New Car Review: 2012 Infiniti QX56

The 2012 Infiniti QX56.



You are looking at a thing of beauty.

It's just behind that hulking SUV.

It's the Eastern High Sierra of California, where I was fortunate enough to grow up between the ages of 9 and 18. Some of those mountain peaks top 14,000 feet...especially dramatic since the Owens Valley floor is only about 4,000.

I have fond memories.

Now, about the hulking SUV.

It is the Infiniti QX56. It spent years as simply a gussied-up version of the Nissan Armada but has, in its latest iteration taken things well beyond that. It's as though Infiniti got caught in a time warp and decided an '02 Lincoln Navigator was its benchmark.



Infiniti QX56 Review

The folly of the "bigger is better" mantra as regards SUVs gets laid on Detroit's doorstep, but it's worth remembering that the Japanese drank that particular batch of Kool-Aid, too (save Honda).

The Infiniti QX56 is a whopper...built on the platform for the Nissan Titan pickup and Armada SUV. In fact, the QX56 is really just an upscale Armada.

So what is it besides huge? Well, fairly powerful (320 horsepower from a 5.6 liter
V8), well-equipped (20-inch wheels, power and heated everything, Bluetooth, a 12-speaker Bose audio system with hard drive and flash drive slot) and thirsty...at an EPA estimated 12 city/17 highway miles per gallon (see "fairly powerful" for the reason why.

As is, the QX56 starts at $58,150, but Nissan's test fleet folks ordered this one up with a Technology Package (Intelligent Cruise Control and Front Sonar) and the Infiniti Mobile Entertainment System (a DVD player for the folks in back). That, with delivery, brings the price up to $6,185.

I can't sit here and bag on any one part of the QX56. Infiniti succeeded in building the vehicle they wanted to build. But times have changed...and anything that feels bigger and more ostentatious than either an Escalade or Navigator is likely to be a tough sell for the forseeable future.