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| The 2020 Infiniti QX50 Autograph AWD. |
In fact, were you to swap the Infiniti badges for Alfa or even Maserati, I doubt many people would question it.
And inside, the emphasis on style continues---a blend of shapes, textures, patterns and materials that looks special and makes the driver feel special.
Fears of Italian upkeep costs vanish when you open the hood, though. It's a two-liter turbocharged four-cylinder---making 268 horsepower with 280 pounds per foot of torque. It's called a VC-Turbo---the "VC" standing for "variable compression"---high compression when cruising, low compression under acceleration.
Zero to 60 takes about 6.6 seconds, which is not blindingly fast, but solidly quick.
If there's a downside, it's that the engine can be a bit noisy under acceleration, and the continuously variable transmission (CVT) in the QX50 tends to emphasize rather than minimize the noise.
The EPA fuel economy estimate is 22 city/28 highway, which is solid for the class.
Driving dynamics are, as typical of Inifinitis, a strong point---these are usually among the best-handling cars of their class. Ride, however, seemed choppy unless there was some weight in the car. I had to transport some family items in boxes from a cousin's house to ours while I had the QX50, and found that the car felt just right with an extra 400 pounds on board. So, carpool. Take friends to lunch.
Autograph is the top trim level of the QX50, and our tester was the all-wheel drive version of that. Base price is $55,850, but that brings with it an exhaustive list of standard features:
- 20-inch dark painted wheels
- All season run-flat tires
- Electronic parking brake
- Direct adaptive steering
- LED signature daytime running lights
- Auto on/off cube design LED headlights
- LED front fog lights
- Front door handle LED welcome lights
- Panoramic moonroof with power sunshade
- Roof rails
- Motion activated liftgate
- Rain-sensing front wipers
- Heated outside mirrors
- Reverse tilt-down outside mirrors
- Intelligent key with pushbutton ignition
- Remote engine start
- Head-up display
- Enhanced interior ambient lighting
- Natural maple wood interior trim accents
- Ultrasuede headliner
- Auto-dimming inside mirror
- HomeLink universal transciever
- Power tilt and telescoping steering column
- Heated steering wheel
- Paddle shifters
- Climate controlled front seats
- Semi-aniline leather-appointed seating
- Ten-way adjustable front seats including two-way power lumbar
- Memory driver seat, mirrors and steering wheel
- Rear seat recline, slide and fold-flat function
- Rear passenger window sunshades
- Easy fill tire alert
- ProPILOT Assist (steering assist and intelligent cruise control with full speed range, stop and hold)
- Distance control assist
- Front and rear parking sensors
- Traffic sign recognition
- Adaptive front lighting system
- Hill start assist
- Active trace control
- InTouch dual display infotainment system
- Navigation with MapCare and Premium Traffic +
- Automatic collision notification and Emergency Call +
- Bose 16-speaker Performance Series audio system
- SiriusXM Radio, Traffic and Travel Link +
- HDRadio
- Apple CarPlay
- Android Auto
- Siri Eyes Free
- Wi-Fi hotspot
- Bluetooth
- Voice recognition
- Active noise cancellation
- Predictive forward collision warning
- Forward emergency braking with pedestrian detection
- Around View monitor with moving object detection
- High beam assist
- Lane departure warning
- Lane departure prevention
- Blind spot warning
- Blind spot intervention
- Rear automatic braking
- Rear cross-traffic alert
- Traction control
- Vehicle dynamic control
- Electronic brake force distribution
Our tester also had some extra-cost options:
- Premium White Leather Package (White semi-aniline leather-appointed seating with quilting stitch, blue ultrasuede accents and piping and brown ultrasuede headliner): $2,000
- Welcome lighting: $425
- Illuminated kick plates: $485
- Cargo Package (Reversible cargo area protector, cargo blocks, console net and cargo net) $285
With $1,025 destination charges, the bottom line on the window sticker reads $60,070. That puts it squarely in the same pricepoint as arch-rival Lexus' RX350, and that makes it a solid alternative.
