Runflats don't suck - pretty much every BMW comes with runflats and they drive, ride and handle wonderfully. They also greatly add to safety and convenience. They are harder to puncture and it's virtually impossible to get a "bubble" on them. On the other hand, ridiculous oversized, low profile, stretched out "performance" tires really do suck.

 

yes they do...

 

You don't hang out in the BMW forums a lot do you? TONS of threads with people trying to get rid of their run flats. MINI forums are the same way.

 

well i agree on that.

but runflats really do suck for ride, noise, handling and wear

 

All of the Q50's at the local dealer have run-flat tires, even the S models with 19" wheels. What is even more frustrating is that they also have $200 optional spare tires so no weight or trunk space is saved by going to the run-flats. The first thing I would do if I buy one is to replace the tires.

The car is great looking in person, much more so than in the photos. The rear is the least flattering view, but it is still not ugly. There is a bronze color that looks particularly good. The "base" car as stocked has NAV and spare tire, but has leatherette interior. Price with delivery is $42K. The premium car with all the toys is $48K. That includes lane departure, advanced cruise, etc.

I think the car size is near perfect. It has enough leg room in back for me to sit behind the seat when full aft without touching. I'm 6'2" so this is my judgement on size for a sedan since I usually drive with the front seat all the way back. The premium interior is perforated leather on the seats and has maple wood trim inside. Very upscale interior. The S interior has sliding seat bottom extenders like BMW and perforated leather seats. Where the wood trim was on the premium, the S has carbon fiber trim.

The car is much smoother and quieter than the G37. There is a slight coarseness to the low speed ride which I attribute to the run-flat tires. Acceleration is very strong and felt a little better than the last G37 I drove. It still has a nice exhaust note.

This should be a big seller if the dealers don't overprice it, and if Infiniti would get the rest of the G37 sedans out of the way.

Steve

 

I am eager to take a closer look. Seems like a pretty well rounded package. Now if they can get this new name Q branding thing to work. I wish them the best.

 

So true, many BMW owners say screw it and drive around locally without a spare, current day tire quality is much improved.

Once the Q50 get into the hands of owners and tires get swapped these cars are gonna be some serious competitors, Nissan/Infiniti people are serious, can't wait to see the coilovers and drops on these Q50s

 

what's the sale date on this?

 

August 5th is the official sales date.

 

Toyota/Lexus removed it from all of their new cars in past 1-2 years, unless there isnt another choice (like IS300h).

 

And again this is interesting and I hope nothing serious.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/8036923-post166.html

All this talk of changing things, well seems Infiniti doesn't want anything changed due to the electronic steering and if it is changed it has to be Infiniti approved which could affect warranty claims.

 

The most apparant reason for run-flat tires (besides the obvious cost-savings to manufacturers of not using either temporary or full-use spare) is that smaller trunks can be made somewhat more space-efficient. Of course, that despends on the actual design iof the trunk itself....the new Cadillac ATS, for example, run-flats or not, has an awkwardly-shaped trunk that cuts out a lot of the room on the sides.

 

Feel like I read that in a 1996 Nissan Maxima owners manual, seems like nothing new but BMW, Audi, MB, Chrysler, Dodge all have similar guidelines in the manuals, any car that has AWD, rear alignment specs etc, but honestly who reads them

 

Another less-than-stellar review, this time by MotorTrend: http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...0s_first_test/

Waiting on C&D to weigh in.

 

I'll see how deep the discounts go for the IS and Q in a couple years before buying one. I think the IS is the better car now...not liking the new steering reviews for the Q