The Evolution of Luxury SUVs: A Look at the Infiniti QX

The luxury SUV market has undergone significant changes over the years, with popular models like the QX losing favor as gas prices rose and economies shifted. However, Infiniti has just redesigned their flagship model, the QX, and we're excited to take a closer look at its features and performance.

While the exterior of the QX may not have changed much, the interior is where this luxury SUV truly shines. With plenty of room for cargo, the QX is perfect for transporting large items from The Big Box store. However, navigating into parking spots can be a challenge, especially when trying to exit with multiple passengers in tow. The narrow running board and high step-off make it difficult to get on and off the vehicle safely.

Getting behind the wheel of the QX is an experience unlike any other. With its 3-ton weight, this luxury SUV moves effortlessly thanks to its powerful 5.6L V8 engine, producing 400 horsepower and a smooth 7-speed automatic transmission. While fuel efficiency may not be a priority for those who can afford such a vehicle, the QX still guzzles gas at a premium price. On the other hand, the cabin is remarkably quiet, with the big engine barely making itself heard.

The ride is comfortable, soaking up large bumps and providing a soft suspension that feels a bit floaty on the highway. However, this comes at the cost of handling, which is decidedly unimpressive. The QX feels clumsy and unresponsive, making it difficult to navigate tight corners or merge onto busy roads. In emergency situations, the vehicle's grip is low, and the stability control can be slow to respond, allowing the rear end to slide out.

Despite these limitations, the Infiniti QX does have its advantages. Based on a truck platform, the QX retains some of the capabilities that make trucks so desirable. With a maximum towing capacity of 8,500 pounds, this luxury SUV can handle even the heaviest trailers with ease. Off-roading is also a breeze, as the QX navigated our Rock Hill terrain without any issues.

Inside the QX, Infiniti has outdone themselves. The interior is a masterclass in luxury and design, featuring burled wood accents, chrome trim, and plenty of leather throughout. The controls are intuitive and easy to use, with logical placement that feels familiar to fans of other Infiniti models. However, some controls can be hard to reach, and the navigation system is top-notch, with a wide range of features and capabilities.

The QX also boasts an impressive array of high-tech amenities, including a dual-screen DVD system and a parking aid that uses cameras above and below the vehicle to guide you into tight spaces. When it comes to seating, the QX provides plenty of room for three adults in the front seats, with adjustable steering wheel and seat positions. The rear seats are also spacious, if not particularly comfortable.

The third row is a different story altogether, with limited knee room and a hard-to-reach seat that's more suited to carrying cargo than passengers. Despite this, the QX does offer plenty of power-operated features, including the tailgate and second-row seat, which folds down with ease.

