infiniti-q50-hybrid-malaysia

The Infiniti Q50 was first previewed in Malaysia at the KLIMS13 show last year. It was later showcased at Aloft KL Sentral earlier this year. Word at that point was that the Q50 was set to be launched sometime this year. We now have news that bookings are now open for the Q50, with an official launch slated to come sometime towards late August or early September.

Three variants will be available - an Infiniti Q50 2.0 Turbo with an estimated price of under RM250k, a Q50 2.0 Turbo premium with added equipment, as well as the top of the line Q50 Hybrid Sport which will go for under RM400k. No official estimated price for the Q50 2.0 Turbo premium for now.

Most will go for the 2.0 Turbo models, which is powered by a Mercedes-Benz sourced 2.0 litre four-cylinder turbo engine, derived from the engine currently in the W212 E-Class facelift. It even uses the seven-speed Mercedes-Benz 7G-TRONIC PLUS gearbox. In Infiniti's tune, the 1,991 cc four cylinder engine does do 214 PS at 5,500 rpm and 320 Nm of torque from as low as 1,250 rpm up to 3,500 rpm.

That's basically a power output somewhere in between the F30's 320i (184 hp, 270 Nm) and 328i (245 hp, 340 Nm) levels, but around the price of a 320i. We don't know what kind of premium the high spec variant will have, but it shouldn't push the price over RM300k. From what we understand, the Malaysian four cylinder models won't get the steer-by-wire system that the Q50 is known for, but the hybrid model will.

The top of the range hybrid's 3.5 litre V6 does 302 hp and 350 Nm of torque, and is assisted by an electric motor that has 67 hp and 270 Nm of twist. We've tried the hybrid model in Malaysia and Anthony will be giving you his first impressions of the car in the next few weeks. In the meanwhile, you can read Jonathan's take on the car from the time he drove it in the US.

My own brief first impressions of the Malaysian spec car - the Q50 feels larger than the rest of its competitors, with a noticeably wider interior. There seems to be more legroom as well. It's certainly not the same interior levels as a Lexus ES, but compared to the traditional rear wheel drive sedan in that RM200k to RM300k price range, it will be less of an interior space sacrifice for a Teana buyer that's upgrading.