First Drive: 2011 Infiniti QX56 overcomes the odds
05-24-10, 11:08 AM
#47
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Doesn't look that bad. The only awkward-looking thing, IMO, on the outside, is the too-large swath of body-color paint above the headlights and between the lights and the grille. If and headlights were a little taller and wider, it would solve both problems. The interior is a noticeble step up from the present model.
Now let's hope they get the quality control right. As with other Nissan/Infiniti vehicles built in the Canton, MS plant, QC was a BIG problrem on the last model.
Now let's hope they get the quality control right. As with other Nissan/Infiniti vehicles built in the Canton, MS plant, QC was a BIG problrem on the last model.
05-24-10, 12:12 PM
#48
05-24-10, 12:15 PM
#50
Lexus Fanatic
05-24-10, 02:14 PM
#52
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Whats funny is if you look elsewhere the reaction is the same as here, a horrid mess with Sentra owners loving it 
Its like deja vu as the last model debuted the same way in regards to the ugly.
I really don't understand people accepting "ugly" and its not just Infiniti vehicles. What happened to enjoying looking at what you bought? Why do people have to rationalize and justify looks. If it looks good there is nothing to debate. If its ugly just say "hey its ugly but I like ugly" and be done with it. For instance I like the 1st gen Cayenne and its ugly and I'm not going to convince you otherwise.
Time for a blog maybe?
Its like deja vu as the last model debuted the same way in regards to the ugly.
I really don't understand people accepting "ugly" and its not just Infiniti vehicles. What happened to enjoying looking at what you bought? Why do people have to rationalize and justify looks. If it looks good there is nothing to debate. If its ugly just say "hey its ugly but I like ugly" and be done with it. For instance I like the 1st gen Cayenne and its ugly and I'm not going to convince you otherwise.
Time for a blog maybe?
05-28-10, 12:20 PM
#53
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latest review of the Lux Truck you love to hate.
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...t_drive_review
2011 Infiniti QX56 - First Drive Review
The Infiniti QX goes on Patrol and comes back a proper luxury machine.
BY ERIK JOHNSON
May 2010
Top Competitors
* Audi Q7
* Cadillac Escalade
* Land Rover Range Rover Sport
* Lexus LX570
* Mercedes-Benz GL-class
Specifications
VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, rear- or 4-wheel-drive, 7–8-passenger, 5-door wagon
BASE TESTED: $57,650
ENGINE TYPE: DOHC 32-valve V-8, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injection
Displacement: 339 cu in, 5552 cc
Power (SAE net): 400 bhp @ 5800 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 413 lb-ft @ 4000 rpm
TRANSMISSION: 7-speed automatic with manumatic shifting
DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 121.1 in Length: 208.3 in
Width: 79.9 in Height: 75.8 in
Curb weight (mfr’s est): 5600–5850 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST):
Zero to 60 mph: 7.0 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 15.5 sec
FUEL ECONOMY:
EPA city/highway driving: 14/20 mpg (Surprising)
The outgoing Infiniti QX56 was a vehicle that never made much sense to us. After all, you could get almost all of its equipment—save a few electronic trinkets—on the otherwise identical Nissan Armada, and you’d save thousands in the process. But the QX has been redesigned for 2011, migrating to a platform shared with the Nissan Patrol SUV, a Toyota Land Cruiser competitor in the rest of the world. The result is a machine more perfectly suited to its primary mission: ferrying well-off families to and from the vacation house, mall, and celebrity-chef restaurants that serve microhydrogenated candied aardvark liver.
The architecture remains body-on-frame, but you’d never know it from the smooth ride and refined personality of the new QX. Whereas the old Titan-based QX56 was a truckish brute with yesteryear interior tech and a rough-around-the-edges persona, the 2011 version is bristling with up-to-the-minute electronics and a suave character that matches its sleek new exterior.
Our drive route wended through the hollers and hills surrounding Louisville, Kentucky, and we sampled rear- and four-wheel-drive models. Ride quality was equally good on the standard 20-inch wheels or the step-up 22s, although it must be said that the roads in Kentucky were merely lumpy rather than broken and frost-heaved. Once a QX shows up in Michigan, we’ll see if our opinion of the ride holds. The 4WD QX we drove was equipped with a new hydraulic body-control system. The system is similar to that offered in Audi’s RS 5 coupe, in that it feeds hydraulic fluid from shock to shock via a valve system as a means of controlling body motions, and it replaces the anti-roll bars of the base QX. In truth, however, we couldn’t feel much of a difference between the two suspension setups; head toss and body roll were handled equally well in each of the vehicles we drove.
