For years, BMW’s sport sedans have been the benchmark if you wanted a car that could comfortably handle both your daily commute and a back-road blast without breaking a sweat. The M3 and M340i, in particular, built their reputations on delivering serious performance without completely sacrificing refinement.
That balance is a huge part of why people keep coming back to them. The M340i gives buyers a fast, polished everyday sedan, while the M3 turns things up with sharper handling and far more aggressive performance.
But not everyone shopping for that kind of experience wants to spend BMW money to get it. And that’s exactly where one overlooked Infiniti sedan still manages to make a surprisingly strong case for itself.
In order to give you the most up-to-date and accurate information possible, the data used to compile this article was sourced from BMW and Infiniti, as well as other authoritative sources including Hagerty, J.D. Power, and HotCars.
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The M340i is probably the sweet spot for most people. It’s comfortable enough to handle daily-driver duty without complaint, but the moment you put your foot down, that turbocharged 3.0-liter B58 inline-six reminds you why BMW’s performance sedans still have such a loyal following.
With 386 horsepower, 398 lb-ft of torque, mild-hybrid assistance, and xDrive traction, it’ll hit 60 mph in about 4.1 seconds. That’s already serious speed for something this refined, but the M3 takes things to another level entirely.
Depending on the version, the M3 packs anywhere from 473 to 523 horsepower from its twin-turbo S58 inline-six. In Competition xDrive form, it can rocket to 60 mph in just 3.4 seconds while bringing a much sharper, more track-focused personality to the table.
But there’s also a middle ground here that a lot of people overlook. One underrated sports sedan manages to capture some of that same fast, rear-drive luxury-sedan energy without carrying the same eye-watering BMW price tag.
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The Infiniti Q50 Red Sport 400 makes a surprisingly strong case for spending far less
A new BMW M3 now starts at around $80,000, while an M340i can still climb comfortably past the $60,000 mark before you even get carried away with options. That’s a lot of money, even for buyers shopping in the luxury performance space.
What makes this Infiniti interesting is that it delivers a surprisingly large slice of that experience for far less cash. In many cases, you can find used examples for nearly half the price of an M3 without searching very hard.
The car in question is the Infiniti Q50 Red Sport 400, a performance sedan that stuck around from 2016 through 2024. It may not carry the same prestige as BMW’s M cars, but it quietly built a reputation as one of the more overlooked sport-sedan bargains on the market.
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Why the Infiniti Q50 Red Sport 400 still punches above its weight
A sleeper luxury sports sedan that quietly takes the fight to BMW’s best
Meet the Infiniti Q50 Red Sport 400, a car that plays in the same space as BMW’s performance 3 Series models, even if it doesn’t always get the same attention. The name pretty much gives the game away, hinting at the kind of performance sitting under the hood.
That comes from a 3.0-liter twin-turbo V-6, the VR30DDTT, which also powers the Nissan Z. It’s paired with a seven-speed automatic and paddle shifters for manual control when you want it.
Output sits at 400 horsepower and 350 lb-ft of torque, sent to either rear-wheel drive or an available AWD setup. And even from these basics alone, it’s easy to see why people keep comparing it to BMW’s M340i and M3.
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Why Infiniti’s sleeper sedan still manages to stay in the same conversation as BMW’s best
|
Engine |
3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V-6 (VR30DDTT) |
|---|---|
|
Transmission |
7-speed automatic with paddle shifters |
|
Drivetrain |
Rear-wheel drive or optional all-wheel drive |
|
Power |
400 hp |
|
Torque |
350 lb-ft |
|
0–60 mph |
4.5 seconds |
|
Top speed |
155 mph (electronically limited) |
The Red Sport 400 hits 60 mph in about 4.5 seconds, which is a bit behind BMW’s current performance sedans, but still quick enough to feel like it belongs in the same conversation. And back when it launched in 2016, that gap was even smaller, with the M3 of the time posting roughly 3.9 to 4.1 seconds to 60.
On top of that, Infiniti actually brought some solid luxury credentials to the table for the price, with strong materials and features that made it an easy daily driver for a lot of people. The M3 has always been sharper and more aggressive, but not everyone wants that kind of edge all the time.
In comparison, the Red Sport feels a bit more relaxed and closer in spirit to something like the M340i in day-to-day use. It also leans more into sleeper territory, with styling that doesn’t shout too loudly about what it can do.
Most people would pass it off as just another luxury sedan at a glance, until they put their foot down and realize what the VR30DDTT is really capable of. And that’s part of the appeal—it’s a turbocharged V-6 that’s become well known for tuning potential and easy extra power.
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The VR30 also has a reputation for being pretty easy to wake up with a bit of tuning, and there’s no shortage of aftermarket support if you want to push it further. That’s part of what’s kept the Q50 Red Sport 400 relevant even years after its debut.
But even so, it still falls behind BMW’s performance sedans in a few important areas, and that gap only grew as the M3 and M340i kept evolving. One of the biggest talking points is steering feel, especially on earlier Q50 models that used Infiniti’s Direct Adaptive Steering system.
Instead of a traditional mechanical setup, it relies on a steer-by-wire system that a lot of drivers felt didn’t offer the same level of feedback or connection you get from BMW’s chassis tuning. It’s a reminder that while the Infiniti can hang in many respects, BMW still leads when it comes to outright driver engagement.
The M3 also makes its advantage clear when you really start pushing it. The chassis is more balanced and more confident at the limit, with a level of track-ready polish the Red Sport just can’t fully match.
On top of that, BMW kept evolving the M3 and M340i over time, while the Infiniti stayed mostly the same inside and out. By the end of its run, it was starting to feel a bit dated next to newer rivals, and Infiniti itself had lost some momentum in the segment.
That lack of development hurt its visibility, even though the core package was still strong. But this is also where the Q50 starts clawing back ground, because the pricing completely shifts the conversation back in its favor.
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Why the Q50 Red Sport 400 still makes a strong case on price alone
How its value gap with BMW changes the whole conversation
Earlier examples of the Red Sport 400 can still be picked up for around $25,000, while later models from 2020 onwards usually sit somewhere in the $35,000 to $45,000 range. That’s a huge gap when you stack it against a new M3 or even a well-specced M340i.
At that point, it’s pretty easy to see why the Infiniti still grabs attention. You’re either saving a serious chunk of money or getting into near-M territory without anywhere near the same financial hit.
And if you’re the type who likes to tinker, some of that savings can go straight into aftermarket upgrades. In the right hands, it doesn’t take much to turn the Q50 into something that feels a lot closer to a BMW rival than its price tag would suggest.
Stephan is the sports journalist for the Maple Grove Report.
