An entirely dashing exterior that catches attention, does Infiniti’s new coupe have the mettle to match?

Photos by Azfar Hashim

Without any shadow of doubt, I’m very sure most of you will agree with me when I point out just how beautiful this coupe from Infiniti is; mesmerizing, even, looking at how much attention it garnered despite being in this unadventurous shade of mono white. God knows how many more eyeballs it would attract if it was in a louder shade of, hmm, yellow. Or even bright candy red.

That’s the thing about this Q60. It was designed and then sculpted by what must be Infiniti’s best. There is nothing for me to find fault with, ladies and gentlemen. Ok maybe, just maybe, the standard alloys deserved something else. After all, Infiniti employed Enkei’s expertise for some of their models previously — just a pity that initiative wasn’t exercised here.

To be honest though, the intricate detail gets more obvious towards the rear. There’s that interesting wedge on the rear passenger’s windows, along with the broadened shoulder line. Lovely slit-eyed tail lamps as well, matched together with a detailed bumper that houses a pair of exhaust tips. Err… I think I’m starting to sound like a love novel.

But the cabin though, resembles the Q50’s. While there is no denying how solidly put together, and obviously, designed to be as useful as possible without taking too much attention away from the driver, you can’t help but ask for a more special touch. Ok so it gets a different steering wheel, but that aside, making it livelier and less sombre would match the outstanding exterior perfectly.

The front seats are well bolstered and proved to be one of the most supportive in its class. The rear’s able to accommodate average-sized adults with good legroom; with a sloping roofline however, taller passengers might have a little issue when it comes to headroom. If you’ve just spent one-fifth of your salary on a hair makeover and stand more than 1.75-meters tall, it’s best to not be back there…

Powering the Q60 is a turbocharged 4-cylinder 2.0-liter powerplant, and mated to a 7-speed automatic transmission, there’s 208 bhp and 350 Nm of torque available at your disposal. Left in default mode, the car does the job of accelerating forward in a leisurely manner, taking some 7.4 seconds to reach 100 km/h from standstill.

It’s only in Sport mode where things get slightly aggressive. The transmission holds itself closer to the redline in the first three gears, and that is enough to let the Q60 feel brisk.

To be honest though, the Q60 isn’t the sort of car you’d want to drive in a ham-fisted manner; which was probably why you don’t get steering mounted paddle-shifters here.

Just as well as this Infiniti coupe shows off its refined side, making it perfect as a long-distance mile muncher. You don’t get intrusive engine notes, tyre and wind noises are both well suppressed and the standard sound system does a brilliant job of providing entertainment; in-car sing along sessions never been this good.

The chassis is another USP for this car. While its svelte exterior may give you the impression it’s ‘soft’, the Q60 proved to be able and confident along a series of bends. Despite its rear-wheel drive configuration, grip is consistent with the nicely weighted helm (the self-centering characteristic does require some getting used to, however), returning good feedback. The brakes are equally good, giving sufficient bite when you need it to.

All that said and done though, it all comes down to the price — which is in the Q60’s favour. You see, even with COE the asking price is less than $200k; $196,800 to be specific. The rest of the competition? The Lexus RC 200t at $247,000, Mercedes-Benz C300 Coupe at $250,800 and BMW 430i Coupe at $250,800. The base Audi A5 Coupe is relatively closer priced to the Q60, with a $206,500 price tag.

So on top of being sexy, refined and having an able chassis, the Infiniti Q60 is the most affordable in its segment. Sounds like an irresistible deal that should not be ignored.

Enough said.