Overview: Infiniti’s QX60 was introduced in 2013 as the JX series, undergoing a name change to its current moniker one year later as part of a broader naming strategy imposed upon the brand’s entire lineup. A three-row crossover based on the Nissan Pathfinder, the QX60 technically still offers a hybrid variant but for all intents and purposes comes with a single powerplant: a 265-hp 3.5-liter V-6 driving either the front or all four wheels.
What’s New: We tested a 2013 JX35 with the same engine way back in 2012, but this is our first experience with the engine as backed by “QX60” badges. As you’d expect, little about the driving experience has changed. The only tweaks to the QX60 concern the shuffling of its option packages and features lists.
What We Like: The QX60 is fairly quick, and the suspension coddles up to seven passengers with a supremely soft ride. The interior is well-packaged, too, with a neat forward-sliding second row that allows easy access to the third-row seats through the wide rear doors. If you’re not seeking any sportiness from your luxury crossover, the QX60 obliges nicely with its isolated driving experience. The V-6 is smooth and feels powerful—it motivated the nearly identical JX35 we tested in 2012 from zero to 60 mph in 7.8 seconds, and we’d expect the current model to fare similarly. Yes, the engine is backed by a CVT, but that only serves to turn up the buttery smoothness of the driveline. In fact, the word “smooth” nicely sums up everything about the QX60—right down to the hard plastic on top of the dashboard.
What We Don’t Like: Uh oh, hard plastic—in a luxury crossover that starts at $43,395 and can approach $60K with options? If the QX60 has failings beyond its old-school-Buick driving experience, it’s that the quality of its interior isn’t enough of a cut above the similar Nissan Pathfinder. The cheesy elements are tucked into corners of the QX60, where occupants’ hands are unlikely to ever make contact with them, but they’re still there. You’d be hard-pressed to find such materials in well-finished creations such as the Volvo XC90 or the Audi Q7. And while the QX60’s roots don’t extend too far back—the JX, remember, debuted for 2013—its dashboard display appears light-years behind those of the competition, with a fiddly menu structure, dated graphics, and a color palette that make the navigation map hard to read.
Verdict: The luxury three-row crossover to buy if you like being really comfy and don’t want to spend Cadillac Escalade money.
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