One big difference did exist between the two models, however. In rear-drive and 4WD QXs, the steering is feather light—all the better for freshly manicured desperate housewives—but the feedback is more positive in the two-wheel-drive QX, and on-center stability is better there, too. The 2011 QX’s steering pales in comparison to the rack of the model it replaces, which was pretty lively and talkative for being installed in something the size of Rush Limbaugh’s ego. Of course, steering feel matters to buyers in this segment about as much as whether or not an SUV can turn into a sweet robot with fists made of lasers. We care about both of those things, but really, the new QX’s steering is as good as it needs to be.
Huge, Roomy, and Powerful
The new QX is wider and longer than the outgoing model, but it’s also shorter in height by three inches and has a wheelbase that’s been trimmed by 2.1 inches. Infiniti says weight is down by 160 pounds in comparable 4WD models. Still, this thing is huge, paralleling the immensity of its primary competitors, vehicles like the Mercedes-Benz GL-class and Cadillac Escalade. Being gigantic, the QX56 can accommodate up to eight passengers in its three rows; the second row comes standard with two captain’s chairs and a cavernous center console, and a 60/40-split folding bench is available. The three-person third row is tight versus those of the class leaders, but truthfully, are you ever going to sit in it? No, you’ll shove the kids back there, and they’ll fit fine. Infiniti has thoughtfully added a power recline function to the final row, and it really helps livability.
Even though the QX56 badge carries over, denoting a 5.6-liter engine underhood, the powerplant is new and direct injected. First appearing in the 2011 M56 sedan, this 5.6-liter V-8 makes a highly competitive 400 hp at 5800 rpm and 413 lb-ft at 4000 rpm, up from the old 5.6’s 320 hp and 393 lb-ft. The previous QX used a five-speed automatic, but the 2011 iteration has two more forward ratios. What with the slight weight loss, direct fuel injection, and extra gears, fuel economy is up a couple of mpg to 14 city and 20 highway. The all-wheel-drive system is an evolution of the current truck’s, and it still features an auto setting that can funnel all torque to the rear wheels depending on available traction; a “4 High” setting that locks the torque at 50 percent front and 50 percent rear; and a “4 Low” setting. There no longer is a setting to lock in rear-wheel drive. Maximum towing has decreased from 9000 pounds to 8500, still plenty for towing a boat or a couple of snowmobiles.
Infiniti says the new QX is quicker than its forebear to 60 mph, but you can’t tell much of a difference by the seat of your pants. Still, this is not a slow truck. We tested the last QX to 60 in 7.1 seconds, and it’s shocking how something pushing three tons can get moving that quickly. The exhaust note is as glorious as before, too. The biggest improvement is in overall refinement. The old powertrain was pulled from the Titan pickup truck, and although it was quick and fun, there was a hairiness that’s been ironed out of the new setup, which must now pull double duty in a luxury sports sedan. The power delivery and the gearswaps are silky smooth, and the overall feel is befitting of a luxury vehicle; it suffers from none of the touchy throttle woes of its Infiniti FX stablemate.
A Real Luxury Truck This Time
Refinement is a key word for the interior, too, which is no longer a lowly, plasticky Nissan cabin playing dress-up. This is a true luxury barge now, quiet and stylish inside, with handsome wood (stained with an attractive dark-to-light gradient) trimming the dash and doors, along with stitched leather smeared across the center console, door panels, and center armrest. The gauges are highly legible, and they feature some pretty cool Spirograph-style background graphics. The front seats are very comfortable, and there’s lots of legroom for second-row riders. Acres of glass make everything feel bright and airy, and we like that the dashboard is low. Forward visibility is quite good, although the entry-assist handle on the A-pillar is a little too close for comfort.
Standard equipment includes heated front seats, a power liftgate, three-zone climate controls, Bluetooth and USB connectivity, an eight-inch touchscreen display, navigation, Infiniti’s Around View multicamera monitor, XM satellite radio with NavTraffic and NavWeather, and a Zagat restaurant guide that ties into the nav system. A Theater package can be ordered to get two seven-inch screens mounted in the back of the front-seat headrests; they can handle two different inputs, and a third source can be viewed on the nav screen when the vehicle is in park. Infiniti also has included something it calls a tire-pressure inflation indicator, which piggybacks onto the tire-pressure monitoring system. When owners go to add air to the tire, the inflation indicator flashes the hazard lights all around, including on the side mirrors, as the pressure nears the specified 35 psi, finally beeping the horn when the proper pressure is reached. If you overinflate, you hear an extra honk, and the system then flashes the lights and so on as you let air out.
Buyers first choose rear- or four-wheel drive and then climb the options ladder. The $2450 Theater package is the first rung, and it must be ordered to get the second-row bench (a no-cost substitution at that point) and the $5800 Deluxe Touring package. The DT package includes some pretty handsome 22-inch wheels, the hydraulic body-control system, nicer seat leather, a ventilation function for the front seats, heated outboard second-row seats, and an upgraded climate-control system with odor filtration. Frankly, we’d stop there if it were our money. That’s because the top-rung Technology pack, which requires the DT package, includes all the incessantly beeping nanny items we came to loathe on our long-term FX50S—laser-based cruise control, lane-departure prevention, distance control assist, intelligent brake assist—and only one we like, blind-spot monitoring. It also adds adaptive front headlamps. Infiniti allows you to turn off the overlord-ish tech via a couple buttons, but we figure the $2850 would be better spent on a driving school where QX owners would learn how to stay in their lane, properly use the braking system of their vehicle, and watch the road ahead of them for things they might, you know, hit. Is this really too much to ask?
