Introduction

The Infiniti QX70, last redesigned for 2009, is a rear-wheel-drive wagon with a racy roofline and muscular hunchback that holds a bit more than the trunk of a sedan. All-wheel drive is available. 

QX70 is known for its sharp handling, a driver's crossover built on the platform of the since-replaced G37 sports sedan (and Nissan Z sports car). The first-generation was one of the first vehicles to cross over from car to SUV. It still looks distinctive, if for no other reason than today there are few of them on the road. Now seven years old, it's a dated product. 

The QX70 engine has evolved from an early V8 to Infiniti's tried-and-true 3.7-liter V6, but not yet to its latest and smoother V6 that's in other models. The engine in the 2017 QX70 makes 325 horsepower and is torquey, mated to a 7-speed automatic transmission with sport mode and rev-matching downshifts, better than a CVT and many 9-speeds. 

For 2017, a new Limited Package is available with special exterior and interior trim. 

All-wheel-drive is available, improving capability for winter climates and for driving in mud and sand, but the QX70 is not offroad rugged. 

It gets an EPA-rated 17/24/19 miles per gallon City/Highway/Combined with rear-wheel drive; with all-wheel drive it's one less mpg. 

Model Lineup

The Infiniti QX70 comes with a high level of standard equipment, and most of the cars in showrooms will come with the Premium package adding navigation, surround-view camera, and a few other things. The Sport and Limited packages include 21-inch wheels, and bring a more aggressive or premium look to the exterior and interior. 

A Technology package adds adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, and lane departure warning. The Infiniti QX60 is a front-wheel-drive luxury crossover that seats seven. Competitors include the Acura MDX, Volvo XC90, and Audi Q7. 

The current-generation model was launched as a 2013 and was called the JX, then renamed QX60 for 2014 as part of an Infiniti nomenclature overhaul. Styling was freshened and suspension stiffened for model year 2016. 

The 2017 Infiniti QX60 brings more power, and a standard 8.0-inch touchscreen with Bluetooth and streaming audio, although the infotainment system remains a weak point. 

The 3.5-liter V6 in the 2017 QX60 makes 295 horsepower and 270 pound-feet of torque, a significant increase from 2016. The aging engine now has high-tech direct injection. It's mated to a continuously variable transmission that's not great. 

We find the Infiniti's look and feel equal to the Acura but below the Volvo and Audi whose designs are more imaginative. All-wheel drive is available, as is a Hybrid model, but that's a low-volume vehicle that most dealers don't stock, and has to be ordered. 

Inside, the QX60 is spacious and stylish. We think the interior looks too much like the much cheaper Nissan Pathfinder, whose platform it shares, but the interior trim is of a higher level. Its aura is upscale, but it doesn't match the feel of a Mercedes-Benz or BMW, although those vehicles do cost more. And the QX60 doesn't deliver the driving polish we think it should. 

The QX60 earns the Top Safety Pick+ rating from the IIHS, but that's only if it's equipped with the expensive packages that include all the safety systems such as automatic emergency braking. The 2017 QX60 is EPA rated at 21/27/23 miles per gallon City/Highway/Combined. The QX60 Hybrid gets 26/28/26 mpg. 

Lineup

The QX70 is the oldest design in Infiniti's lineup, but its sinewy sheetmetal gives the impression of careful craftsmanship. It makes rivals like the Mercedes GLE and BMW X6 look like sedans with altered rooflines, which is about what they are. Infiniti QX60 comes in standard and Hybrid versions. Option packages include Premium, which adds a Bose 13-speaker sound system, power lumbar support, heated steering wheel, remote starting, and roofrails. Premium Plus adds navigation, surround-view cameras, and Infiniti Connection telematics. 

Walkaround

In the cabin, being a driver's car, the dramatic details of the QX70 surpass those of family crossovers. It's warm and inviting, the soft leather quilted with tasteful tinted stitching, and the rich wood embedded with flakes of aluminum, with the Limited package. Other interior options are piano black lacquer or old-world wood. The overall fit and finish is well above average. 

The twin-cowl instrument panel is less elegant, with many buttons, which we'll take for their efficiency over touchscreen menus any day. The QX70 doesn't use Infiniti's latest infotainment system. 

The firm front seats are delightful, with broad adjustability and enveloping support for the driver and passenger. Long hours in the saddle will be enjoyable. The seat height is somewhere between a sedan and an SUV (like the rest of the car), a satisfying balance between forward visibility and ease of entrance. 

Too bad the rear is so squeezed, with acceptable headroom and legroom limited to passengers no taller than about five-foot-seven. And the racy roofline requires dipping your head to climb in back. 

Cargo space is slim, too, good only for a couple of roll-on bags. It's the nature of the design, with the roofline and high floor. You'll find yourself folding the rear seats a lot. The power liftgate is convenient, though. 

The cabin isn't so quiet. The road rumbles and the engine growls, perpetually. The QX60 doesn't look as big as it is. It's relatively sleek and nicely detailed, tastefully modern, a successful adaptation of sedan styling cues to a big crossover. It has a long hood and tapering roofline that makes it look softer than slab-sided SUVs like the Acura MDX. Its profile is distinct from the Nissan Pathfinder on which it's based. 

