Test drive: 2022 Infiniti QX60
The Infiniti QX60 is the brand's best-selling model and back for 2022 after technically taking a break from the lineup last year and Fox News Autos Editor Gary Gastelu says the rest paid off.
The Infiniti QX60 technically took a break for the 2021 model year, but the 2022 edition remained on sale as the brand’s most popular model while a reboot was readied.
The 2022 INFINITI QX60 is an all-new three-row SUV. (Infiniti)
The 2022 QX60 is now poised to fill showrooms with the first all-new version of the three-row SUV since it first went on sale in 2012 and the break did it plenty of good.
Like the original, it’s still based on the Nissan Pathfinder, which was also redesigned for 2022. That makes it a front-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive vehicle powered by a 3.5-liter V6 rated at 295 hp, which is 11 hp more than the Pathfinder gets.
The 2022 INFINITI QX60 powered by a 295-horsepower 3.5-liter V-6. (Infiniti )
A 9-speed automatic transmission replaces the sluggish, unloved continuously variable transmission of the outgoing model in an effort to make it more appealing to drive. Combined fuel economy remains the same at 22 mpg with all-wheel-drive, but improves by 1 mpg to 23 mpg in front-wheel-drive models.
Prices start at $47,875 and run through four trim levels to the $64,275 top of the line Autograph, pitting it against the likes of the similar Cadillac XT6 and Acura MDX.
(Infiniti)
The maximum trailer capacity increases from 5,000 pounds to 6,000 pounds with an optional towing package offered on the mid-level Sensory trim, while the others are rated at 3,500 pounds.
(Infiniti)
The QX60’s interior features a new style for the brand with lots of stitched materials, soft-touch surfaces, open pore wood, a digital instrument cluster and widescreen infotainment system. Infiniti’s "zero-gravity" front seats with NASA-inspired cushioning are standard and available with a massaging function the astronauts have to live without.
The second-row seats can be tilted and flipped forward for access to the third row, even with a child seat installed. (Infiniti)
Unlike the Pathfinder, which is offered with up to eight seats, the various QX60s have room for either seven or six, the latter setup featuring second row captain’s chairs with a removable center console between them. The second row seats are designed to be tipped and slid forward at the press of a button, even with a child seat installed, for access to the third row, which is one of the most spacious in the class and suitable for tall adults.
The QX60 may not be sporty enough to entice people away from the more performance-oriented three-row models, but it handles better than the model it replaces an is exceptionally quiet and very smooth for a vehicle that doesn’t have a computer controlled suspension system. This is true on both pavement and pockmarked gravel roads.
(Infiniti)
Infiniti’s latest driver aid technology is all accounted for, including a version of the ProPILOT Assist lane-centering adaptive cruise control that can either automatically adjust the speed to the prevailing limit, which can be a little jarring, or set to remind you to do that yourself.
ProPILOT Assist offers lane-centering cruise control. (Infiniti)
The infotainment system is equipped with wireless Apple CarPlay smartphone integration, while devices with Android Auto need to be connected via a USB cable. A terrific 17-speaker Bose audio system takes advantage of the hushed stage provided by the well-insulated cabin.
The QX60 is a big step up for the model in every way that should appeal to current QX60 owners looking to flip into a new vehicle and its new, more muscular styling helps make it look very new indeed.
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That said, as the only Infiniti crossover that shares a platform with a Nissan, it may have to first lure customers away from the Pathfinder, which offers nearly the same package of amenities and is well dressed in its top Platinum trim, while a loaded Kia Telluride is another compelling alternative you can get for price of an entry-level QX60.
Of course, if you buy one of those, you’ll have to remember to budget for trips to the massage parlor, because they can't give you one.
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2022 Infiniti QX60
Base price: $47,875
As tested: $$64,520
Type: 3-row, 6-passenger, all-wheel-drive SUV
Engine: 3.5-liter V6
Power: 295 hp, 270 lb-ft
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
MPG: 20 city/25 hwy