Item: 2016 Infiniti Q30
Rating: 2.5

Frugal OM651 diesel engine
Responsive 2.0-litre M270 turbocharged petrol engine
High standard of interior fit and finish

For Sport and Sport Premium editions, sports suspension lacks compliance
Limited interior space
Made in Nissan’s Sunderland plant in England, sharing its platform with the Mercedes-Benz W176 A-Class and powered by Mercedes-Benz engines, the Q30 demonstrates that Infiniti is a brand without its own identity

Review: Infiniti H15.I Q30 (2016-18)

Overview

Released in Australia in August 2016, the Infiniti H15 Q30 was a five-door hatchback with a raised ride height. Manufactured at Nissan’s plant in Sunderland, England, the front-wheel drive Infiniti Q30 range consisted of 1.6t, 2.0t and 2.2d variants that were offered in GT, Sport and Sport Premium editions (see table below).

While the 1.6t and 2.0t variants were powered by Mercedes-Benz’s 1.6- and 2.0-litre M270 turbocharged petrol engines , the 2.2d was powered by Mercedes-Benz’s 2.1-litre OM651 turbo-diesel engine . All engines, however, were mated to seven-speed dual clutch transmissions and had an ‘ECO stop/start’ system which enabled them to shut down when the vehicle was stationary in traffic to reduce fuel consumption.

Infiniti H15.I Q30 specifications
Variant	Edition	Engine	Trans.	Peak power	Peak torque
1.6t	GT	1.6-litre M270 turbo petrol I4	7sp DCT	115 kW at 5300 rpm	250 Nm at 1250-4000 rpm
2.0t	Sport, Sport Premium	2.0-litre M270 turbo petrol I4	7sp DCT	155 kW at 5500 rpm	350 Nm at 1200-4000 rpm
2.2d	Sport, Sport Premium	2.1-litre OM651 turbo-diesel I4	7sp DCT	125 kW at 3400-4000 rpm	350 Nm at 1400-3400 rpm

Dimensions

Based on the same platform as the Mercedes-Benz W176 A-Class , the Infiniti Q30 was 4425 mm long, 1805 mm wide (excluding door mirrors), 1475 mm tall and had a 2700 mm long wheelbase; boot capacity was 368 litres (VDA method).

Suspension and steering

The Infiniti Q30 had MacPherson strut front suspension and four-link rear suspension. While the Q30 GT editions had ‘comfort-tuned’ suspension, the Sport and Sport Premium editions had ‘sport-tuned’ suspension.

The Infiniti Q30 had rack-and-pinion steering with electric, speed-sensitive power assistance; its turning circle was 11.4 metres.

Safety equipment

Standard safety equipment for the Infiniti Q30 included dual front airbags, a driver’s knee airbag, front seat-mounted side airbags, full-length curtain airbags, ABS, electronic brake force distribution, brake assist, electronic stability control, traction control and front seatbelts with pre-tensioners and force limiters.

As standard, the Q30 was equipped with Infiniti’s ‘Forward Collision Warning (FCW) with Forward Emergency Braking (FEB)’ which used a radar sensor located behind the front bumper to alert the driver when there was a potential risk of a forward collision. When this occurred, a warning tone would sound and the ‘Vehicle Ahead Detection’ indicator light would illuminate. If active, the Forward Emergency Braking system would apply upward pressure on the accelerator pedal to alert the driver and provide partial braking. If the driver did not respond, additional audible and visual warnings were given and increased braking force applied.

Beyond this, the Q30 Sport and Sport Premium editions were both equipped with::

Lane Departure Warning: used a camera mounted near the rear view mirror to detect lane markers and if the vehicle was drifting into another lane without indicating. If this occurred, a warning tone would sound; and,
Traffic Sign Recognition: could interpret road signs and relay this information to the driver via the navigation system.

Finally, the Q30 Sport Premium was further equipped with:

Blind Spot Warning (BSW): illuminated an indicator light if another vehicle was detected in the blind spot area. If the driver then activated the turn signal, the indicator light would flash and an audible warning tone would sound; and,
Intelligent Cruise Control (ICC): enabled the driver to specify the desired speed and distance to the vehicle ahead. If the vehicle ahead slowed, ICC would automatically brake the vehicle to maintain the distance and resume the desired cruising speed when the vehicle ahead accelerated.

Brakes

The Infiniti Q30 GT had 295 mm by 28 mm ventilated front brake discs and 295 mm by 10 mm solid rear discs. The Infiniti Q30 Sport and Sport Premium, however, had 320 mm by 30 mm cross-drilled and ventilated front brake discs and 295 mm by 22 mm solid rear discs. For the front and rear brakes, the Infiniti Q30 had floating, single-piston Brembo callipers.

