2023 Infiniti QX55 brings a sports car experience to the compact SUV

Published 8:33 am Monday, September 18, 2023

In the premium crossover SUV market, it’s sometimes hard to tell one brand from another. That’s really not a problem with Infiniti, however. Every Infiniti product is gifted with sports car DNA from its parent company, Nissan, and the engineers and designers never try to hide it. That makes every Infiniti a standout on the street as well as an engaging driver’s machine, and at the same time a technology showcase.

The compact Infiniti QX55 crossover is in its second year on the market, and it’s already a favorite. That was easy to predict because the QX55 harks back to one of the original crossovers: the groundbreaking Infiniti FX that pioneered the round-back coupe-profile in SUVs 20 years ago. But while the QX55 has a great ancestor, this SUV is also notable for the modern technology it brings to the market.

The round-back design is important, because it’s different from the boxy rear end on most SUVs. As a rule, I don’t like coupe profile SUVs because most of them take the Utility out of the Sport Utility Vehicle. Too often, coupe profile SUVs sacrifice rear seat space and cargo space, but that’s not the case with the QX55. There’s plenty of space and it still looks great.

Under the hood, you’ll find that the QX55 uses a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine rated at 268 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque. The engine is notable because it’s got variable compression technology. This allows the engine control computer to vary the stroke of the pistons between 8:1 and 14:1 compression. You won’t notice that happening because the engine delivers plenty of power at all times, and it drives smoothly using a continuously variable transmission. All-wheel drive is standard as well.

The real news on the QX55 is its driver assistance tech. Infiniti includes ProPILOT Assist, which is one of the best steering assistance packages on the market. You also get adaptive cruise, parking sensors, traffic sign recognition, plus a full suite of collision avoidance and mitigation features.

I want to call attention to Infiniti’s Around View camera system. Not only do you get the bird’s eye view and reversing camera, you can switch the view to a forward-looking angle from the passenger side mirror, giving you a perfect view of the right-front wheel and corner. You can also switch to a forward bumper view to eliminate the blind spot in front of the grille. Top marks to the Infiniti team for those extra camera views.

The interior tech story is peculiar to Infiniti. The company is still using an idiosyncratic twin screen setup with an 8-inch screen on top and a 7-inch screen down lower on the stack. At a time when 11-inch, 12-inch, and larger screens are coming on economy cars, this feels like a throwback. That being said, the infotainment system works well, and the 16-speaker Bose Audio system will do the job nicely. The only thing missing on the Essential trim is a wireless charging pad.

On the road, the QX55 is very pleasant to drive. You can put 200 miles on the QX55 in a day and not feel like you spent too much time in the vehicle. The noise canceling tech that Infiniti puts in every QX55 does a great job of making the cabin a pleasant place to be. As with any Infiniti, steering is precise and the brakes are more than adequate – just ask the guy who pulled out from a sideroad right in front of me on US 101. On the whole, there’s nothing but good to report about driving the QX55.

If you’re shopping for a new SUV, the 2023 Infiniti QX55 comes in three trims — the base Luxe trim, mid-grade Essential, and the top Sensory trim. Apart from the lack of a wireless charger, I thought the Essential trim was a pretty good package. But the base price on the Luxe trim is $49,150, or $54,250 for Essential, and $57,800 for Sensory. With such a short trim walk, why not go for the gold and get the Sensory trim?

2023 Infiniti QX55 Essential

Base price: $49,150

Price as tested: $56,580

Type: Compact crossover SUV

Engine: 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder (268 hp, 280 lbs-ft)

Transmission: Continuously Variable Transmission

EPA estimated mileage: 22/28

Overall length: 186.3 inches

Curb weight: 4,109 pounds

Final assembly: Aguas, Mexico