2021 Infiniti Q60 AWD Review: Here's Whether Its Looks Can Match Its Personality

The 2021 INFINITI Q60 is a premium compact sports coupe that extenuates the effortless and beautiful features of INFINITI’s current design language. From the waved pattern in the grille to the fading character lines alongside the profile, the Q60’s design really does stand out across the entire automotive industry.

Despite the fact this Q60 has been on sale since 2014, the manufacturer has only lightly updated it over the years with new equipment choices and the option of the Red Sport 400 performance-orientated trim.

The Q60 is all about style but is there real driving substance to back up its looks?

Limited to One Powertrain

The Q60 has one engine choice with standard all-wheel-drive, and customers can select from two power outputs. The twin-turbo V6 will produce 300 horsepower and 295 lb/ft of torque in the standard configuration, but a higher output motor is available with the performance-oriented Red Sport model sitting at the top of the range with 400 horsepower and 350 lb/ft of torque.

The government rated fuel efficiency of 12.3/8.7/10.7L/100km (city/highway/combined). In US MPG, these figures are 19.1/27.0/22.0, respectively. In its standard form, the V6 is more than quick enough with a seven-speed automatic transmission and selectable driving modes that include Snow, Eco, Standard, Sport, and Personal.

There does appear to be a slight identity crisis with the Q60, however. Though there may be some driving dynamism and fairly good refinement, the Q60 feels more like a vehicle split between these two directions. It could either be a very refined and comforting cruiser. Or, it could be a focused and precise sports car.

From behind the wheel, it feels like the engineers at INFINITI couldn’t decide which direction this vehicle should go, and due to that, it feels quite unsure of itself. The ride is firm, and impacts are felt throughout the whole cabin. Yet, the seats are soft, and the overall refinement is commendable. The steering lacks any precision, and for a car with sporting character, manual shifting with the 7-speed transmission can only be done through the shift lever. Paddle shifters are unavailable in the lower specs of the Q60. This entry-level Pure model retails for $50,995CAD.

Even when shifting manually, the Q60’s responsiveness isn’t rewarding enough to encourage drivers to it again and again. More likely, frustration will build-up, and the driver will simply lose interest. Though the involvement may be lacking from how the driver could interact with the Q60, the car never settles down enough that the drive could be labeled as luxurious.

Coupe Practicality

As a coupe, the Q60 isn’t desperately impractical. This vehicle is a 2+2 configuration, meaning the second row of seating is best left for children, but for anyone that may have to sit back there, the rear seats are beautifully trimmed with some storage between the two seats. Those rear seats can be folded flat, so the cabin can feature a wide parcel shelf and quick access to the trunk.

The interior of the Q60 is much like the other modern INFINITI products, with the dual-touchscreen dominating the center of the cabin. These screens are decent enough but are far from the quality and crispness of INFINITI’s premium rivals like Audi and BMW. Occupants can use a rotary wheel to interact with the top-screen, which may be seen as an extraneous system.

This wheel and button set-up only works with the top screen likely only to be used for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, so the rotary wheel can complicate the interaction of this phone-based software.

The lower screen is likely going to be used for climate control or other settings. This screen is surrounded by physical buttons for climate control which are great to have in the circumstances where the screen is slow or unresponsive on a cold morning.

The cabin's build quality and material use display all the traits customers should expect from an upmarket brand. Stitching is impeccable, the leather surfaces are rich, and there’s lots of foam padding where the driver and passengers would rest their knees and elbows. Storage is good for a coupe, and the visibility is tremendous.

Looks Aren't Everything

If a car was simply judged on just its looks, the Q60 would easily be one of the best cars on sale. There are elements of the INFINITI user experience that just worked better in this vehicle than some other models in the lineup. However, there is a lot more to the car than its looks, and as already discussed, the Q60 is far from the most pleasant driving experience in this class.

The Q60 is perhaps trying to be too many things at once, and it can’t quite narrow what it wants to be good at. This could be a different story in the case of the Red Sport 400, as that car is meant to have more of an edge to it. For the standard Q60, it is best observed at a distance, and that’s what it does best.