blue', 'Midnight Black', 'Liquid Platinum', 'Graphite Shadow', 'Black Obsidian', 'Majestic White' and 'Pure White'.

The Q50 has similar dimensions to the IS 350: both are 1430mm tall, the Infiniti is 10mm wider at 1820mm,  120mm longer at 4800mm, and has a wheelbase that's 50mm longer at 2850mm.

I’ve got to say, I reckon this thing looks pretty cool – but then, I have a bit of soft spot for small, quirky cars.

It’s definitely not going to be for everyone, and it looks like it could fit in your back pocket, but there’s something Smart-like about it’s diminutive dimensions, and even though it’s small, there’s some lovely detailing.

The Nissan badge glows, for example, the alloys wheels are beautifully intricate, and the two-tone colour palette and the bronze strip that runs the length of the body works beautifully, too, and matches the bronze highlights in the cabin.

Inside, it’s everything you need, and nothing you don’t. The interior is available in just three options — black, beige or grey — the seats are cloth and the whole vibe is kind of clean, unfussy and pared back.

The Q50 Red Sport is a five-seat four-door sedan and is vastly more practical than its two-door Q60 Red Sport sister, in that I can actually sit in the back seat. The Q60's coupe styling looks amazing, but the sloping roofline means headroom is so severely limited that it reduces the rear seats to a place to throw your jacket.

True, I'm tall at 191cm, but in the Q50 Red Sport I can sit behind my driving position with legroom to spare and more than enough headroom.

Boot space is good at 500 litres, which is 20 litres more than the luggage capacity of the IS 350.

Storage throughout the cabin is good with two cup holders in the rear centre fold-down armrest, two more up front and bottle holders in all doors. A large centre console storage bin and another big storage area in front of the shifter are great for keeping junk under control and your valuables covered.

The Sakura stretches just 3395mm in length, 1475mm in width and 1655mm in height, and it weighs just over 1000kg.

Small, yes. But also clever. The space in the back of this four-seater, for example, is ridiculously generous, with miles of knee and headroom, and because it's on rails, you can slide the rear bench forward to just about double the 107 litres of standard boot room.

Cubby and storage spaces abound, including a hook for your takeaway food, and you can plug your devices in, too.

Honesty, you'll be surprised at how spacious this thing feels in both rows, and by how comfortable the couch-like seats are, too.

Ok, so as we’ve covered the fact that this is a cheap-as-chips city EV that starts, in Japan at least, at around $27k.

And business is booming. The Sakura is the best-selling EV in that country, accounting – at times – for half of all EV sales in Japan.

But the thing is, it really doesn’t feel like a cheap EV. The material choices are super clever, giving off premium vibes while avoiding expensive leather, and the tech in the cabin is pretty much on point, too.

There’s a 9.0-inch central screen, with wireless Apple CarPlay, and a second 7.0-inch screen in front of the driver, and there’s a digital climate-control panel.

The headlights are LEDs, while the rear lights in the upper-spec cars are LEDs, too. And the wide, bench-like front seats feel like the couches at you nan’s place, and the copper trimming is a nice touch.

It's clever, without being flashy, and without ever feeling like corners have been cut.

Inside the Q50 Red Sport's nose is a 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol engine and it is a beautiful thing. To me this car is piece of technologically sophisticated jewellery that cradles a precious gem that pumps out 298kW/475Nm.

But I have my concerns... you can read about those in the driving section.

Shifting gears is a seven-speed automatic which delivers drive to the rear wheels.

The Sakura is a single-motor, 2WD proposition, with the city car producing a not-so-staggering 47kW and 195Nm, and a flying top speed of 130km/h.

Infiniti says the V6 petrol engine in the Q50 Red Sport should use 9.3L/100km if you're using it on a mix of highways, urban streets and country roads. We only had the Q60 Red Sport for 48 hours and after a couple of days of Sydney city commutes and a trip to the Royal National Park our trip computer was reporting 11.1L/100km.

The 20kWh lithium-ion battery will deliver up to 180km in WLTP driving range. That isn’t massive by any stretch, but Nissan says its owners in Japan drive less than 30km a week, which means what’s on offer is plenty. 

And if you’re thinking of a city EV as your second car, I guess you need to ask yourself - how much range do you need?

When it comes time to charge, a standard plug should take around eight hours to top the Sakura up.

Perhaps the biggest complaint we had about the previous Q50 Red Sport, which launched in 2016, was that it felt as though the chassis wasn't up to the amount of grunt running through it, and those rear wheels struggled to transfer the oomph to the road without losing traction.

We experienced the same issue again in this new car. I was breaking traction, not just in 'Sport+' and 'Sport' modes, but in 'Standard' and 'Eco', too. That was happening without pushing it hard and with all electronic traction and stability aids on.

If I was 18 I'd declare to the world I'd found my dream car - something that always wants to 'light 'em up' given half a chance. But like that one mate who always gets into trouble on a night out it's only funny when you're young.

A truly great performance car is planted, balanced and able to deliver the grunt to the road effectively. The Nissan R35 GT-R is the perfect example – a brilliant piece of machinery, a weapon of a performance car and with a chassis matched perfectly to its engine.

And that could be the issue with Q50 Red Sport - that engine feels overpowered for the chassis, and wheel and tyre package.

We also felt the previous Q50 Red Sport's ride, with its constantly adapting 'Dynamic Digital Suspension', was overly busy. Infiniti says it has developed the suspension system further and it does feel as though the ride is more comfortable and composed.

Steering was another area that we weren't overly impressed with when we drove the previous car. Infiniti's 'Direct Adaptive Steering' (DAS) system is super sophisticated and was the first in the world not to have any mechanical connection between the steering wheel and the wheels – it's all electronic.

The new Q50 Red Sport uses the upgraded 'DAS 2' and while it feels better than before, it's only in Sport+ mode that it seems most natural and accurate.

There's a calculation that you need to apply to those less-than-stellar power outputs, and that is that the Sakura only weighs around 1000kg, which means that the little EV actually doesn't feel underpowered.

I mean, I wouldn't want to be overtaking on a country road – especially given the Sakura tops out at 130km/h – but in the city, the instant torque makes the cheap and cheerful Nissan feel perky enough.

The steering is typically Japanese-market specific, in that it's relatively vague and stodgy, but the ride – at least on Tokyo's very good street surfaces – is comfortable, and you do feel connected to the road below you.

The biggest perk, though, is that, not unlike the Suzuki Jimny, the Sakura is one of those vehicle's that feel a little bit silly, and lots of fun.

Now, this test was very much a sample, rather than a deep dive, with the entire experience lasting a handful of city blocks, but on first impressions, I think the Sakura is a smile-inducing EV that's plenty clever, and surprisingly practical.

The Sakura gets Nissan’s ProPilot semi-autonomous system, as well as an auto-park function which will take over the steering and braking when parking.

There’s also 360-degree Safety Assist, which bundles in AEB with pedestrian detection, Lane Departure Warning and other active safety gear.

There’s front side and curtain airbags, too, while upper grades also get a driver’s knee airbag.

The Q50 Red Sport is covered by Infiniti's four year/unlimited kilometre warranty with servicing recommended every 12 months or 15,000km.

Infiniti has a scheduled servicing program which will cost $1283 (in total) for three years.

If the Sakura makes it to Australia, it will be covered by Nissan’s EV warranty, which includes a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty. And a battery State of Health guarantee, which spans eight years or 160,000kms.