2016 Infiniti Q30 small luxury hatchback spied

The new Infiniti Q30 is the Japanese brand's first small car - but despite the possibility of basing the new model off a Nissan hatchback platform, the Q30 will share much of its underpinnings, not to mention some of its engines, with the Mercedes A-Class.

That means a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine in varied states of tune could be on the cards. In the A-Class, the A250 and A45 AMG get this engine with 155kW/350Nm and 265kW/450Nm respectively. The Infiniti Q50 2.0T makes use of the same engine that is expected to find its way under the bonnet of the Q30, and it produces 150kW/350Nm.

A-Class models also get a smaller 1.6-litre turbo, though it's not clear what engine was powering this test car, nor what we can expect of the new Infiniti small car.

It sort of looks similar to an A-Class to our eye - but perhaps that's the camouflage playing tricks. What is clear from the shape of the car is that it will follow Infiniti's swoopy-yet-sporty styling direction - note the curvature of the belt-line below the glasshouse, the sharp headlight cluster lines, and undisguised tail-light assemblies and twin exhaust outlets. Those steel wheels and the black plastic door handles aren't so luxury, though.

As the GLA-Class is to the A-Class, Infiniti's Q30 will get its own crossover variant, the QX30, which is set to debut in concept guise at the Geneva motor show in March.

CarAdvice has previously reported that the Q30 and QX30 will both be sold in Australia before 2017 rolls around, with the new model set to be produced alongside the Nissan Qashqai at the company's Sunderland plant in England.

Stay tuned for more on the 2016 Infiniti Q30 as news comes to hand.