Hey, while we’re asking for stuff, we’d like to request an explanation for the fender vents. To call them tacky would be an insult to boy-racer wings, LED washer nozzles, and Liberace. It’s a shame, too, since the exterior styling is otherwise pretty rockin’. (To be fair, some editors here aren’t so keen.) Gone is the funky geometry of the Armada-based QX, replaced by taut, athletic styling. The swept-back headlamps, the clean rear end, and the sculpted hood connect this new model to the rest of the Infiniti lineup. The tall greenhouse and the low window sills that cheer up the cabin help the exterior styling, too, combining with door bottoms that curve under the rockers to cut down the visual height of the body sides. Save for the huge disjoint of the fender vents, this is a handsome truck. At least one of the vents is functional; the driver’s-side vent feeds additional air to the intake box, but the other vent is merely open to the fender well.
Cargo volume behind the first row is down by a couple of cubic feet to 95.1, but the space is so cavernous you won’t miss them. The load floor is high, though, and much of the new QX’s lengthening comes from the long rear bumper cover designed to hide the hitch receiver. It creates a huge shelf aft of the hatch frame just begging for stuff to be dragged across it, gouging and scratching the paint. If a clear vinyl covering or bumper plate is on the list of dealer-installed accessories, we’d suggest you order one of them.
Same Pricing, Better Focus
The entry-level rear-wheel-drive QX56 costs $57,650, and a 4WD model starts at $60,750, a smidge higher than last year owing to an $85 hike on the destination charge. The QX is a deal compared with the Escalade, GL550, and Lexus GX460, and you’re getting more truck for your money than before. Yeah, the old QX56 was a little friskier, a little more fun to drive, and a little more capable. But this new one is more powerful, much more luxurious, and much more likely to cause a splash at the country club. Although huge V-8–powered, body-on-frame luxury SUVs aren’t exactly in step with the times, the 2011 QX56 is much more in step with its mission. Of course, we wish that included turning into a sweet robot with fists made of lasers. Maybe for the third generation?
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...t_drive_review
2011 Infiniti QX56 - First Drive Review
The Infiniti QX goes on Patrol and comes back a proper luxury machine.
BY ERIK JOHNSON
May 2010
Top Competitors
* Audi Q7
* Cadillac Escalade
* Land Rover Range Rover Sport
* Lexus LX570
* Mercedes-Benz GL-class
Specifications
VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, rear- or 4-wheel-drive, 7–8-passenger, 5-door wagon
BASE TESTED: $57,650
ENGINE TYPE: DOHC 32-valve V-8, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injection
Displacement: 339 cu in, 5552 cc
Power (SAE net): 400 bhp @ 5800 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 413 lb-ft @ 4000 rpm
TRANSMISSION: 7-speed automatic with manumatic shifting
DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 121.1 in Length: 208.3 in
Width: 79.9 in Height: 75.8 in
Curb weight (mfr’s est): 5600–5850 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST):
Zero to 60 mph: 7.0 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 15.5 sec
FUEL ECONOMY:
EPA city/highway driving: 14/20 mpg (Surprising)
The outgoing Infiniti QX56 was a vehicle that never made much sense to us. After all, you could get almost all of its equipment—save a few electronic trinkets—on the otherwise identical Nissan Armada, and you’d save thousands in the process. But the QX has been redesigned for 2011, migrating to a platform shared with the Nissan Patrol SUV, a Toyota Land Cruiser competitor in the rest of the world. The result is a machine more perfectly suited to its primary mission: ferrying well-off families to and from the vacation house, mall, and celebrity-chef restaurants that serve microhydrogenated candied aardvark liver.
The architecture remains body-on-frame, but you’d never know it from the smooth ride and refined personality of the new QX. Whereas the old Titan-based QX56 was a truckish brute with yesteryear interior tech and a rough-around-the-edges persona, the 2011 version is bristling with up-to-the-minute electronics and a suave character that matches its sleek new exterior.
Our drive route wended through the hollers and hills surrounding Louisville, Kentucky, and we sampled rear- and four-wheel-drive models. Ride quality was equally good on the standard 20-inch wheels or the step-up 22s, although it must be said that the roads in Kentucky were merely lumpy rather than broken and frost-heaved. Once a QX shows up in Michigan, we’ll see if our opinion of the ride holds. The 4WD QX we drove was equipped with a new hydraulic body-control system. The system is similar to that offered in Audi’s RS 5 coupe, in that it feeds hydraulic fluid from shock to shock via a valve system as a means of controlling body motions, and it replaces the anti-roll bars of the base QX. In truth, however, we couldn’t feel much of a difference between the two suspension setups; head toss and body roll were handled equally well in each of the vehicles we drove.
