2018 Infiniti QX80 7 Passenger

 
 

This week I get to try Infiniti's QX80 which has been refreshed. It is their largest vehicle and a luxury take on a family hauler. In 2018 the QX80 receives a new infotainment system, an all new front end, some slight interior tweaks and rear exterior tweaks. 

Disclosure: Infiniti Canada & JS Auto provided me with the 2018 Infiniti QX80 for a week to test drive, and photograph. All photos in this blog post was taken by me.

ACCELERATION: 9.5/10

  • 400 hp @ 5800 RPM/ 413 lb-ft @ 4,000
  • 5.6L V8
  • 7 speed transmission
  • Rear wheel drive but optional 4WD
  • 4WD version has a 2 speed transfer case
  • 8500 lbs towing capacity
  • Towing feel is superior to the competition thanks to its body on frame design
  • 5.9 seconds 0-100 km/hr 

BRAKING: 8/10

  • Pretty short braking distance considering how heavy the QX80 is which surprised me!
  • Massive tires definitely help contribute to it's quick braking abilities.

HANDLING: 8/10

  • Body roll is well controlled because the shock absorbers are hydraulic. When the vehicle senses there is body roll it pumps up the pressure inside the shock to reduce the body roll.

RIDE: 9/10

  • Suspensions are soft and ride feels luxury like

ECONOMY: 7/10

  • 14/20/16 - City/Highway/Combined - RWD
  • 13/19/15 - City/Highway/Combined - 4WD
  • Can't expect amazing fuel economy with a V8 engine

CABIN NOISE: 9.5/10

  • Very quiet and luxury like cabin
  • Even quieter than the last generation
  • One of the quietest in the luxury segment

EXTERIOR: 9/10

  • Re-designed exterior looks elegant yet still looking powerful, brute, hulk like and commanding
  • Personally I feel its a huge improvement from last year

SAFETY|SECURITY|TECH: 6.5/10

  • INFINITI Advanced Air Bag System (AABS) includes Dual-Stage Supplemental Front Airbags with seat belt and occupant classification sensor which adjust their inflation rate depending on crash severity, and seat belt usage. If the front-passenger’s seat is empty, a sensor will deactivate the air bag
  • Driver and front-passenger front seat-mounted side-impact supplemental air bags
  • Roof-mounted curtain side-impact supplemental air bags with rollover sensor for outboard occupant head protection for all three rows
  • Second-row outboard 3-point height adjustable seat belts with ELR and ALR (3-point centre position seat belt available with split bench seat option)
  • 3-point height-adjustable front seat belts with pretensioners and load limiters, driver's seat Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR) and passenger's seat ELR and Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR)
  • Zone Body construction with reinforced passenger compartment and front and rear crumple zones
  • LATCH System (Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren) helps simplify proper installation of compatible child restraint seats 
  • Intelligent Brake Assist (IBA)[*] with Forward Emergency Braking [*] and Predictive Forward Collision Warning (PFCW)[*]. This available active safety feature senses the relative velocity and distance of a vehicle directly ahead as well as the vehicle traveling in front of the preceding one. If the driver does not adequately respond to the Predictive Forward Collision Warning and a collision cannot be avoided, IBA will automatically engage the brakes to help reduce collision speed and impact, thus mitigating the consequences of the accident
  • Lane Departure Warning (LDW) sounds an audible warning when you start to drift out of your lane and Lane Departure Prevention (LDP) lightly applies the appropriate brakes to help ease you back between the right lines
  • Slide-away brake pedal assembly
  • Front Pre-Crash Seatbelts
  • Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC) with Traction Control System (TCS) 
  • Distance Control Assist (DCA)
  • Child safety rear door locks
  • Electronic Brake force Distribution (EBD)
  • Brake Assist (BA)
  • 3rd-row 3-point seat belts w/ ELR & ALR
  • Trailer Sway Control
  • Front-seat Active Head Restraints (AHR)
  • 4-Wheel Anti-lock Braking System (ABS)
  • Blind Spot Warning and Blind Spot Intervention
  • Backup Collision Intervention (BCI)
  • Remote keyless entry system with selective unlocking of driver's door or all doors
  • Vehicle Security System sounds alarm if intrusion is detected
  • INFINITI Vehicle Immobilizer System embeds an encoded transponder chip into ignition key. The engine control computer will not allow the engine to start without the correct key and transponder
  • Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) with individual tire pressure display and Tire Inflation Indicator
  • Auto Hazard Warning Signal turns on the hazard lights in the event of the air bags being deployed
  • Forward Emergeny Braking with pedestrian detection to Technology Package

INTERIOR FOR DRIVER: 7.5/10

  • Very nice upscale interior that feels and looks high quality. Lots of leather and real wood trim.
  • Even the steering wheel is leather and wood wrapped with sport grips!
  • Rear view mirror doubles as a monitor for the rear camera
  • Being the largest vehicle Infiniti has to offer, the driver will be happy with the amount of space it has to offer but it does not have the same range of movement for the driver seat compared to its luxury rivals.
  • Liked all the physical buttons for easy access

INTERIOR FOR PASSENGERS: 8.5/10

  • Very comfortable middle row with generous leg and head room.
    The flat roof profile allows for a constant head room height for passengers
  • There is a centre console for the middle row passengers in the 7 passenger version
  • One of the more comfortable 3rd rows in a full size SUV segment but still quite tight for adults. 

INTERIOR STORAGE: 7.5/10

  • Cargo space is average for a body on frame design
  • Because its not a unibody design, the spare tire which is usually located in the trunk is actually under the vehicle 

INFOTAINMENT SYSTEM: 7/10

  • New infotainment system but the screen feels a bit small for a luxury vehicle
  • No apple car play and android auto support.
  • Screen feels really small for a luxury vehicle

OVERALL IMPRESSION OF THE 2018 infiniti qx80:

Infiniti’s largest vehicle in the world is the QX80. In 2018 it receives a refresh to the front end an all new infotainment system! It competes against vehicles like the Lincoln Navigator and Cadillac Escalade. The naturally aspirated v8 engine is powerful and priced lower than its rivals. For such big and heavy car it was surprisingly quick on the road. On the inside it lacks in features and technology found in its rivals but the interior styling is definitely upscale.

I found the middle mirror interesting as it has a mode to swap to an lcd screen where you have access to seeing the rear camera in the situation the vehicle is packed with passengers making it hard to use the mirror mode.

Overall I found it delivered a comfortable and very quiet ride with a powerful engine. If you don’t need the latest and greatest technology, consider the QX80. It definitely is one of the best value in the luxury 3 row category. You'll need to decide how important the latest luxury gadgets are worth to you. I do think the exterior refresh has made it more handsome than last years version. One of the unique points of this vehicle is that it has a traditional body on frame design instead of unibody design. Body on frame vehicles excel at off road and towing abilities.

Also consider the Nissan Armada. It's cheaper and equally as nice.

 
BC, Cars, Reviews, Infinitieat-with-maobc, carreview, carphotography, fullsizesuv, suv, v8, luxuryComment