The 2016 Infiniti QX50 luxury crossover provides a unique combination of a right-sized exterior with a luxurious interior environment and suite of advanced technology features.
Vehicle
2016 made-in-Japan Infiniti QX50
Signature feature
Infiniti's bread-and-butter compact crossover – accounting for nearly 20 per cent of all Infiniti Canada's sales last year – is getting a last tweak or two before a whole raft of new compact Infiniti models arrive within the year – including the production version of the QX30 concept shown last month in Geneva and getting its North American debut in New York. The latest QX50 has more cabin space thanks to a longer wheelbase (80 mm/3.2 inches), more standard items and a moonroof for all models, regardless of price.
What else is new?
The sheetmetal has been tweaked to help make this crossover look more like it belongs in the same showroom with the more recently and more comprehensively redesigned Q50 sedan. Buyers can even get a new exterior colour, "Hagane Blue." As always in recent years, AWD (all-wheel drive) is standard regardless of equipment package – Premium, Navigation and Technology. Even the most basic model gets leather seating, all sorts of electronic stuff – Bluetooh, rearview monitor, satellite radio and Bose audio, among other odds and sods.
Under the hood
No surprises. The engine is the long-standing 3.7-litre V-6 (325 horsepower) mated to a seven-speed autobox. Lots of power and a nice engine, but no hybrid version or twin turbo or diesel or any of the other stuff the Germans keep throwing into showrooms in this segment.
When can we buy it, and for how much?
Goes on sale in the fall, but no official pricing is being shared. The 2015 version starts at $34,950.
Cool quotient
3.5 stars (out of 5)
Nice rig and an entertaining drive, but not the ground-breaking model it was when it first arrived as the EX35.
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