One big difference did exist between the two models, however. In rear-drive and 4WD QXs, the steering is feather light—all the better for freshly manicured desperate housewives—but the feedback is more positive in the two-wheel-drive QX, and on-center stability is better there, too. The 2011 QX’s steering pales in comparison to the rack of the model it replaces, which was pretty lively and talkative for being installed in something the size of Rush Limbaugh’s ego. Of course, steering feel matters to buyers in this segment about as much as whether or not an SUV can turn into a sweet robot with fists made of lasers. We care about both of those things, but really, the new QX’s steering is as good as it needs to be.
Huge, Roomy, and Powerful
The new QX is wider and longer than the outgoing model, but it’s also shorter in height by three inches and has a wheelbase that’s been trimmed by 2.1 inches. Infiniti says weight is down by 160 pounds in comparable 4WD models. Still, this thing is huge, paralleling the immensity of its primary competitors, vehicles like the Mercedes-Benz GL-class and Cadillac Escalade. Being gigantic, the QX56 can accommodate up to eight passengers in its three rows; the second row comes standard with two captain’s chairs and a cavernous center console, and a 60/40-split folding bench is available. The three-person third row is tight versus those of the class leaders, but truthfully, are you ever going to sit in it? No, you’ll shove the kids back there, and they’ll fit fine. Infiniti has thoughtfully added a power recline function to the final row, and it really helps livability.
Even though the QX56 badge carries over, denoting a 5.6-liter engine underhood, the powerplant is new and direct injected. First appearing in the 2011 M56 sedan, this 5.6-liter V-8 makes a highly competitive 400 hp at 5800 rpm and 413 lb-ft at 4000 rpm, up from the old 5.6’s 320 hp and 393 lb-ft. The previous QX used a five-speed automatic, but the 2011 iteration has two more forward ratios. What with the slight weight loss, direct fuel injection, and extra gears, fuel economy is up a couple of mpg to 14 city and 20 highway. The all-wheel-drive system is an evolution of the current truck’s, and it still features an auto setting that can funnel all torque to the rear wheels depending on available traction; a “4 High” setting that locks the torque at 50 percent front and 50 percent rear; and a “4 Low” setting. There no longer is a setting to lock in rear-wheel drive. Maximum towing has decreased from 9000 pounds to 8500, still plenty for towing a boat or a couple of snowmobiles.
Infiniti says the new QX is quicker than its forebear to 60 mph, but you can’t tell much of a difference by the seat of your pants. Still, this is not a slow truck. We tested the last QX to 60 in 7.1 seconds, and it’s shocking how something pushing three tons can get moving that quickly. The exhaust note is as glorious as before, too. The biggest improvement is in overall refinement. The old powertrain was pulled from the Titan pickup truck, and although it was quick and fun, there was a hairiness that’s been ironed out of the new setup, which must now pull double duty in a luxury sports sedan. The power delivery and the gearswaps are silky smooth, and the overall feel is befitting of a luxury vehicle; it suffers from none of the touchy throttle woes of its Infiniti FX stablemate.
A Real Luxury Truck This Time
Refinement is a key word for the interior, too, which is no longer a lowly, plasticky Nissan cabin playing dress-up. This is a true luxury barge now, quiet and stylish inside, with handsome wood (stained with an attractive dark-to-light gradient) trimming the dash and doors, along with stitched leather smeared across the center console, door panels, and center armrest. The gauges are highly legible, and they feature some pretty cool Spirograph-style background graphics. The front seats are very comfortable, and there’s lots of legroom for second-row riders. Acres of glass make everything feel bright and airy, and we like that the dashboard is low. Forward visibility is quite good, although the entry-assist handle on the A-pillar is a little too close for comfort.
Standard equipment includes heated front seats, a power liftgate, three-zone climate controls, Bluetooth and USB connectivity, an eight-inch touchscreen display, navigation, Infiniti’s Around View multicamera monitor, XM satellite radio with NavTraffic and NavWeather, and a Zagat restaurant guide that ties into the nav system. A Theater package can be ordered to get two seven-inch screens mounted in the back of the front-seat headrests; they can handle two different inputs, and a third source can be viewed on the nav screen when the vehicle is in park. Infiniti also has included something it calls a tire-pressure inflation indicator, which piggybacks onto the tire-pressure monitoring system. When owners go to add air to the tire, the inflation indicator flashes the hazard lights all around, including on the side mirrors, as the pressure nears the specified 35 psi, finally beeping the horn when the proper pressure is reached. If you overinflate, you hear an extra honk, and the system then flashes the lights and so on as you let air out.
