"It looks like a Jaguar" said two onlookers within our first six hours with the Infiniti Q50. The luxury Japanese carmaker, once guilty of unconvincing remakes of run-of-the-mill Nissans, has clearly come of age with its new executive saloon that exudes class in a modern and muscular stance. The Q50's daytime running lights are especially imposing, sending a strong signal to cars up front to scoot to the left on the highway.

Despite the stronger reputation Infiniti has carved for itself in the luxury stakes, it knows that some things are still best left to the experts. This is evident underneath the Q50's hood, where a two-litre turbocharged engine sourced from Mercedes-Benz sits. It's the mill tuned to propel the C 250 and E 250, which equates to 211bhp and 350Nm of torque. And it's a continental ingredient that works well in this largely Japanese recipe.

Mated to a 7-speed automatic gearbox, the direct-injected mill powers the rear wheels smoothly to complement the luxurious theme the Q50 is gunning for. There is a hint of turbo lag in the low ranges but the engine is quick to react once the throttle goes at least halfway to the floor. The naturally-aspirated goodness signature of traditional Japanese luxo-barges is gone, but the force-inducted urgency which is evident even at high speeds is hardly an unwelcome change.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the Q50's supposedly revolutionary drive-by-wire steering. We said good things about the entirely electronic system when we drove the Q50 Hybrid but struggled to recall those sentiments behind the wheel of the petrol variant. The lack of a purring 3.5-litre V6 and 546Nm of combined torque twitching at the rear exposed the feebleness of the artificial system, with unintuitive feedback and occasionally unnerving autonomous compensation. Sport mode helps address the steering's lack of weight, but only marginally.

Luckily, the safety-focused acronyms stemming from the steering's artificial intelligence such as ALC (Active Lane Control), BCI (Back-up Collision Intervention), DCA (Distance Control Assist) and ICC (Intelligent Cruise Control) still manage to impress. The telepathy between the Q50's all-round cameras, steering and brakes makes this car nearly impossible to crash. It's as though the car has a mind of its own, very robot-like, but in a lifesaving way. Sounds like Disney's Baymax, doesn't it?

Like the huggable cartoon character, the Q50 is friendly and cushy in its ride. Passenger comfort is prioritised over hard-cornering abilities, which is exactly what's expected in this segment. This is reflected in the cabin's fancy appointments such as its plush leather upholstery and 14-speaker BOSE sound system. Buyers planning to spend more time in the back than in the driver's seat might want to swap two of those speakers for a bit more legroom, though.

That space issue, mainly due to the raised transmission tunnel, is commonplace in its European rivals as well, which makes things more worrying for the Q50 because it's not as good to drive as a 3-Series or a C-Class. The Mercedes powertrain works quite fluidly, while the technology flooding this handsome sedan is astounding albeit occasionally unsettling, but you do get the feeling that the Q50 is primed for more. The 2.0T is a more than decent proposition for what it's worth, but there are still some spots that could use a bit of polishing. We need more ideas, Vettel.

SPECS
Engine: 1,991cc, turbocharged 4-cylinder, 211bhp, 350Nm, 7-speed auto
Performance: 0-100kph in 7.2 secs, 245kph
Weight: 1,707kg
Price: RM278,800