Car Gazing
Giant Infiniti has luxurious style, substance
By Derek Price
Until this year, people who wanted a full-size luxury SUV really only had two choices: the Cadillac Escalade or Lincoln Navigator.
Now Infiniti has walked onto the luxury scene with the QX56, an SUV that's big enough to compete with the American brutes yet refined enough to feel like a traditional luxury car. It also has an eye-catching body and appealing price that's bound to be making some Detroit executives a little nervous.
When you walk up to this American-built Infiniti truck, its gigantic size is totally overwhelming, something never before offered in a foreign-named brand. Even parked next to what normally seems like a large vehicle – say, a Ford Explorer or Chevy Trailblazer – it looks like a Saint Bernard sitting next to a schnauzer.
The QX56's styling exaggerates its actual size with chiseled fenders and a bulbous roof that tries to say to economy cars, "I could squash you like a June bug." At the same time, the signature Infiniti grill lends a surprising amount of elegance to a vehicle that looks big enough to haul cattle in the front seat.
Step into the driver's seat and the QX56 doesn't seem quite so huge. Sure, it's a long, long way to the back seat – so long that it might not be a bad idea to bring walkie-talkies to chat with the kids on a family road trip – but the sight of wood trim and the feel of soft leather make it feel more home-like. It's cozy, yet it has room for eight.
That home-like ambiance is especially welcome on the highway, where big, wide bucket seats feel like La-Z-Boy recliners. Crank up the Bose stereo, and you're in highway-cruising heaven.
The dash layout seems nice for the most part, but, like in the Cadillac Escalade, there's too much hard plastic to make it seem like an ultra-high-end luxury vehicle. Both Cadillac and Infinity could improve by mimicking the Lincoln Navigator's more upscale cabin.
This Infiniti doesn't lack in the technology department, though. With a base price of $47,400, it comes standard with a navigation system, leather seats, a powerful V8 engine, and all the typical luxury goodies.
High-end options include a rear-seat DVD player ($1,600), a video camera mounted in the rear bumper to help the driver back up ($1,100), and satellite radio from either XM or Sirius ($400).
All told, you can get a loaded QX56 with four-wheel drive, sunroof, backup camera, DVD player and satellite radio – meaning the ultimate modern road-trip vehicle – for around $55,000 retail. Lincoln and Cadillac dealers would have a hard time matching that.
Of course, the QX56 drives just like a luxury SUV should, meaning – well – not like an SUV at all.
For starters the ride is smooth and supple, especially considering its giant size. Back-seat passengers will be jostled more than they should over big bumps, but that's normal for a vehicle this size. (Think of riding in the back seat of the school bus when you were a kid. "Wheee! I'm flying!") Front- and middle-seat passengers, though, will love how smooth the ride is over rough roads and potholes.
The engine and transmission are also exceptionally smooth. From the driver's seat, the Infiniti's drivetrain feels even more refined than both the Cadillac and Lincoln V8s, neither of which is lackluster.
All in all, Infiniti seems to have hit a home run on its first trip to the plate, at least when it comes to full-size SUVs. The QX56 is roomy, stylish, refined and less expensive than the competition.
That's definitely a reason for Detroit to be worried.
(Derek Price is a newspaper editor and freelance writer living in Texas.
Contact him at dprice@cargazingonline.com)
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