Infiniti Q50 to ditch new steering system for old one from G37 – report

Speaking with Car and Driver, Infiniti head of product planning Keith St. Clair admitted the Japanese car maker was planning to scrap the Q50’s base electric power steering system and replace it with the rack from the old G37.

“Some members of the enthusiast community, including the media, suggested the car could benefit with enhanced steering feel, as in more engagement similar to the former G sedan Sport,” St. Clair said.

He revealed Infiniti’s development engineers have built a Q50 prototype with the steering system from the G37, along with some revisions to its exhaust to make it sound more like the old model.

“The results were very clear and pronounced,” he said. “The car is a blast to drive.”

St. Clair said Infiniti was “now looking into the fastest path for adopting these [changes] into regular production”. He suggested the upgraded Q50 was likely to appear in the US in 2015 as a 2016 model year vehicle, and would also introduce updated styling and chassis enhancements.

Infiniti will stick with its drive-by-wire Direct Active Steer set-up in high-grade Q50 variants, however, despite the system attracting plenty of its own criticism - including in Round 2 of CarAdvice's Luxury Sedan Comparison.

In Australia, the base steering system is available only in the entry-level Infiniti Q50 GT. All other variants are equipped with Direct Active Steer as standard.