INFINITI is one of those automotive brands that makes me crazy. Because the only thing worse than being bad is being boring. And to most of us, INFINITI has never really had an identity. The QX55 is here to change all that.
Most of the time, when I write these reviews, I focus on how a car drives. What can I say, I’m a Motorhead and I love to drive. But sometimes, and this is very rare sometimes, you can love a car for something else. In the case of the QX55, it is the interior.
THAT QX55 INTERIOR
Maybe it’s 16 months being trapped at home with 2 kids, 3 dogs, 3 cats and a husband, but this interior quickly became (cheese-alert) my personal oasis. (I warned you it’d be cheesy.) How and why this happened is still kind of a mystery to me.
INFINTI tacky no longer
What I can tell you is this. There was very little road noise. All of the interfaces were very close to perfect– driving, infotainment, comfort, driver-assist, etc. The one exception is the fact that there were two dumb screens in the center of the vehicle. That made me crazy. Otherwise, all of the touchpoints were elevated, which is important in a premium brand. But unlike the INFINITIs that I’ve driven in the past, nothing felt like a false sense of luxury. Or to be more accurate, nothing felt tacky. Fine, I’ll say it. INFINITI used to be tacky. The QX55 is not. There, I hope you’re happy.
THAT QX55 DRIVE
The drive itself is a good news-bad news situation. The vehicle was simply and sadly, underpowered. I know what you’re thinking– but Mama, you have a speeding ticket log longer than a CVS receipt. And you’re not wrong, my leadfoot tendencies are well-known and well documented by any/all of the LAPD. But that aside, a crossover SUV filled with groceries, kids, dogs, etc needs a certain amount of get up and go to remain enjoyable. The interior of the QX55 leads you to believe that it has what it takes to compete with the ugly BMW x4 and the awesome Audi Q5, but not with this engine. The VCT (variable compression technology) works just fine until I needed to go uphill or into traffic, then it just was tired and sad.
The good news is that it was as comfy to drive as anything I can remember. It is plush, chill, and just so quiet.
THAT QX55 VERDICT
Overall, this vehicle tops out close to $60k which is a lot. But that color, that design, that interior! Honestly, if you find one of these with good incentives and you don’t have a lot of aggressive driving to do, it’s certainly worth consideration.
What’s most exciting about this car is that it means that good things are on the horizon for INFINITI. Maybe that means I’ll stop whining about how the brand needs an identity. I sure hope so!
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