Euro NCAP testing

In Euro NCAP testing , a left-hand drive Infiniti Q30 that was powered by a 1.5-litre turbo-diesel engine received a five star safety rating which included an 84 per cent adult occupant protection rating and an 86 per cent child occupant protection rating. In the frontal offset test, protection for the front occupants was rated as good for all body areas except the driver’s lower left leg which was rated as adequate (i.e. a slight risk of serious injury). While maximum points were awarded in the side impact test, chest protection for the driver was rated as marginal in the more severe pole test.

Features: Infiniti Q30 GT

Standard features for the Infiniti Q30 GT included 18 x 7.0J five-twin-spoke alloy wheels with 235/50 R18 tyres, a six speaker sound system with MP3/WMA/AAC compatibility and dual USB inputs, Bluetooth mobile phone connectivity and audio streaming, Infiniti’s ‘InTouch’ infotainment system with seven-inch LCD, navigation and voice recognition, cloth upholstery, four-way powered lumbar adjustment for the driver’s seat, single-zone climate control conditioning, cruise control, halogen headlights with dusk-sensing function, LED daytime running and fog lights, rear parking sensors, rain-sensing wipers, 60/40 split-folding rear seats, a Nappa leather steering wheel with gearshift paddles, remote central locking, power adjustable and heated door mirrors with power folding function, power windows, tilt and telescopic steering wheel adjustment, an auto-dimming rear view mirror, three 12 volt power sockets, illuminated vanity mirrors, tyre pressure monitoring, a trip computer, an alarm and immobiliser.

Visually, the Infiniti Q30 GT could be identified by its satin chrome front bumper lip, black gloss fog light finishers, body-coloured door mirror housings, black glass side sill extensions and dual exhaust pipes in satin chrome. Unique within the range, the Infiniti Q30 GT was fitted with a tyre repair kit.

Features: Infiniti Q30 Sport

Compared to the Infiniti Q30 GT, the Q30 Sport was distinguished by its 19 x 8.0J five-twin-spoke alloy wheels with a gunmetal grey finish and 235/45 R19 runflat tyres, front sports seats with fixed head restraints and heating function, combination Alcantara and leatherete upholstery with white leatherette inserts, Alcantara interior finishes (for the dashboard, door armrests and centre armrest), LED headlights with integrated LED indicators, a D-shaped sports steering wheel, graphite-coloured ‘Dinamica’ headliner and aluminium-alloy pedals with rubber studs.

The Q30 Sport and Sport Premium were both equipped with Infiniti’s ‘Active Front-lighting System (AFS) with High Beam Assist’ which included a self-leveling function for the headlights and, when travelling at speeds of 35 km/h and above, automatically turned off the high beams when oncoming traffic was detected.

Visual cues for the Infiniti Q30 Sport and Sport Premium included their sport grilles, sport bumpers (front and rear), black gloss mirror housings, body-coloured side sill extensions and dark chrome dual exhaust pipes.

Features: Infiniti Q30 Sport Premium

The range-topping Infiniti Q30 Sport Premium was distinguished by its ten speaker Bose premium audio system with subwoofer, dual-zone climate control, eight-way power adjustable front seats with four-way lumbar adjustment, Nappa leather upholstery with white leatherette inserts, Nappa leather interior finishes (for the dashboard, door armrest and centre armrest), front and rear parking sensors, heated headlight washers, memory settings for the front seats and door mirrors, a fixed glass roof with power-operated sunshade, a fold-down rear armrest with cupholders, front aluminium kick plates and ambient lighting.

The Infiniti Q30 Sport Premium was equipped with an ‘Around View Monitor (AVM) with Moving Object Detection (MOD)’ which provided a virtual video image of the vehicle with surrounding objects, including moving objects. Furthermore, the Intelligent Park Assist function could detect parallel, perpendicular and 45 degree parking spaces and steering the vehicle into these spaces while the driver controlled vehicle speed.

As standard, the Infiniti Q30 Sport Premium featured ‘Active Sound Control’ (also called Active Sound Enhancement) which monitored the throttle pedal position, engine speed and vehicles speed to ‘smooth out any variations in engine tone [and] project a pleasing sound under acceleration.’

For the Q30 2.2d Sport Premium, an Active Noise Control (also called Active Noise Cancellation) system used microphones within the cabin to monitor engine noise and would emit reverse phase sound waves through the door speakers to counteract low frequency booming noises from the engine.

Active Noise Cancellation emits sound waves throughout the four door speakers in order to counteract noises that may distract and fatigue driver, such as low frequency booming from the engine.

Paint finishes

As standard, the Infiniti Q30 was offered with a Black Obsidian paint finish; extra-cost metallic paint finishes included Moonlight White, Blade Silver, Graphite Shadow, Magnetic Red, Ink Blue, Liquid Copper and Malbec Black.

Review: Infiniti H15.II Q30 (2018-19)