The front end leads with a large, puckered chrome grille, while the fenders swell gently into the body. The rear pillar features Infiniti's signature crescent shape that adds distinction to the brand. 

Interior

Just as the old G37 sports sedan handled so well, so still does the QX70, even if it does pay the price with a firm ride that some crossover buyers might not want to pay. And it gets stiffer with the available 20-inch wheels, or 21-inch wheels in the Sport and Limited packages, to the point of sometimes feeling harsh and choppy. The standard wheels and tires offer a more comfortable ride. 

But if cornering is your priority, the QX70 is your game, as it's one of the best-handling crossovers available. Despite weighing 4200 pounds, it feels fairly light on its feet. It loves canyon roads, where it's poised and confident. We can't think of any other crossovers that we can say that about. 

The 325-horsepower, 3.7-liter V6 accelerates briskly from any rpm point, and the 7-speed automatic shifts quickly and smoothly. The transmission has a sport mode and downshifts are rev-matched. It's fun to work the magnesium paddle shifters on the Sport model. 

The all-wheel drive adds about 200 pounds that makes the QX70 feel less agile. It comes with all-season tires that take some grip out of cornering, and still might not be grippy enough for heavy snow. All-season tires are always a compromise, often a good one but still a compromise. Not the best in summer, not the best in winter, but you can get by with just one set. Inside, the Infiniti QX60 feels mostly luxurious. The QX60 cabin may be too much like the Pathfinder, for us, but the interior quality is noticeably higher. The dashboard, door panels, and seats are rich but restrained, with contrast stitching on the leather. The two-tone treatments keep the roomy interior light and airy. Base trim is matte silver, while wood comes only with the way expensive Deluxe Technology Package. The analog clock is a signature that's past its time. 

The infotainment display is crisp and clear, but the system is flawed. The menus are convoluted, and the mix of dials, knobs, commands and controller demands learning and sometimes defies understanding. We ended up learning a couple and avoiding the rest. 

The layout of the seats is family friendly, with a 60/40 split second row that folds, tilts, collapses, and allows child seats to stay in place during access to the 50/50 split third row. It's a flexibility you don't find in many seven-seaters. 

The front and rear seats are comfortable for adults, although bolstering in the front light. The third row is just for kids, even though it's easy to reach. The cushion is low and the padding is thin. 

The QX60 Hybrid's compact lithium-ion battery pack is stashed under the third row, so it doesn't cut cargo space, nor does it prevent the third row from folding flat. 

The doors open wide and the step-in height is relatively low, so it's easy to climb in and out of the QX60. The rear seat slides to and fro 5.5 inches, affording good legroom. Front-seat cooling is available, but the hardware under the seats gets in the way of rear passengers' feet; skip it if you want more rear-seat comfort. 

With both rows folded flat, there's a sizeable 76.5 cubic feet of cargo space, and with both rows up, there's still 15.8 cubic feet in back. That's more than the trunk of many midsize cars. 

There's a good amount of sound insulation, so it's pleasantly quiet inside, also because the CVT keeps engine speeds low for fuel efficiency. However, it gets louder under acceleration. 

Driving Impression

If you're a driving enthusiast and it's a wagon you want, the QX70 is about as close as you can come to a thoroughbred. You'll love your time in the twisties. But be prepared for a firm ride, and be willing to squeeze your backseat passengers, and to settle for a V6 that isn't Infiniti's latest. 

Sam Moses contributed to this report. When the shocks and springs were stiffened for 2016, the idea was to improve the dynamics and make the QX60 more agile, but now the ride is too firm for a luxury crossover. Meanwhile the roadholding remains just adequate, with notable lean in the turns and understeer when it's driven hard in corners. Of course, it wasn't exactly designed to be driven like that, but it was upgraded to be more capable of it. The electric power steering, employed to improve fuel economy, isn't crisp and doesn't transmit much road feel. 

The 2016 CVT transmission is sub par; it does the car few favors in the refinement department. There are four modes: Eco, Standard, Sport, and Snow. In Eco, the pedal feel is lame, and pushes back, so it's only satisfactory on long, flat stretches of road, where you might save some fuel. Sport mode makes the CVT behave like a conventional 6-speed automatic, while in any other mode it drones under hard acceleration. 

The hard-to-get QX60 Hybrid uses a supercharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine, paired with a 15-kilowatt electric motor with clutches on each side, and attached to an adapted version of the CVT. It makes a combined gas/electric 250 horsepower. Unlike hybrids from Toyota, Ford, and others, it can't pull out on just electric power. It gains about 4 miles per gallon, for about $10,000 more. 

Both powertrains are available with all-wheel drive. The system sends its power to the front wheels until they slip, then up to 50 percent can go to the rear. It's for winter traction, not off-roading. 

The V6 is rated to tow up to 3500 pounds. Infiniti says that maybe 20 percent of QX60 buyers might tow. 

Summary

“”. Infiniti QX60 offers seven-passenger seating in a near-luxury crossover SUV, but it doesn't offer any compelling advantages over the many vehicles that compete with it. Special pricing and deals may make it more attractive. 

Sam Moses contributed to this report.