Two significantly similar cars, no doubt about that. Still, each one has something different to offer. Having both cars powered by petrol engines and utilizing the 4-door sedan body style within the same 'Large family car' segment, the only major difference here really is their wheel drive configuration (4 x 4 for the Lexus and rear in the case of the Infiniti). The first one has a Toyota-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 6-cylinder, 24-valves 260hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 6-cylinder, 24-valves 405hp engine designed by Nissan.

A starting point here would be to take a look at the results from European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) tests which were performed on both of the cars, with the same number of safety stars gained in the process. Moving further on, let's take a closer look at some additional safety-related facts. Both vehicles belong to the large family car segment, which is generally a good thing safety-wise, but that fact doesn't break the tie between the two cars. On the other hand, if we'd like to consider vehicle mass in this context too, which we definitely should, Q50 offers a marginal difference of 2% more metal.

I don't like generalizing things when it comes to reliability, although it does seem that Lexus does have a slight advantage, when all the models are taken into account. That's the official data, while our visitors describe reliability of Lexus with an average rating of 4.9, and models under the Infiniti badge with 4.6 out of 5. Unfortunatelly, I don't have enough insight that would allow me to comment in more details on the specific models level. We should definitely mention that owners of cars with the same powertrain as Lexus IS rank it on average as 3.0 out of 5, exactly the same as the other one.

Infiniti is undoubtly more agile, reaching 100km/h in 1.1 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 250 kilometers per hour, 41km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy an obvious choice would be Q50, averaging around 9.1 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (31 mpg), in combined cycle. That's 41% difference compared to Lexus IS!

Lexus appears just a bit more reliable, although the difference is truly marginal. The most important thing when deciding between any two vehicles should always be safety, both passive and active. In my opinion, everything taken into account, Q50 offers slightly better overall protection and takes the lead. It all continues in the same direction, with Infiniti outracing its opponent in any situation possible, making it better choice for boy racers. To make things even better, it consumps less fuel! All together, there's not much more to say, in this case I wouldn't even consider anything but Infiniti. Nevertheless, let's not forget that people have different preferences and needs, so what really counts is your personal feel. I'm only here to help. Also, you could use the oportunity to find out which car, everything taken into account, would be the perfect choice for you in the eyes of the virtual adviser™, among more than 12.000 different ones in our database.