Short Take Road Test
From the September 2010 Issue of Car and Driver
Has the era of king-size luxury SUVs come to an end? The Infiniti product strategists don’t seem to think so. Check the second-gen QX56. It’s big, it raises the luxury ante, and it’s all-new.
New inside, new outside, new engine, new transmission, new chassis. Well, new to the QX56, anyway. But even with shared componentry, a major makeover is a big investment and, thus, a bet that the QX can win bigger in a game where, to be kind, it hasn’t been a major player.
As noted, the fresh underpinnings aren’t unique to this vehicle. They’re shared with the never-sold-in-the-U.S., seventh-generation Nissan Patrol, a traditional SUV dating to the early ’50s and one with serious off-road chops.
So the QX56 continues as a body-on-frame design, but its Titan pickup foundation has been scrapped. The wheelbase is a couple inches shorter, at 121.1, and the roof is a few inches lower, but overall length (208.3) is up, as is width (79.9) and mass: Our four-wheel-drive test truck weighed 6054 pounds, 364 more than the QX we tested four years ago [“Top-Rung Sport-Utes,” October 2006].
Oddly, for a vehicle with off-road credentials, minimum ground clearance has gone from 10.8 inches (in 2006) to 9.2. Then again, off-road for most vehicles in this class is backing a trailer down a boat ramp.
The new sheetmetal has more drama and some blingish frosting à la Cadillac Escalade and Lincoln Navigator. The interior is distinguished by attractive design and excellent materials, with high marks for roominess, including the third-row seat.
Go power has more appeal, too. Shared with the new M56 sedan, the V-8 engine— 5.6 liters, DOHC, 32 valves, all aluminum, direct injection, variable valve timing and intake-valve lift, 400 horsepower, 413 pound-feet of torque—and the seven-speed automatic lend smooth urgency despite the weight gain: 0 to 60 mph in 6.5 seconds, 15.1 at 94 mph in the quarter-mile.Handling isn’t quite as crisp as the original QX’s, and the speed-sensitive rack-and-pinion power steering is secretive on-center. But the new independent control-arm suspension is tuned to coddle, and it does this well. It’s exceptionally quiet inside, too.
Skidpad performance—our test unit wore 275/50 Bridgestone Dueler H/T tires on optional 22-inch alloy wheels—was so-so at 0.72 g, and braking, 185 feet from 70 mph, was nothing to brag about. Nor is fuel economy—we averaged 14 mpg.
Then again, fuel economy isn’t an issue for folks who sign up for rides like this. They like comfort, power, and lots of standard luxury features baked into an attractive price. The QX scores well on these fronts. The base price for a 4WD version is $60,750 ($69,000 as tested)—just $85 more than the 2010 model’s and considerably lower than most of the QX’s key competitors.
As bets go, Infiniti seems to have its chips on the right squares.
