This article’s sedan used to go by names such as M37 and M56, and therefore dating back to the M family whose first appearance as a sedan was made in 2002. Since the distant year of 2013, however, all Infinitis received new alphanumeric codes whose numbers now indicate the car’s “lineup position”, rather than referring to its engine (you can read more about it at the refreshed QX80’s article). Waiting a little longer to apply that would be nice because if Infiniti had done both changes at the same time, there wouldn’t be “intermediate” vehicles with a new name and old styling becoming outdated after just one year. But, since we’re talking about two-year-old units, at most, there’s still time for their owners before worrying with how much will they depreciate.
Taking the attention to the new Q70 reveals a retouched front fascia, whose headlights adopted LEDs and are combined to an upper grille with mesh finish and chrome srround and a refreshed bumper with integrated fog lights. The sides preserved Infiniti’s signature strong character line below the windows, which confers some sort of “elegant sportiness” that looks really nice. The rear, in turn, features new tailgate and bumper, along with a gorgeous set of redesigned LED tail lights. The sporty Q70S will be offered once again, and is claimed to have a 0.28 drag coefficient, which reaches impressive 0.26 with additional equipment. But when it comes to Q70’s trim levels, Infiniti has bigger news to show.
This sedan’s flagship position was enhanced with the addition of a brand new Q70L variation. This is nothing but a long-wheelbase version of the very same car, whose extra 149.8 mm take that measure to 3.05 m and the total length to 5.13 m in order to increase leg and knee room for the rear passengers. The other measures remained untouched, and there’s no information about the structural changes implied by this dimension increase. When it comes to the equipment list, the excellent taste on high-quality materials was carried over, including wood trim and premium leather. The infotainment central includes Infiniti Connection, a concièrge feature and a top-notch audio system. The L version adds items like heated rear seats and auto-closing rear doors.
Infiniti claimed to have reduced the sedan’s noise level on both trims, through active noise cancellation, better sealing and more sound-deadening material. The powertrain options, on the other hand, repeat the outgoing car’s list: Q70 appeared at this year’s New York Auto Show with the standard 3.7L V6 reaches 330 hp and 270 lb-ft, an optional 5.6L V8 that takes those numbers to 420 hp and 417 lb-ft, and the hybrid brother, which pairs a 302-hp 3.5L V6 to a 67-hp electric engine – the latter is only offered at the short-wheelbase sedan, though. All these use a seven-speed automatic transmission, including a Drive Mode Selector with standard, Sport, Eco and Snow. All-wheel-drive is an optional for both versions.