Buyers first choose rear- or four-wheel drive and then climb the options ladder. The $2450 Theater package is the first rung, and it must be ordered to get the second-row bench (a no-cost substitution at that point) and the $5800 Deluxe Touring package. The DT package includes some pretty handsome 22-inch wheels, the hydraulic body-control system, nicer seat leather, a ventilation function for the front seats, heated outboard second-row seats, and an upgraded climate-control system with odor filtration. Frankly, we’d stop there if it were our money. That’s because the top-rung Technology pack, which requires the DT package, includes all the incessantly beeping nanny items we came to loathe on our long-term FX50S—laser-based cruise control, lane-departure prevention, distance control assist, intelligent brake assist—and only one we like, blind-spot monitoring. It also adds adaptive front headlamps. Infiniti allows you to turn off the overlord-ish tech via a couple buttons, but we figure the $2850 would be better spent on a driving school where QX owners would learn how to stay in their lane, properly use the braking system of their vehicle, and watch the road ahead of them for things they might, you know, hit. Is this really too much to ask?
Hey, while we’re asking for stuff, we’d like to request an explanation for the fender vents. To call them tacky would be an insult to boy-racer wings, LED washer nozzles, and Liberace. It’s a shame, too, since the exterior styling is otherwise pretty rockin’. (To be fair, some editors here aren’t so keen.) Gone is the funky geometry of the Armada-based QX, replaced by taut, athletic styling. The swept-back headlamps, the clean rear end, and the sculpted hood connect this new model to the rest of the Infiniti lineup. The tall greenhouse and the low window sills that cheer up the cabin help the exterior styling, too, combining with door bottoms that curve under the rockers to cut down the visual height of the body sides. Save for the huge disjoint of the fender vents, this is a handsome truck. At least one of the vents is functional; the driver’s-side vent feeds additional air to the intake box, but the other vent is merely open to the fender well.
Cargo volume behind the first row is down by a couple of cubic feet to 95.1, but the space is so cavernous you won’t miss them. The load floor is high, though, and much of the new QX’s lengthening comes from the long rear bumper cover designed to hide the hitch receiver. It creates a huge shelf aft of the hatch frame just begging for stuff to be dragged across it, gouging and scratching the paint. If a clear vinyl covering or bumper plate is on the list of dealer-installed accessories, we’d suggest you order one of them.
Same Pricing, Better Focus
The entry-level rear-wheel-drive QX56 costs $57,650, and a 4WD model starts at $60,750, a smidge higher than last year owing to an $85 hike on the destination charge. The QX is a deal compared with the Escalade, GL550, and Lexus GX460, and you’re getting more truck for your money than before. Yeah, the old QX56 was a little friskier, a little more fun to drive, and a little more capable. But this new one is more powerful, much more luxurious, and much more likely to cause a splash at the country club. Although huge V-8–powered, body-on-frame luxury SUVs aren’t exactly in step with the times, the 2011 QX56 is much more in step with its mission. Of course, we wish that included turning into a sweet robot with fists made of lasers. Maybe for the third generation?
05-28-10, 02:46 PM
#54
Guest
Posts: n/a
Okay this is the third time I've read it is the same engine in the M56 but internetz is telling me otherwise. Which one is it?
Even though the QX56 badge carries over, denoting a 5.6-liter engine underhood, the powerplant is new and direct injected. First appearing in the 2011 M56 sedan, this 5.6-liter V-8
05-28-10, 03:10 PM
#57
Lexus Test Driver
05-28-10, 03:13 PM
#58
Guest
Posts: n/a
Range Rover for me please.
05-28-10, 05:08 PM
#59
Lexus Test Driver
You need to be fat to drive this kind of car. I seriously don't see ANY type of appeal SUV offers. Especially when I see people from my college driving tahoes and expedition in their early 20s I simply don't know what to think. Probably uneducated people (car wise). Most of these amer made SUVs built very cheaply, they look ugly, drive like boat, have horrible mpg, no performance... list goes on and on. What's the deal here?
05-30-10, 08:32 PM
#60
Guest
Posts: n/a
2011 Infiniti QX56 First Drive
Kyushu Slugger
By Erin Riches, Senior Editor | Published May 25, 2010
Our 2011 Infiniti QX56 takes us to the Louisville Slugger factory. We order up 34 inches of Northern White Ash with a blacksmith finish and our name burned into the wood, just like Jeter's. It's the same size as the bat Babe Ruth used to hit his 714 home runs, but this isn't some modern reproduction of a historical artifact. Big-leaguers still swing wooden bats and the Hillerich & Bradsby Company still carves them from blanks in Louisville, Kentucky.
People still drive full-size SUVs, too. Of course, we talk about them like they're woolly mammoths — oversize, inefficient vehicles on the fast track to extinction. But tell that to your neighbor with three kids and the horse trailer.
