CARS from luxury brand Infiniti never seemed to catch on in the UK, despite being well priced compared to the German opposition and offering very good performance and economy.

Owners love them and there's always the cachet of having something completely different to all the BMWs and Mercedes in the car park.

The brand was originally sold as a rival to Lexus but never really caught on in the same way, and parent company Nissan decided to pull it out of Europe completely in 2020.

But there are still plenty of former dealers who know how to service them and they always had an excellent reputation with owners. And of course, the cars themselves also noted for their reliability.

The Infiniti Q50 is about the size of the BMW 3 Series and it comes with just about all the bells and whistles most drivers could possibly want as standard.

There are just three power units available - a 2.1 litre four cylinder turbo diesel borrowed from Mercedes, a 2.0-litre turbo petrol and a 3.5-litre V6 petrol/electric hybrid.

By far the greatest number out there secondhand will be diesel powered. This CDI offers decent performance, with 167bhp and good low speed torque, giving a zero to 60 miles an hour time of 8.5 seconds and up to 65 miles per gallon with low 114g/km emissions.

The two petrols start with the 2.0T turbo that has 208bhp. That's enough for a sprint of 7.0 seconds and despite fairly heavy weight, a best of 44mpg.

Finally we come to the flagship 3.5 V6 Hybrid that Infiniti calls Direct Response and this uses a battery pack and electric motor to boost acceleration when needed. The battery is charged when cruising so that there always seems to be excellent power under the right foot and this model is also available with four wheel drive.

It reaches 60 in a very quick 4.9 seconds and yet, because of the electric motor, is still capable of 45mpg. Emissions are also low at 145g/km, as is the case with most hybrids.

The majority of cars available will have a seven speed automatic gearbox but a few lower order cars did come with a six speed manual. In most models the auto comes with steering wheel mounted paddles to make the changes yourself, and these - should you every need them - work well.

The Q50 is a lovely relaxing place to be cruising on a long journey with excellent comfort and huge refinement.

But it's not a car to be hustled through a series of bends because of the drive by wire - that is called Direct Adaptive - steering. This has no direct link between the steering wheel and the front wheels - it's all done by electronics.

Theoretically, this should give a perfect setup for every driver to have the level of feel they want with adjustment available via one of two dash touch screens. But in practice it's all rather numb and fails to give any feedback or feel as you drive.

At launch, Infiniti claimed that it's lane departure warning system was the most advanced ever.

Called Active Lane Control, it uses the steering to keep the car in lane, rather than the brakes, and it does work very well.

Most models have nearly a hundred different settings that can be adjusted to each driver's tastes and they're all stored on the key fob - called the i-Key.

Up to four drivers' settings can be stored, for seats, steering column, mirrors, digital dash and much more.

There are two of those touch screens, with lovely clear detail and easy to use icons rather like a tablet.

Other equipment includes sat nav and electric leather seats with memory, together with climate control, traction and stability control, large alloys and loads of electronic built-in safety.

Pay about £10,450 for an '18 18-reg 2.2CDI Sport auto, or £19,750 for a '20 20-reg 3.5 Luxe Hybrid auto.