Infiniti Q60 vs Nissan Z

What's the difference?

One day Nissan's luxury sub-brand Infiniti could grow up to be as popular as Toyota's Lexus, but it'll take more than just time and brand awareness to get there – it will have to build outstanding cars that impress us, as well.

When I drove the top-of-the-range Q60 Red Sport at its launch a few months ago I called it the breakthrough car for Infiniti. Now we're testing the entry point into the line-up – the GT, which likes to imagine itself as keeping the BMW 420i and Mercedes-Benz C200 Coupe awake at night, but really rivals the Lexus RC 200t.

So, is the Q60 GT outstanding or should you ignore it and go straight to the Red Sport with its bigger engine and Sport + driving mode if you want to be impressed? And what is it like to live with when you've taken your race face off and need to pick up the toddler from day care, then do a load of shopping on the way home?

We found out pretty quickly when we lived with the Q60 GT for a week.

The Nissan Z is a real blueblood.

With Datsun, Nissan introduced the world to Japanese cars via a gruelling round-Australia rally in 1958 that had the country captivated. Within 10 years the 1600 made them respectable, but it was the 240Z of 1970 that also made them desirable.

Seven generations later, today’s RZ34-series Z – along with the Toyota/Subaru GR86/BRZ and Mazda MX-5 – embodies that nation’s tradition of affordable yet charismatic sports cars.

They’ve always been ripe for modifying as well, with Nissan leaning on its performance arm Nismo for 40 years. Which is exactly what the Z Nismo is all about, stepping up to take on the Toyota GR Supra, BMW M240i and Ford Mustang GT.

The old 370Z Nismo was a true corker. Let’s find out if this one does the family proud.