Rooting for the 2025 Infiniti QX80 isn’t enough

What does it take to stand out in the automotive market space in 2025? The companies with momentum needn’t worry – they have a full portfolio to rely on should a single model fail to sell. But then there are brands like Infiniti. One (more) wrong move, and it could be over. So this 2025 Infiniti QX80 Autograph is really important for them.

I’m rooting hard in this review. Let’s do it, QX.

The 2025 Infiniti QX80 Overview

Nissan, and by extension Infiniti, will always hold a special place in my heart, and I asked for this specific 2025 Infiniti QX80 on purpose – it’s their newest and most luxurious model. I was hoping they’d finally started to find an identity.

Brought home from the hospital in a Nissan Maxima (I’d later punt another Maxima onto my neighbor’s lawn, don’t ask). Learned to drive on an Altima. First brand new car, Z. Mom had an FX35 SUV, and I had a G37. Credentials check out.

But it’s been about 15 years or so since Infiniti has had a hit. The FX and G are long gone. They were damn good too.

Since then, it’s been pretty uninspiring. I saw this latest QX80 at the New York Auto Show last year, and from sitting inside, it left a nice impression. Upscale even. Could they finally be putting some effort into the design? Tons of stuff here too, from an air suspension to an umbrella holder ($355 please). There’s no V-8, but a twin-turbo V-6 with 516 lb-ft of torque is on standby.

The as-tested price: $114,170. We’ll circle back to that after you’ve caught your breath, because I want you to keep an open mind about this car.

Performance Score: 5. Shoot your shot

I do wish Infiniti would take some kind of risk. Totally futuristic displays and styling. Gigantic motors. 30-inch wheels. Something.

The QX80 doesn’t have anything like that. Instead, it becomes a “I have that, too!” SUV. You’ll see.

Engine

The last generation QX had a 5.6-liter V-8 with 400 horsepower, but Infiniti ditched it for a 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged V-6.

Despite it being “tiny” in comparison, the turbo six make more power – 450, and way more torque, a hundred lb-ft more. In short, it works. You don’t need to rev the engine much to get up to speed (nor does it encourage you to), but there’s plenty of power here to move this 5,800-pound beast.

Yet other auto makers in this space offer the option of a V-8 (or a smoother inline-six), and since we’re getting up there in price, I think it’s fair to say the Infiniti’s engine isn’t quite as refined. Acceleration should be effortless, seamless – like you’re riding a wave.

This VR35DDTT engine (somewhat related to the GT-R’s) has a hushed voice that only comes out when pushed hard, but those familiar with Nissan will recognize the sound. It’s an overall fine experience, but not one that necessarily stands out in any way.

Transmission

Every QX gets a nine-speed automatic transmission, and it pretty much goes about its business as you would expect. Downshifts are crisp, though asking it to punch down multiple gears causes a bit of a delay.

I never got used to the buttons on the lower dash – they make you look down when selecting reverse or drive, and they give 80’s Nintendo button vibes when you push them. Forgive me for dating myself, but the button sinks in, then goes flush – doesn’t feel like fine machinery the way an Audi would.

Our top-of-the Autograph model is equipped with all-wheel drive as standard, but lesser QX can be had with rear-wheel if you like. It was brutally cold and icy the week I had the Infiniti, and it plowed through the weather with aplomb.

Steering and Chassis

By now, a majority of SUVs are built on a monocoque chassis – the frame and shell are one piece and share responsibility for structural rigidity. But once we get up to the heavyweight class, where you might want more room and towing capacity, the body-on-frame method can still be found underneath trucks like the QX80.

Body-on-frame designs usually aren’t as rigid, and driving over rough road in the QX causes a few clangs and rattles that reminded me of an early 2000s Pathfinder. Not bad, but it’s there. The Autograph model gets an air suspension that helps keep the ride under control, but the QX squats, dives, and is reluctant to change direction. Never a handful, but as you’ll see in a few weeks, a GMC Yukon can manage to feel maneuverable and capable.

The steering feel isn’t much help – the wheel is heavy to turn, and the rack isn’t very quick or direct. Feels better off-road, but how often you take your $114k Infiniti in the mud vs to the mall is a question only you can answer.

Brakes

13.8-inch discs all around (square set-up is interesting) produce respectable stopping distance, but the pedal is soft and squishy. Again missing that precise feeling here, the brakes are fine (no butt-puckering), but unremarkable.

