Infiniti’s baby QX deserves a look
SUV: Power and an attractive price tag make it a great alternative to more expensive competition
How did I miss this one? It’s old, it’s not nearly as dramatically styled as its QX70 sibling and, as a result of Infiniti Canada’s bashfulness, it’s hardly marketed, so the QX50 easily slips under the radar.
Like most consumers, I dumped the QX into the tired, no-need-to-test-drive pile. Cute enough, I suppose, but still not worth paying attention to. Infiniti did recently add a new entry-level model and, with the price cuts introduced in 2014, it brought the base price all the way down to $34,950, a significant reduction from the $37,900 that the QX cost in 2014 and even bigger cost saving compared with the 2013 EX37, which cost $39,900. Nonetheless, the company barely makes mention of the QX50 in its marketing missives, so few Canadians, including, as I said, Yours Truly, consider it as a serious contender in the compact luxury SUV segment.
So this car review, then, should serve notice to both consumers and Infiniti Canada. To the former, ignore older products at your peril; otherwise you might be cheating yourself out of a pretty sporty little SUV. To the latter: Guess what, guys, you really didn’t have to drop your pants. At least, not so much. You just had to get out the bullhorn you call your marketing budget and tell people how good the baby QX really is. Seriously, who knew?
For one thing there’s the motor — the same 325-horsepower, 3.7-litre V6 that powers the QX70 Sport, only, in this case, motivating an SUV that’s 265 kilograms lighter and $25,000 cheaper. Not shy of power, the VQ37VHR six motivates the QX50 with even more élan than the QX70. Its relative paucity of torque — being naturally aspirated, its maximum torque of 267 pound-feet at 5,200 rpm pales in comparison with BMW’s turbocharged X3, which pumps out 300 lb.-ft. at 1,300 rpm — is hardly noticed in the lighter package. It scoots to 100 kilometres an hour in about six seconds; sporty by any standard, astonishing for a sport-ute bearing a luxury nameplate and only costing $35,000. Just as impressive, I swear that the QX50 has better sound insulation and, therefore, less of the valve clatter I found annoying in the QX70. Again, I will remind you that, at $34,950, the QX50 is some $25,000 cheaper than the QX70 Sport.
The QX50 also handles a treat. It’s lighter than most SUVs, lower than just about anything pretending to have utility and is equipped with some fairly meaty 245/45R19 tires. Tie it together with an all-wheeldrive system that directs 100 per cent of that torque to the rear tires until wheel slippage occurs and you have a recipe for lithe handling. Or at least as lithe as anything dressed up as an SUV has a right to be.
The QX50 isn’t suspended as stiffly as the QX70, which turns out to be a good thing. For one, thanks to its lower centre of gravity, keeping roll to a minimum doesn’t require the QX70’s buckboard-stiff springs. Plus, it means that the QX50’s fine handling doesn’t come at the expense of ride, my major gripe with the QX70. Americans have the option of ordering their QXs with rear-wheel-drive only, but, considering the small penalty in weight and cost, we’re better off with Infiniti Canada’s decision to simplify its lineup. (Our QX50s, admittedly slightly de-contented, are cheaper than U.S. versions, even before taking the exchange rate into account.)
Interestingly, the QX50’s major failing is the same as the QX70’s: a paucity of cabin space. Both of Infiniti’s other two QXs — the 60 and 80 — are more traditional SUVs doubling as minivans and are positively gargantuan by comparison. The QX50’s front-seat passengers will find their accommodations fairly roomy, though not overly so, the 50’s dashboard even more “cockpit-ish” than the 70’s.
The rear seats, on the other hand, are just plain cramped. With small SUVs getting more space-efficient every year, rear-seat legroom is the one area where the QX50 is beginning to show its age. Headroom is adequate, mainly because Infiniti resisted the temptation of rendering the QX’s roofline archly sloping like one of those ridiculous BMW X6 SUV coupes, but there’s a whopping 155 millimetres less rear legroom in the 50 compared with the 70, despite their wheelbases being within 30 mm of each other. (That said, thanks to its larger rear overhang, the QX70 is some 229 mm longer overall.) To give you an idea of how truly teeny, tiny things are back there, Buick’s Encore has more rear legroom despite riding on a wheelbase some 295 mm shorter. Like I said, interior packaging has become more efficient since the QX50 was designed seven years ago.
It is the QX50’s only major failing compared with its competition. And, compared with what other manufacturers are offering in premium SUVs for $35,000, that paucity in rear-seat legroom is more than made up for with that 325-hp, hey-gas-is-cheap V6, sporty handling and finely appointed interior. To put it in perspective, the Encore I tested — the one with all that extra legroom — has but a measly little 1.4L turbo four-banger under the hood and not nearly as nice an interior, but cost about the same as a QX50 with a decent option package. Indeed, nothing even remotely premium with six pistons comes within $5,000 of the QX50’s base price.
I’m glad I finally got around to test driving it. You will be, too.