In conclusion, while the Infiniti QX may not be perfect, it's clear that this luxury SUV has its strengths and weaknesses. With its impressive towing capacity and off-roading prowess, it's a great choice for those who need to haul heavy loads or navigate challenging terrain. However, its handling and fuel efficiency leave much to be desired. For those who don't require such capabilities, there are plenty of other luxurious options available that offer similar comfort and amenities without the drawbacks of this particular vehicle.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: encalling the Infiniti QX a big SUV well that's kind of an understatement this thing is enormous and there was a time when large luxurious SUVs like this were very popular but that was when gas prices were less than $2 a gallon well times have changed the economies have changed and big luxurious SUVs like this they've kind of lost favor and yet Infinity they've just redesigned the QX and we're going to take a look at it so while there's plenty of room inside this boat to carry your cargo from The Big Box store you have to be careful when you navigate into a parking spot especially if you need to have people disembark from both the port and starboard side getting up into is kind of tough the running board well it's pretty narrow it's a big high step off to the floor so what's it like behind the wheel of this three tons of fun well it's not a whole lot of fun but it actually is about 3 tons in fact our test car weighed in at about 6,000 lb fortunately the 5 .6 L V8 engine it's got 400 horsepower and it moves this big truck effortlessly helping it is a 7-speed automatic that's very smooth and very responsive but as you'd imagine this vehicle uses a lot of fuel and a lot of premium fuel at that the cabin is actually very impressively quiet the big engine really doesn't make itself heard very much at all there's not much road noise in fact all you hear is a little bit of wind noise the ride is fairly comfortable it soaks up the big bumps pretty well but it's very soft and it feel a bit floaty especially on the highway what's really unimpressive though is the handling it's a really big vehicle and it lets you know it all the time steering well it doesn't really communicate very well it's a huge vehicle to Lumber down the road it just kind of feels clumsy things go from bad to worse when it comes to emergency handling not only is the grip low but we found the stability control comes in a little bit too late which allows the rear end of the vehicle to slide out a bit and that's something you really don't want to do in a large SUV like this but being based on a truck does give this vehicle some assets and that's Towing and off-roading this big truck can tow up to 8,500 lb and this large engine really makes it pull well and off-roading it's very good in fact it went up our Rock Hill without any problems at all even when compared to other high-end luxury cars the interior of this Infinity is really really impressive there's lots of burled wood throughout looks very nice there's Chrome insets and lots of leather leather in the door panels with all the leather in here it almost smells like a high-end Shoe Shop the controls are pretty easy to use they very typical that you find in other infinities which means there a tune knob and they're logically grouped however some of the controls are a little bit hard to reach but the nav system it's one of the best in the business in fact there's no shortage of high-tech gizmos including a dual screen DVD system and a very cool system for parking it's not just a backup camera but actually acts as a camera that's above the vehicle and makes it easy to see what's around you as you'd imagine there's plenty of room and it's very comfortable up front and there's lots of adjustments in the steering wheel and the seat the front seats almost like small sofas but the cushions are a bit soft so they do lose some support on a longer trip rear seat passengers get treated to a full-size sofa it's very comfortable back here it's roomy even for three adults it's very easy to get comfortable and relax getting into the third row seats a little bit of a challenge the hard part's not moving the seat out of the way it's climbing way up here and out here to the back and even though this truck is so big don't expect minivan style third row seat accommodations the seat is right down on the floor there's not much knee room knees are way up here it's not very comfortable when it's time to carry your stuff there's lots of room in this big truck and everything seems to operate by power although pretty slowly so you do need to be patient tailgate operates by power these the third row seat which doesn't really carry people so well at least it gets out of the way easily again slowly by power and the second row seat that folds down too you can accommodate really really large objects there are some issues though the cargo floor it's pretty high and this whole area here it slopes down pretty severely so the Infinity QX can tow a very heavy trailer with ease and excels off-roading but if you don't need that capability there's a lot of other luxurious options out there that can carry around your family and don't make you put up with that sloppy handling and terrible fuel economycalling the Infiniti QX a big SUV well that's kind of an understatement this thing is enormous and there was a time when large luxurious SUVs like this were very popular but that was when gas prices were less than $2 a gallon well times have changed the economies have changed and big luxurious SUVs like this they've kind of lost favor and yet Infinity they've just redesigned the QX and we're going to take a look at it so while there's plenty of room inside this boat to carry your cargo from The Big Box store you have to be careful when you navigate into a parking spot especially if you need to have people disembark from both the port and starboard side getting up into is kind of tough the running board well it's pretty narrow it's a big high step off to the floor so what's it like behind the wheel of this three tons of fun well it's not a whole lot of fun but it actually is about 3 tons in fact our test car weighed in at about 6,000 lb fortunately the 5 .6 L V8 engine it's got 400 horsepower and it moves this big truck effortlessly helping it is a 7-speed automatic that's very smooth and very responsive but as you'd imagine this vehicle uses a lot of fuel and a lot of premium fuel at that the cabin is actually very impressively quiet the big engine really doesn't make itself heard very much at all there's not much road noise in fact all you hear is a little bit of wind noise the ride is fairly comfortable it soaks up the big bumps pretty well but it's very soft and it feel a bit floaty especially on the highway what's really unimpressive though is the handling it's a really big vehicle and it lets you know it all the time steering well it doesn't really communicate very well it's a huge vehicle to Lumber down the road it just kind of feels clumsy things go from bad to worse when it comes to emergency handling not only is the grip low but we found the stability control comes in a little bit too late which allows the rear end of the vehicle to slide out a bit and that's something you really don't want to do in a large SUV like this but being based on a truck does give this vehicle some assets and that's Towing and off-roading this big truck can tow up to 8,500 lb and this large engine really makes it pull well and off-roading it's very good in fact it went up our Rock Hill without any problems at all even when compared to other high-end luxury cars the interior of this Infinity is really really impressive there's lots of burled wood throughout looks very nice there's Chrome insets and lots of leather leather in the door panels with all the leather in here it almost smells like a high-end Shoe Shop the controls are pretty easy to use they very typical that you find in other infinities which means there a tune knob and they're logically grouped however some of the controls are a little bit hard to reach but the nav system it's one of the best in the business in fact there's no shortage of high-tech gizmos including a dual screen DVD system and a very cool system for parking it's not just a backup camera but actually acts as a camera that's above the vehicle and makes it easy to see what's around you as you'd imagine there's plenty of room and it's very comfortable up front and there's lots of adjustments in the steering wheel and the seat the front seats almost like small sofas but the cushions are a bit soft so they do lose some support on a longer trip rear seat passengers get treated to a full-size sofa it's very comfortable back here it's roomy even for three adults it's very easy to get comfortable and relax getting into the third row seats a little bit of a challenge the hard part's not moving the seat out of the way it's climbing way up here and out here to the back and even though this truck is so big don't expect minivan style third row seat accommodations the seat is right down on the floor there's not much knee room knees are way up here it's not very comfortable when it's time to carry your stuff there's lots of room in this big truck and everything seems to operate by power although pretty slowly so you do need to be patient tailgate operates by power these the third row seat which doesn't really carry people so well at least it gets out of the way easily again slowly by power and the second row seat that folds down too you can accommodate really really large objects there are some issues though the cargo floor it's pretty high and this whole area here it slopes down pretty severely so the Infinity QX can tow a very heavy trailer with ease and excels off-roading but if you don't need that capability there's a lot of other luxurious options out there that can carry around your family and don't make you put up with that sloppy handling and terrible fuel economy\n"