WITH billions of possible personalisation permutations, Infiniti's new Q50 will take the concept of the intelligent car to previously unheard of levels when it arrives here in a few months' time.

The Japanese premium brand is clearly set on going to infinity and beyond in its efforts to out-tech the likes of Mercedes, BMW and Audi with an array of sophisticated electronic gear, not least of which will be an astonishing new digital system it has dubbed "My car knows me."

It is, almost literally, the car that never forgets.

Not only will this gizmo remember such things as your favourite seat and steering wheel positions it will welcome you on board by name, adjust cabin temperatures to your personal preference and even remember the driver's way home.

It can also display photos of friends and family on one of the car's dual touch-screens and provide a choice of an ABC or a QWERTY keyboard.

On sale later this year, priced from £27,950 and competing against the likes of BMW's 3-Series and the Mercedes C-Class, the Infiniti Q50 will take the idea of a car with a memory to new heights in the premium mid-sized class.

The system has 96 selectable settings covering 10 functions, giving billions of permutations and allowing for the ultimate in synchronisation of car and driver based on the driver's preferences.

And it can remember the personal settings for up to four people - three registered users and one guest - covering the areas of life on board, dynamic performance and safety technology.

Central to the system is an advanced, intelligent key which the company calls the i-Key.

Each of the two keys supplied with the car stores personal settings for two different drivers. The information is saved automatically and can easily be updated, or deleted, on the car's touch screens.

The system can remember each driver's preferences for the many advanced technologies fitted to the Q50. Where these systems offer control choices - ranging from a simple on/off switch to the level of electronic intervention required - the settings are stored and automatically engaged whenever that driver is behind the wheel.

This, says Infiniti, will guarantee that, whoever is driving, the car's electronics - including safety systems  - will always be perfectly set for that driver without the need to press buttons or scroll through menus.

Next, perhaps, the car that can make you a perfectly brewed cup of tea!