Post by
Larz »
https://forums.nicoclub.com/larz-u216291.html
Wed Jun 08, 2016 9:14 am
My dealer buys it's loaner vehicles and then sells them after 2 years or about 15,000 miles. I always set an appointment for my visits so Brian, my service guy has a loaner parked and waiting when I get there. I have driven the Q70, Q70L, and Q50. Since I have on e of the last years for the M's, I have a different take on the new 70 series. The Q 70 and L lacks simple things I take for granted in my M.
* The visors. They are smaller and there is no secondary visor underneath. If you're driving on a motorway and the sun is setting from your left, shining directly at the side of your face, you swivel the visor over the driver window, but there is no extension to make it cover the whole window and there is no auxiliary visor over the windscreen to fold down. There is NO reason that should have been dropped.
* The console is completely wood which is a nice touch, but it's a bit too much wood and the cup holder portion should have been done in matching double-stitched leather.
* The arm rest is a single piece. Mine has driver and passenger armrests that slide forward individually to allow for my long gorilla arms. NO good reason that wasn't kept in the Q 70
* The head rests adjust vertically and that's it. Mine articulate forward and back so mine hits the sweet spot behind my head and I can drive with my head against it without looking up towards the ceiling. Again, NO good reason to change that.
* The rear seat. Just a rear seat, nothing special, although they are heated if you get that package. My back seats recline individually, are heated, and have a better head rests.
* Rear console. Not even available in the Q70, mine has controls for the seat heaters and full control of the audio, temperature and fan speed, plus a fold down screen to watch movies with optional head phones included. This isn't even an option on the Q70 !?!?! Infiniti made the L version to be more Limo-like and all you get are two cup holders?
* Side view mirrors, I love the option to fold them in, but these seem like van mirrors instead of the sportier design of mine. I fold mine in manually n a car park so if a person with lots of belly girth walks between me and the next car, my mirrors won't get bent forward. (that has happened!)
Now the great stuff! The front and rear refresh is absolutely brilliant! The new tail lights look like exaggerated quotation marks and they are truly stunning. The view over the hood is also much more sporty than my relatively flat design. Accentuating the side fenders with the raised sweeping curves is fantastic. The rest of the body is still too wavy and stately, but at least the L version stretches it out a bit which is a good thing.
Now for the driving. The gear box is identical to mine so no difference there. However, the 5.6 engine .... well .... driving that on the motorway and mashing the pedal .... my nips get hard just re-living that in my head! Even driving mine in sport mode, the 5.6 bashes my 3.5 HR into the ground with no effort whatsoever, as expected. The ride seems a notch harder than mine, but the Q70 doesn't come with high-end tires so I reckon the ride is improved with Michelins, Pirellis, or my Hankook Ventus.
The dash is in a higher class than my M as well. Nicely covered instead of my semi-soft plastic/vinyl whatever. The layout is also more luxuriously fashioned than is mine.
Now the price. The sticker for the Q70L 56 is $74,000. I reckon my M35, dressed with every option that was available, including the rear theater, probably maxed out near $55,000. Instead of spending $75,000 for a car with less options, less creature comforts, and a rear seat with just cup holders, I'd opt for the Jag XJ L ... which at 2 years old is very close on price, but much more of what I expect in a car of this price. And those familiar with me will understand my smile when I add that Jag has a panoramic roof! I would not buy the new Q70L 5.6, but I absolutely loved driving it.
