Some newbie mixed questions

Rear seat room in the Q50 is definitely better than the G and I drive people around a little bit and haven't had complaints in the G. I've had to tweak my seat up a bit but I don't think I'll have to with the Q.

The GS is nice. Looks like the incentives are on the 2013 with the 14's right around the corner.

If I recall, the GS backup camera doesn't have guidelines to show where the car is headed. Not a huge deal but it bothers me in my wife's RX and it should be included.

The infotainment in the 2013 GS is subpar if you ask me, I actually like the mouse input but the GPS just seems old and clunky. I'm not a fan.

I love the interior of the GS and with the incentives it gets close to a Q lease if you are leasing.

See if you can sit in a Q at least before making your decision. I am going to guess the driving dynamics will heavily favor the Q but I haven't driven one so I can't say for sure. The Lexus cars tend to be more luxury focused in their drive feel.

Tou decision with similar leases on the 2013 but the GS falls short for me as I want all if the tech goodies and that starts to ramp up the price pretty considerably with Lexus.

Take a look at some of the threads and do a search. Simpsontide did a nice write up of the GS if you can find it.

Good luck - both cars are nice and I don't think you can wrong with either. Maybe wait until the 2014's come out fortune GS to see if they add or change anything substantially. The 13's should still be on sale or even better at that point.

Welcome Blue,

I recently converted from lurker status.

Early adopters for toys like this typically want bells and whistles.

I have not tried ordering something specked as you mentioned. Just have at it with a dealer and let them try.

The GS has more rear leg room than the Q, I have sat in both. The GS has an amazing interior but is really at another price point. The rear seat comfort in the Q is fine but the real answer can vary based on their measurements. I will say the rear door are set up to make getting in and out very nice.

The Q can be seen as a tweeter between the 3 and 5 series, closer to the 5 series.

I have not seen the new IS but expect less room than the Q.

I will not be paying list price but the discount is TBD. I already passed on $1200 off a car that lists for $55,205.

I have not had an Infiniti before but the G series has been a great car so I am not worried.

You might get lucky negotiatiating on a GS if that is where you want to go.

They are selling under 2000 a month.

The problem is they are selling against themselves with the ES, which is roomier and has the same motor bot the GS costs like $8k to $12k more than the ES.

Regarding negotiating on the Q, once the sales person finishes their spiel about what a great car it is, all I had to say is that Infiniti is generally a failed brand, noting they can't sell an M to save their lives, the Q56 is a huge barge, the G based SUV has no following, they have to give the G away on leases to maintain volume of a car that's roots extend back to like 2003. I let them know things will be much better in the future but you have to earn my business, particularly since the Q has some flubs (no cooled seats, run flats, can't get a normal black carpet in a car with a gray interior).

The Q50 legroom is better than the IS.

The IS is miserable.

The GS350 has lots of room but the drive is different. It FEELs like a heavy car. That is something worth considering.

But the GS350 is a sweet machine if you can budget it.

Both are reliable.


I'd say the Q50 is sportier. The GS350 tries to be sporty with the drive mods but to me it still feels like a very heavy car with pretty numb steering.

There is not much you can do about paying MSRP on a new model. Just something you have to accept when buying a new model.

I would have bought the GS350 F-Sport if I have not seem the Q50 in person. The GS350 really felt luxury when you sat on it.
While the Q50 interior material might not be as nice as the GS350; but to me, I think it's good enough.
What really sold me on the Q50 is the technologies (8" nav, 7" tablet style touchscreen and another 3" on the gauge).
I was concern about the rear leg room since I have to put a baby car seat back there. Even with the driver seat pull all the way back, and this man probably 6'2" tall and weight about 220lb sat in the back seat without any problem. My concern was well forgotten.
You can get a 2013 GS350 with as much as 5k-8k discount off the MSRP.
I got a quote of GS350 F-Sport with Mark Levinson sound system for $53,100. My pre-order Q50 Sport Hybrid with Deluxe Tech package is $53,405 MSRP. Dealer will not even negotiate with me Q50 price.
Right now, I am still debating between the two. But, I am leaning more toward the Q50.
Reason why I like the Q50:
1. Dual touchscreen - once I saw the 2 massive dual screen, I fall in love with it.
2. Hybrid - the Q50 probably the most affordable performance hybrid available. Even at $53k, I still felt it's a bargain.
3. Technologies - got lots of safety technologies especially if you order the deluxe tech packages.

I do have couple of concern right now with the Q50:
1. 7" tablet style touchscreen which is slow and laggy.
2. How good is the newly improve Bose sound system on the Q50
3. How well is the hybrid driving dynamics.

