• Cheapest engine is our favourite
• Steer clear of Q30 S for low costs
• Small dealer network may frustrate

The cheapest Q30 (for both private and company car drivers is going to be fitted with the 1.5-litre diesel engine, which happily is the best to drive too. It returns a claimed 68.9mpg fuel economy and emits 108g/km of CO2, which means it’ll be cheap to tax as well as at the pumps.

We’d steer clear of the S model altogether if you’re bothered about Infiniti Q30 running costs – it emits 156g/km so will be unrealistic to tax for a fleet driver and its fuel economy of 42.2mpg combined is likely to translate to sub-30mpg performance in the real world.

Check you have a local Infiniti dealer

Ensure you’ve got good access to a local dealership too. Infiniti is slowly expanding its dealer network, and while the number of locations stands at just 12 at time of writing, the theoretical maximum is only projected to be 25. The firm hopes that’ll help it retain ‘exclusivity’ in the market, but could easily push up your servicing and maintenance bills too.

The model to go for if you’re worried about CO2 output is the 1.5 diesel, which emits 108g/km. Picking the 2.1-litre diesel means you’re in for 127g/km performance, which is still relatively low, but we’re expecting a number of new engine options to appear soon which we predict will see even low carbon dioxide output. You’ll want to avoid petrol models if this is a concern – they aren’t anywhere near as efficient. With the S model, you could have Infiniti Q30 emissions approaching 160g/km.

• Built quality feels good
• Parts tried and tested elsewhere

We don’t think you’ll have many issues with Infiniti Q30 reliability. Based on the Mercedes-Benz A-Class, and using a number of powertrains tried and tested elsewhere, the only thing that could potentially go awry is the new Intouch multimedia system – and an earlier version of that has seen service in the Q50 with no reported problems.
There haven’t been any significant Mercedes A-Class recalls.