‘22 Infiniti QX60 aimed at 1 in 4 who shop luxurymidsize
An all-new design inside and out highlights the
10th year in the crowded luxury midsize SUV field for the Infiniti QX60.
Themidsizemarkets are traditionally hot for Suv/crossovers, favored in recent years by the added roominess for passengers (oftenwith three rows of seats) and cargo. The 44 models among those midsizers are split evenly between regular light-vehicles and those of luxury rank.
Even in last year’s depleted (chip shortages and covid restrictions) market, the regular midsize SUVS and luxury units combined for up toward 3million sales. Tops among the regular light-vehicle nameplates were the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Toyota Highlander, Ford Explorer, Honda Pilot and Toyota 4Runner.
Almost a fourth of those 2.8 million sales were up into the pricier luxury level, headed by the Lexus RX, Mercedes GLE, BMW X5 and Acuramdx.
The Infiniti QX60 traditonally sells at a lesser level, competing with Cadillac and Lincoln models, Audi Q7,
Range Rover Sport and others, though to prepare for its redesign in 2022, the Infiniti skipped the ’21 model year and fell farther down the list.
If a ’22 QX60 such as the review model is chosen, I doubt the buyer will ever tire of riding in the comfortably supportive seats and enjoying the appeal of the dashboard, which like the seats, is quilted in saddle brown semi-analine leather finish.
A bonus this year is replacement of the QX60’S continuously variable transmission with a smooth, 9-speed automatic, which is coupled with its 295-horsepower, 3.5-liter V-6 engine and all-wheel drive. Sport mode adds strong response, particularly in midrange power afteramore-mild takeoff pace. The AWD setup for the front-wheel-drive-based Infiniti can direct half the power to the rear wheels when needed.
In the makeover for ’22, Infiniti retained the same wheelbase of 114.2 inches for the QX60, while shortening the overall length by 2 ½ inches to 198.2.
Jan and I on Sunday took a drive of mostly rural roads out to Kersey, then as far south as Bennett and back through Hudson. The roadways we chose, mostly off the more popular paths, ranged from fairly smooth to somewhat smooth to less-than smooth to doggone rough. The Infiniti ate up the bumps not all that well, but the supportive seats kept it comfortable.
A 12.3-inch touchscreen is supported by Apple Carplay, Android Auto and navigation with realtime traffic information. Adding wonderful sound is a 17-speaker Bose premium audio system. A large, open storage space is positioned beneath the center console.
Captain’s chairs are attractive and cushy in the second-row seating, though they cut the capacity to six, instead of seven. With the third row of seats in place, cargo space is only 14.5 cubic feet;
with seats folded that expands to 41. When folded and liftgate open, buttons at the rear will power-raise the third row of seats.
Overall fuel mileage was 23.2 miles per gallon; the EPA estimate for the QX60 is 20/25.
The high-end Autograph AWD trim boosted sticker price of the QX60 to $65,645. Lesser-priced trims are the Sensory beginning at $59,375, the Luxe at $55,925 and Pure at $49,875.
Contact Bud Wells at budwellscars@comcast.net