The “I am an auto reviewer” lede for the 2016 QX50 is that Infiniti has has added 3.2 inches to its wheelbase. The stretch finally gives the QX50 the rear seatroom/legroom expected of a premium crossover and quiets years of complaints about a cramped back seat.
Check.
What I find more compelling is that the QX50 retains the performance DNA of the small crossovers that preceded it over a decade ago and of the Nissan Group cars (Infiniti Q50, Nissan 370Z) with which it shares a platform. Infiniti has essentially cued-up another crossover with a little more room but the same sporty-ish character. That’s interesting because it never really has translated into big sales volume.
The QX50 had its best December ever in 2015 with 1453 units moved, obliterating the 224 sold in 2014. Credit the new model sure, but then compare it to another “Q” – Audi’s Q5. The latter has the same market position but not the same performance as the QX50. Still, Audi sold 4 times as many of them (6057) last December. The Acura RDX is bigger, more mainstream in terms of driving dynamics, and a tad less expensive but it clubs the QX50 in sales terms. In December the Acura set an all-time annual sales record with over 51,026 RDXs going out the door.
The market says a premium crossover should have more interior space than the QX50 and worry less about performance. But Infiniti has for years, stuck to its guns, market-be-damned.
The QX50’s roots go back to ‘early-aughties’ and the 2003 FX-35 which was more a style statement than a utility vehicle – basically a tall G35. A bigger FX, the EX, came along in 2008 and was sold alongside the FX. It eventually became the QX and everyone but the few people who cared was thoroughly confused by then.
So what you get with the QX50 is really the same as these things have always offered. Grunt, some steering feel and tied-down handling.
In the first category Infiniti cues up its decades old VQ series V6, this time with 3.7 liters of displacement, 325 horsepower and 287 lb-ft. Oddly enough, the VQ V6s are better suited to a quasi-truck than the various Nissan 350/370Zs into which they’ve also been plunked. The engine isn’t as coarse as those of old and the QX50 always feels like it has power to spare. Various tests put its 0 to 60 mph sprint at about 6 seconds though the AWD version I drove might be a tick slower. Weight is the reason and at over 4000 pounds, it tells.
You feel it entering a corner and under braking of course. Still, the QX50 turns-in better than its competition short of the Porsche Macan. There is a small dose of steering feel which you don’t find in premium crossovers and it inspires confidence. Most buyers don’t really give a flip but I do, so thanks Infiniti.
Ride quality is quite good and the chassis/suspension combo handles undulations well. The seven speed transmission is a fine one, generally never caught flat-footed. It beats the tar out of the CVTs that Nissan likes to push and in my opinion would benefit the Maxima in particular.
I did feel like I could, and from time to time wanted to, hustle the QX50 around. I wasn’t just guiding it. That said, I was always conscious of its mass.
Unfortunately, I was also conscious of its nanny systems. The QX50 comes with a Technology Package which throws in Blind Spot Warning, Lane Departure Warning and Prevention, Distance Control Assist and Intelligent Cruise Control. Infiniti (and other manufacturers) call these driver-assistance and/or safety systems. I call them annoying. I’d also argue they contribute to driver distraction. So I shut them off whenever I can.
Otherwise the QX50 is pleasant inside though the button-heavy interior isn’t the most efficient. There’s nothing wrong with buttons or well designed analog control interfaces (quite the contrary) but the QX50’s layout lacks the sort of cool 747-esque control look of a Macan and doesn’t work as well.
Applause for the front seats however. They’re comfy and provide enough support for occasional forays into the land of lateral-G. The second row is roomier. Perching there is no longer a penalty, even pleasant.
While the extra length contributes to backseat comfort, it does nothing for cargo room which remains the same as before. I took the QX50 skiing after the recent snowpocalypse and it swallows two snowboards – just. While less so than before the redesign, the QX50’s interior dimensions still suggest “tall hatchback”.
You won’t achieve hatchback mileage – the QX50 gets 17 city/24 highway/20 combined and drinks premium fuel. A 20 gallon tank keeps gas station stops at decent intervals.
The expected connectivity/multimedia gear is in place including a 7-inch VGA color touch screen in the center stack if you opt for the Premium Plus Package. I have enough screens in my life so another big one doesn’t really lift my spirits.
At least it’s good know that the QX50 can still rock and roll a bit. For around $40,000, that’s a distinction its competitors struggle to claim and evidence that Infiniti has kept the beat and “Q-ed” up another one.
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