He's one reason Infiniti is keeping the QX56 around for another generation. The fact that the QX has consistently pulled in 10 percent of Infiniti's sales since its 2004 introduction is another.
However, unlike our new Slugger or the QX56 Infiniti has been selling for six years, the 2011 Infiniti QX56 won't be built in the United States, but in Kyushu, Japan. It's based on the latest Nissan Patrol, a body-on-frame SUV the Kyushu plant has been building in one form or another since 1951.
You might think the change of venue would result in a vastly different vehicle. Yet, the 2011 Infiniti QX56 ends up remarkably similar in size, personality and even appearance. The automaker has even managed to price it within $650 of the 2010 model.
Still Has a V8
Under the hood is a 400-horsepower direct-injected version of Nissan's 5.6-liter V8 with variable valve timing and lift, which provides this old-fashioned stuff known as torque — 413 pound-feet at 4,000 rpm. It's enough to easily get our nearly 3-ton QX up to pace with the interstate herd.
Infiniti officials tell us the 2011 QX56 will be "slightly quicker" to get to 60 mph than last year's QX56, which had the non-D.I. 5.6-liter rated at 320 hp and 393 lb-ft. That translates to about 7 seconds flat, which is a few tenths quicker than the Cadillac Escalade (the QX's chief rival, according to Infiniti) but a few tenths slower than the Toyota Sequoia (its No. 2 rival).
The QX56's V8 has the most character of the three, though. You can feel the power build as engine speed climbs (peak horsepower occurs at 5,800 rpm), and the soundtrack grows in intensity without getting too loud. It's a lot like driving the 420-hp M56 sedan, in spite of the QX's lower horsepower rating and 1,800 extra pounds.
Infiniti's seven-speed automatic transmission replaces the old five-speed automatic this year. It's a major contributor to the 2011 Infiniti QX56's improved fuel economy. Infiniti expects both two-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive QX56s to earn a 14 city/20 highway mpg rating from the EPA, versus 12/18 and 12/17 for last year's trucks.
The proliferation of crossovers has suckered us into thinking that every 3-ton vehicle can handle like a Camry.
The transmission has a manual-shift mode and the familiar downshift rev-matching feature (barely detectable in the QX), and picks up a tow-haul mode. The claimed 8,500-pound tow rating dips slightly from last year's 8,900-pound limit, which probably won't faze your neighbor. He'll be fixated on the newly standard Around View Monitor perimeter camera system, which makes it easy to hook up his trailer and evade begonias through tight turns.
Off-roading is not popular among the 60 percent of Infiniti QX56 owners who choose 4WD, but the new truck still has low-range gearing in case you need it. However, don't look for the rear locking differential and deluxe multi-terrain system found on the Patrol.
Handles Like a Very Nice Truck
The proliferation of crossovers has suckered us into thinking that every 3-ton vehicle can handle like a Camry if only the chassis engineers are clever enough. But the 2011 Infiniti QX56 is very much a truck and doesn't try to hide it.
It's more refined than the original QX56, though. The steering is light and precise, with no fidgeting required to keep the 2011 QX straight and stable on the highway. It's also quiet in the cabin, thanks to all sorts of sound-deadening measures, including thicker windshield glass. This is quite a feat given the 22-inch wheels and tires that come with the Deluxe Touring package ($5,800) on our QX.
Ride quality, though, is only fair by luxury-SUV standards. Some blame has to go to those 22s, and even the standard 20-inch wheel-tire package doesn't offer much payoff in compliance. But we're also feeling the inevitable symptoms of truck-based construction every time the frame flexes and vibrates over expansion joints and potholes. A driver-adjustable adaptive damping system like the one on the Sequoia might help.
That's not to say the QX56's chassis is without sophistication, as it has an independent double-wishbone rear, load-leveling Nivomat shocks to keep it from dragging its butt under load and an optional system called Hydraulic Body Motion Control.
This passive system replaces the standard front and rear stabilizer bars with an arrangement of special hydraulic dampers and fluid accumulators. When you turn into a corner and weight transfers to the outside wheels, fluid is forced over to the outside to counteract body roll. A big antiroll bar would do the same thing, but this hydraulic system has an off-road advantage, in that it allows for extended wheel travel when you need it. If there's a sudden, sharp spike in hydraulic pressure caused by a single wheel dropping down into a rut on a 4x4 trail, the system will back off so that the wheel articulates properly over the obstacle. It's the same idea as Toyota's KDSS system, just with a different execution.
Of course, that's not on our minds as we explore Kentucky hill country in the 2011 Infiniti QX56. The big lug is pretty easy to gather up on narrow, two-lane roads, though, and the almost-firm brake pedal has a more linear response than we'd expected.
Quality Interior, but a Bit Less Room
By far, the most significant improvement in the 2011 Infiniti QX56 comes in the quality of the furnishings. The leather, vinyl and wood inlays in this SUV are as nice as anything Lexus or Mercedes-Benz is doing in this price range. Apart from a few chintzy buttons here and there, no apologies are needed on the luxury-ambience front.
