The Japanese trio of luxury car companies comprised of Lexus, Acura, and Infiniti has been on the downfall in recent years. Lexus is holding up fine, but Acura and more so Infiniti have been feeling the heat in recent years with competition from Mercedes, Audi, and BMW. Now, Infiniti is trying to give people more reason to buy the Q50 sedan for the 2022 model year by giving it several new upgrades. Is it enough to keep the Sedan alive in a market where Sedans are slowly going extinct?

What's New for 2022?

The Infiniti Q50 is now available in three trim levels: LUXE, SENSORY, and RED SPORT 400. The LUXE starts at $42,100 and notable standard equipment includes wireless Apple CarPlay but only Android Auto via a USB type C or type A connection, a 16-speaker Bose Performance Series sound system, and improved leather seats.

The new feature for the SENSORY trim, which starts at $47,800, in addition to what is included in the LUXE trim, is improved leather seats and trim. Either in saddle brown, graphite, or stone and will it cover most surfaces. It also has a more aggressive front bumper and 19-inch wheels that are shared with the RED SPORT 400 trim.

Speaking of which, the RED SPORT 400, starting at $55,950, has some exclusives as well; the satin quad exhaust tips and aniline leather seats in gallery white with red stitching or graphite with red stitching. However, the real reason to buy this trim is the engine.

Engine, transmission, and performance

The LUXE and SENSORY trims come with a 3.0-liter, twin-turbo, V-6 that produces 300 horsepower at 6,400 RPM and 295 lb-ft of torque from 1,600-5,200 RPM, which is quite a wide range to make that torque. The RED SPORT 400 has the same engine as the other trims but with identical tuning as the new Nissan Z, which means that you're looking at 400 horsepower at 6,400 RPM and 350 lb-ft of twist from 1,600-5,200 RPM.

Both of these V-6's in the Q50 are mated to a 7-speed automatic, only the RED SPORT 400 has wheel-mounted paddle shifters. It's also the only one with four-piston calipers in the front and two-piston calipers in the rear. All trims can also be had with four-wheel drive and have independent suspension all around.

However, the Q50 has been rather middle of the road in previous years, as it has been too focused on being sporty as opposed to comfortable, and too focused on being soft to hold a candle to the equivalent BMW. So why doesn't Nissan and its subsidiary Infiniti change this?

2022 Infiniti Q50 specifications

Engine

3-liter twin-turbo V-6

3-liter twin-turbo V-6

Horsepower

300 hp @ 6,400 rpm

400 hp @ 6,400 rpm

Torque (lb-ft)

295 lb-ft @ 1,500-5,200 rpm

350 lb-ft @ 1,600-5,200 rpm

Transmission

7-speed automatic with sport mode and Downshift Rev Matching

7-speed automatic with sport mode and Downshift Rev Matching


Nissan, this is how you fix Infiniti

It seems simple, the Q50 RED SPORT already as the engine from the new Nissan Z, Infiniti should offer the same manual gearbox, throw in a limited-slip differential, and stiffen the suspension a bit. That way, there would essentially be two versions of the new Z.

Or better yet, make those changes to the Q60 coupe, which would bring back the days of the boy racer 350 Z and its more mature and comfortable big sister, the Infiniti G35.

Nissan would sell more models, Infiniti would not be digging its own grave anymore, and the car nerds would get another version of the Z to drool over.

This is a win-win-win.