I don’t expect a three-row SUV based on a truck to be something that calls my name from the garage on a Sunday morning, but Infiniti really needed to nail down the QX’s dynamics.

Lifestyle Score: 8. Q-SeX

This is hard to type. Really hard. But if you truly need three rows – you know, weak pull-out game or whatever, than maybe a three-row SUV isn’t for you. Maybe a minivan is. I know, I know, but you really want big side doors and captain’s chairs in the second row.

Yet the QX does a pretty good job emulating that retched transport. You do get captain’s chairs in the second row, and they offer plenty of space. I do wish they had some side-bolstering to hold you in place better – my offspring was not prepared for sudden G maneuvers.

The back row is a bit hard to get to, and only suitable for small kids. If you need that row, you lose most of the trunk (I couldn’t figure out how the shelf was put in either). If you drive around with the third row folded down most of the time, why are you fooling yourself?

Up front, it’s a nice place to be. These seats do have bolsters, and are long-haul comfy. Say what you want about growing old, but I do get tired of cramming myself into a sedan sometimes.

Fuel Economy: 4. Better than nothing

When Infiniti ditched the V-8 for the six, the QX gained two miles per gallon – from 16 to 18 MPG combined.

I never saw 18 for a variety of reasons like idling during the shoot (it was ten degrees by the water), but I doubt the regular consumer would do much better. Remember they did try – the six is more powerful, with horses and torque available at lower revs than the old engine. Still have to get up to 3,600 RPM for all that tug to come on line though, so some revving is required.

Features and Comfort: 7. To Infiniti and beyond

This is the Autograph – the top of the line, so it includes all the goodies. But you can get a QX for some $30k less, so let’s see what the Autograph has that makes it so special.

Sign here

Well there’s verything you expect, and Infiniti says they’ve taken inspiration from the “organic shape of a bamboo forest” in the QX. I won’t make fun – it works, and feels like it adds an Asian flair to an otherwise muted design.

We have 64 shades of ambient lighting (I do wish it were brighter), Alcantara headliner, and biometric cooling, which I found worked very well. Good thing too, because the HVAC controls very hard to use. You might think it’s a touchscreen, but you must touch and then push down on the screen. You’ll hear a click, like a mouse. I found myself looking down way to much at all this.

The center console cools your drinks, a Klipsch stereo sounds great, and there’s even speakers in the head rest so that when you take a call in a car full of people, the voice stays close to you. Judge for yourself the Burgundy leather over black two-tone, but I liked it very much.

Sign here, indeed.

Bamboo boom

That Bamboo theme carries through to the front grille. Yes, it’s gigantic, but so is everyone else’s, and no one will mistake you for being in a Mercedes.

The car is imposing throughout, with 22-inch wheels, black chrome trim (with black roof), and squinty headlights that look like a Samurai’s angry gaze. The $900 Radiant White paint is really pretty – it glows in these photos, and that’s not a Photoshop enhancement. Best white ever?

The one thing I did not like would be the automatic door handles. They appear as you approach, but they can sometimes be confused, and then you stand there pressing the key fob like a mad man while it’s ten degrees outside.

Other large SUVs to consider

• Toyota Land Cruiser
• Rivian R1S
• Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat
• Land Rover Range Rover
• Cadillac Escalade V

The 2025 Infiniti QX80 is a leap for the brand, but not the segment

The 2025 Infiniti QX80 is the daddy, the flagship. If you hopped out of one and inside another of Infiniti’s lesser offerings, you wouldn’t see much crossover yet. I hope that will change within the next few years.

But what exactly will they be copying? The interior is very nice, but others do it better (and sell more). Driving dynamics are fine – what you’d expect from a large truck, but again, others do it better. I think the styling is distinctive, so that gives it at least some personality.

Let’s take a broader approach. Remember cars like the J30? The original G20? How long has it been since you’ve thought about one of those? Infiniti used to be right where it is now – no man’s land. They got out of it by taking chances. The original G35 had the performance of a BMW 330i of the time. Combine it with a cheaper price and funky good looks, and it’s easy to see why the brand became popular.

That’s harder to do now. I’m not sure the 2025 Infiniti QX80 pushes boundaries in a segment that’s very crowded and set in its ways. Everyone is nice inside, and everyone is refined – more refined than the QX.

Still – if you need a big three-row SUV that can handle all kinds of adverse conditions in a very comfy cabin, give the QX80 a shot. If I see you on the road, you’ll get a thumbs up from me.

I’m rooting for you.