However, the Infiniti QX56 has lost a couple inches in the transition to the Patrol platform architecture. Its 121.1-inch wheelbase is 2 inches shorter than before. We don't feel the difference up front, where the chairs are wide, well-shaped and supportive enough for days of driving and fast-food consumption.
But there's a bit less legroom in the second row; and the third row, once ample for adults, is now best-sized for children (though a new power-recline feature makes it bearable for 6-footers on short trips). Shoulder room has decreased, too, even though the 2011 QX56 has the same track and overall width as before.
In spite of these caveats, packing the QX56 full of kids is still a reasonable proposition in both the standard seven- and optional eight-passenger configuration. Infiniti has done its part to lure them by carving out a storage box for their Nintendo Wii in the second row. It turns out the take rate on the rear DVD package ($2,450), which has two screens in the 2011 QX, is 80 percent.
With all those kids jumping around, you won't be able to concentrate as well behind the wheel, leading you to check off the $2,850 Technology package, which has laser-based, all-speed adaptive cruise control, a blind-spot warning system and a lane-departure warning system, plus adaptive bi-xenon headlights.
Line-Drive Single
A fully equipped 4WD 2011 Infiniti QX56 will land you at $71,850, which is an awful lot of money, but a bit less than what you'd pay for an Escalade or a Mercedes-Benz GL450 (the QX's No. 3 rival).
It's also true that the 2011 QX56 doesn't do anything particularly exceptional. It's just a useful, luxurious, seven-passenger SUV that's tough enough to pull your trailer, powerful enough to get you down the freeway and refined enough to not annoy you with the body-on-frame stuff most of the time.
We don't all need this combination of utility, but Infiniti isn't swinging for the fences with 2011 Infiniti QX56 sales. A line-drive single will be enough. Even as he resists putting a number on annual volume, Ben Poore, vice president of Infiniti for North America, says, "We will have months when we sell 800 to 900."
Kyushu Slugger
By Erin Riches, Senior Editor | Published May 25, 2010
Our 2011 Infiniti QX56 takes us to the Louisville Slugger factory. We order up 34 inches of Northern White Ash with a blacksmith finish and our name burned into the wood, just like Jeter's. It's the same size as the bat Babe Ruth used to hit his 714 home runs, but this isn't some modern reproduction of a historical artifact. Big-leaguers still swing wooden bats and the Hillerich & Bradsby Company still carves them from blanks in Louisville, Kentucky.
People still drive full-size SUVs, too. Of course, we talk about them like they're woolly mammoths — oversize, inefficient vehicles on the fast track to extinction. But tell that to your neighbor with three kids and the horse trailer.
He's one reason Infiniti is keeping the QX56 around for another generation. The fact that the QX has consistently pulled in 10 percent of Infiniti's sales since its 2004 introduction is another.
However, unlike our new Slugger or the QX56 Infiniti has been selling for six years, the 2011 Infiniti QX56 won't be built in the United States, but in Kyushu, Japan. It's based on the latest Nissan Patrol, a body-on-frame SUV the Kyushu plant has been building in one form or another since 1951.
You might think the change of venue would result in a vastly different vehicle. Yet, the 2011 Infiniti QX56 ends up remarkably similar in size, personality and even appearance. The automaker has even managed to price it within $650 of the 2010 model.
Still Has a V8
Under the hood is a 400-horsepower direct-injected version of Nissan's 5.6-liter V8 with variable valve timing and lift, which provides this old-fashioned stuff known as torque — 413 pound-feet at 4,000 rpm. It's enough to easily get our nearly 3-ton QX up to pace with the interstate herd.
Infiniti officials tell us the 2011 QX56 will be "slightly quicker" to get to 60 mph than last year's QX56, which had the non-D.I. 5.6-liter rated at 320 hp and 393 lb-ft. That translates to about 7 seconds flat, which is a few tenths quicker than the Cadillac Escalade (the QX's chief rival, according to Infiniti) but a few tenths slower than the Toyota Sequoia (its No. 2 rival).
The QX56's V8 has the most character of the three, though. You can feel the power build as engine speed climbs (peak horsepower occurs at 5,800 rpm), and the soundtrack grows in intensity without getting too loud. It's a lot like driving the 420-hp M56 sedan, in spite of the QX's lower horsepower rating and 1,800 extra pounds.
Infiniti's seven-speed automatic transmission replaces the old five-speed automatic this year. It's a major contributor to the 2011 Infiniti QX56's improved fuel economy. Infiniti expects both two-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive QX56s to earn a 14 city/20 highway mpg rating from the EPA, versus 12/18 and 12/17 for last year's trucks.
The proliferation of crossovers has suckered us into thinking that every 3-ton vehicle can handle like a Camry.
