Although that headline may seem like a joke, it's entirely true. If you've been behind the wheel of Infiniti's Q50, you may understand why this is happening.
The steering is not so great. And, when I say "not so great," I mean bad.
Having driven a Q50 S — review coming, boys and girls — I have to say it felt pretty out of touch. Of course there was zero road feel, which I wasn't expecting anyway, but even more annoying was the lack of on center feel and darty tendencies. The only time the steering firmed up was if you were traveling over 60 or so mph.
It seems I wasn't the only one who found it less-than-rewarding. That's because the company has confirmed it will be fixing the Q50's steering issues by using a steering rack from the G37.
It's not too often you hear about automakers or technology companies going backwards to innovate, but perhaps, this will be for the best. Infiniti says this update will happen when the Q50 gets a refresh for the 2016 model year.
Hang in there, Infiniti lovers!
If you, like us, have been disappointed in Infiniti’s aloof Q50 sedan as the ostensible replacement for the sporty G37—which, incidentally, Infiniti still sells as the “Q40″ for 2015—we have good news. The Q50S model is set to get considerably more sporty for 2016, thanks to a retro revision headed where the car needs it most: the steering rack.
We’re talking about the Q50′s base hydraulic steering setup, not Infiniti’s wonky Direct Active Steer (DAS) option, a drive-by-wire system that offers zero road feel and lacks precision. While the base system is certainly the more preferable of the two, the motoring press and the enthusiast communities have been vocal in their dismay that neither system is as good as the heavenly steering in the beloved G37. Happily, Infiniti got enthusiasts’ message and is looking to the past to cure its current sins. Speaking with Infiniti’s head of product planning, Keith St. Clair, we’ve learned that the brand is working on ditching the Q50’s base power steering in favor of a rack derived from the good old G...
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