I guess we'll have to wait until the car is release to know the answer. If Infiniti manage to get it right, they will get my money.

Blue said:

1. If you have actually seen the Q50 in person, how much leg room is in the rear seat? aside from safety/reliability of the car, rear seating leg room are the most important to me because I want my parents to be completely comfortable when they seat in the back. Is it similar to the Lexus IS? If so, then, it is not enough To my biggest surprise, there are more than enough room in the 3 series (the sales person said they made the 3 series the same size as the old 5 series).

2. It seems everyone here pre-ordered a 50K+ car. In terms of what I need, the 41K AWD Premium + Nav is enough for me. Do they have even make the 40-45K range Q50? I am not planning on pre-order and would like to buy the one on the lot. What is the most common setup? feel free to speculate.

3. No offense intended, but how do you feel about paying MSRP for a car? I am sure people paid near MSRP for the 2013 Lexus GS, now there are big discounts.

Thanks in advance.

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Agree with many points mentioned!

As much as I dont want to turn this into a GS350 vs Q50 thread, here are my reasons for being hesitate with the GS350.

Overall, it is a GREAT car with near perfect interior. I also got a great offer. KBB listed fair price at 52.5K, and offer from my first visit is 51.8K

However,

1. I do not like the touch pad/mouse thing. I am 23, and I am suppose to be good with tech (I am usually up to date with gadgets such as phones and comps). But I was having a very hard time using it. I miss on what I want to click 9/10 times. That gets very annoying and there is no way I can use it while driving.

2. Like above mentioned, it feels like a heavy car and big car. The upside of it is that it offers very roomy rear seating which is very important to me. I guess this is not a good reason for not wanting it.

Again, GS350 a great car, but if I can save 8-10K getting the Q50 with less unnecessary equips, I am OK with it. I am paying cash, so whatever is saved stays in the bank

I cannot comment on comparisons of the other vehicles you've mentioned as I have not looked at them myself. I have seen and sat in the Q50, both at the NY Auto Show in April and just this week at the preview event at my local dealer. Funny enough, I had my wife sit in the rear seat behind the front passenger. I asked her to do this as I'm the usual drive and she'll sit in back when we have company with us. She said there was plenty of legroom and felt like there was more than in our prior G37x sedan (I'm now driving a G37x coupe). I then sat in the front passenger seat to make sure they hadn't moved the seat too far forward to give the appearance of additional rear leg room. In fact, the front seat was in a comfortable location for me (5'8") to extend my legs comfortably. I then queried the sales rep who confirmed that there is 2.5" more rear legroom then the current model G sedan.

In terms of pre-order, I too pre-ordered a Q50 in to replace my soon to be returned 2010 leased G37x coupe. However, this particular dealer told me that they ordered 23 initial cars, of which 6 were pre-orders. I was also told that they had to place their August orders early and placed orders for 50 cars with mixed features. I didn't ask what the predominant features were. I do know that the cost differential of the hybrid (about $4500 with options considered) has lead to less interest in the hybrids. My thought here is that there may be cars in lots to choose from over the first few months if you are not inclined to pre-order.

In regards to paying MSRP for a vehicle, I think most of us know that MSRP is usually paid for those that 'must' pre-order a car to be the first on the road with one. It is just that way. The only other MSRP payers are those who don't understand the art of negotiation and the ability to do so in the auto industry. This is the first time I've ever paid (I'm 50 this year) a premium for a vehicle. I'm starting to have second thoughts about the process and whether or not I will actually complete the sale. I'm waiting to see how the dealership is going to handle my situation as a multi-vehicle, multi-successive purchases / leases from Infiniti and obviously a loyal customer. They aren't aware of the programs that will be in place. My opinion for you is, if you don't HAVE to have the car NOW and don't HAVE to be the first on the road with this vehicle, wait. The net sales price will ultimately be more flexible with time.

Most of your questions have been addressed. As for getting the feature combination you want, maybe I can address that. Dealers will shortly be able to make changes to their orders for August delivery cars (July build). We get a very small window of opportunity to do this, called CTP (change to production). For instance, I took a pre-order from a client this week. He's going to decide on color this weekend when our first shipment arrives. We'll then do CTP on a car we have ordered, to match his color and option choice. I expect we'll be doing CTP this weekend or early next week. Once done, I'll be able to confirm for him exactly what's coming on his car, and it should arrive mid-late August.

It isn't clear where you are. If you're in Northern California and would like to deal with someone who can clearly articulate all the options and will take the time to show you how everything on the car works when it arrives, please contact me. Link below to my email.