The transmission has a manual-shift mode and the familiar downshift rev-matching feature (barely detectable in the QX), and picks up a tow-haul mode. The claimed 8,500-pound tow rating dips slightly from last year's 8,900-pound limit, which probably won't faze your neighbor. He'll be fixated on the newly standard Around View Monitor perimeter camera system, which makes it easy to hook up his trailer and evade begonias through tight turns.
Off-roading is not popular among the 60 percent of Infiniti QX56 owners who choose 4WD, but the new truck still has low-range gearing in case you need it. However, don't look for the rear locking differential and deluxe multi-terrain system found on the Patrol.
Handles Like a Very Nice Truck
The proliferation of crossovers has suckered us into thinking that every 3-ton vehicle can handle like a Camry if only the chassis engineers are clever enough. But the 2011 Infiniti QX56 is very much a truck and doesn't try to hide it.
It's more refined than the original QX56, though. The steering is light and precise, with no fidgeting required to keep the 2011 QX straight and stable on the highway. It's also quiet in the cabin, thanks to all sorts of sound-deadening measures, including thicker windshield glass. This is quite a feat given the 22-inch wheels and tires that come with the Deluxe Touring package ($5,800) on our QX.
Ride quality, though, is only fair by luxury-SUV standards. Some blame has to go to those 22s, and even the standard 20-inch wheel-tire package doesn't offer much payoff in compliance. But we're also feeling the inevitable symptoms of truck-based construction every time the frame flexes and vibrates over expansion joints and potholes. A driver-adjustable adaptive damping system like the one on the Sequoia might help.
That's not to say the QX56's chassis is without sophistication, as it has an independent double-wishbone rear, load-leveling Nivomat shocks to keep it from dragging its butt under load and an optional system called Hydraulic Body Motion Control.
This passive system replaces the standard front and rear stabilizer bars with an arrangement of special hydraulic dampers and fluid accumulators. When you turn into a corner and weight transfers to the outside wheels, fluid is forced over to the outside to counteract body roll. A big antiroll bar would do the same thing, but this hydraulic system has an off-road advantage, in that it allows for extended wheel travel when you need it. If there's a sudden, sharp spike in hydraulic pressure caused by a single wheel dropping down into a rut on a 4x4 trail, the system will back off so that the wheel articulates properly over the obstacle. It's the same idea as Toyota's KDSS system, just with a different execution.
Of course, that's not on our minds as we explore Kentucky hill country in the 2011 Infiniti QX56. The big lug is pretty easy to gather up on narrow, two-lane roads, though, and the almost-firm brake pedal has a more linear response than we'd expected.
Quality Interior, but a Bit Less Room
By far, the most significant improvement in the 2011 Infiniti QX56 comes in the quality of the furnishings. The leather, vinyl and wood inlays in this SUV are as nice as anything Lexus or Mercedes-Benz is doing in this price range. Apart from a few chintzy buttons here and there, no apologies are needed on the luxury-ambience front.
However, the Infiniti QX56 has lost a couple inches in the transition to the Patrol platform architecture. Its 121.1-inch wheelbase is 2 inches shorter than before. We don't feel the difference up front, where the chairs are wide, well-shaped and supportive enough for days of driving and fast-food consumption.
But there's a bit less legroom in the second row; and the third row, once ample for adults, is now best-sized for children (though a new power-recline feature makes it bearable for 6-footers on short trips). Shoulder room has decreased, too, even though the 2011 QX56 has the same track and overall width as before.
In spite of these caveats, packing the QX56 full of kids is still a reasonable proposition in both the standard seven- and optional eight-passenger configuration. Infiniti has done its part to lure them by carving out a storage box for their Nintendo Wii in the second row. It turns out the take rate on the rear DVD package ($2,450), which has two screens in the 2011 QX, is 80 percent.
With all those kids jumping around, you won't be able to concentrate as well behind the wheel, leading you to check off the $2,850 Technology package, which has laser-based, all-speed adaptive cruise control, a blind-spot warning system and a lane-departure warning system, plus adaptive bi-xenon headlights.
Line-Drive Single
A fully equipped 4WD 2011 Infiniti QX56 will land you at $71,850, which is an awful lot of money, but a bit less than what you'd pay for an Escalade or a Mercedes-Benz GL450 (the QX's No. 3 rival).
It's also true that the 2011 QX56 doesn't do anything particularly exceptional. It's just a useful, luxurious, seven-passenger SUV that's tough enough to pull your trailer, powerful enough to get you down the freeway and refined enough to not annoy you with the body-on-frame stuff most of the time.
We don't all need this combination of utility, but Infiniti isn't swinging for the fences with 2011 Infiniti QX56 sales. A line-drive single will be enough. Even as he resists putting a number on annual volume, Ben Poore, vice president of Infiniti for North America, says, "We will have months when we sell 800 to 900."