2014 Infiniti QX70

By New Car Test Drive

Updated: October 1, 2014

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Walkaround and Interior

Walkaround

The Infiniti FX was called a bionic cheetah when it was launched (as a 2003 model), and the current QX70 generation hasn't strayed far from the initial concept. One could argue that the FX was the progenitor of the fashion-trumps-function style that spawned the BMW X6 and similar vehicles. Had such a term existed at the time, the FX/QX70 might well have been labeled a four-door coupe SUV.

In its second-generation form, the distance between front and rear axles increased by almost 1.5 inches, pushing the front tires farther forward and creating a hood not unlike a 1980s Corvette: long and horizontal, but not flat as it arches over wheels on the sides and engine in the middle. In profile, the hood looks practically as long as that on a muscle car or even a Rolls-Royce, while the roofline appears like a canopy pulled down taut over a framework, with no straight lines and a nearly semicircular rear window.

Relative to the stylish Infiniti G37 (now called G50) coupe from a similar background (and also endowed with a long hood), the QX70 has an inch and a half more wheelbase, and is three inches longer, four inches wider, and more than eight inches taller. It's significantly bigger, in other words. So it needs the 21-inch wheels of the QX70 5.0 AWD to make it appear like a sleek modern conveyance. A lot of SUVs that are this long have three rows of seats, whereas the QX70 is strictly two rows.

Where door meets window glass is a straight line, as is the bright strip below the doors; but everything else is curved. Projector headlamps lend some animal characteristic, a touch of the cheetah, to the front, while the dark chrome grille between has three-dimensional waves rather than two-dimensional slats. In some respects it resembles the old Hyundai Tiburon (aptly named after a shark); and looked at another way, the wide swooping grille and multiple layers suggest the lovable tenacity of a drooling bulldog. Whatever you think, you'll probably get lots of opinions because it doesn't go unnoticed: The fashion statement worked. Not many folks love a bland car, and the FX is emphatically not bland.

Behind the huge front wheels are chrome, arched vertical vents for ducting engine compartment air out and reducing front lift. Door handles also are chrome, while mirrors are paint-matched.

Like the front lights, the rear LED lamp housings curl around the body sides, and protrude somewhat to offer better visibility and some aerodynamic downforce at high speeds. Those housings and the front vents are more aimed at Infiniti's European customers than intended for American driving habits. If you're concerned about seeing the tail lights in the outside mirrors, forget it; the mirror side view ends around the rear door handles as the bodywork curves inward toward the rear.

The spoiler atop the rear glass is integral with the hatch, void of the seams more common tacked-on pieces have. Large swaths of chrome set off the license plate recess. When equipped with a Sport Technology Package, the QX70 50 AWD gets a QX70S badge at the rear. If you look carefully, you will find a camera above the license plate, on the bottom of each rear-view mirror, and one at the top of the grille.

Interior Features

Each Infiniti QX70 cabin is very nicely finished. The QX70 3.7 interior in Graphite presents particularly well. The available diamond-quilted leather brings to mind fine British or Italian coachbuilding. Ordered with vertically-grained Maple wood trim, hand-stained for darker edges, augmented by matte-finish silver appointments, the QX70 is as stylish inside as out.

No wood appears on the dashboard, which is a good thing as it eliminates reflections; but all doors have big sweeps of wood and the center console has it on three sides, trimmed at the edges in chrome. Soft-touch surfaces are everywhere, with hard plastic only on the lower center pillars and the rear edge of the center console.

The driver works with a suitably small-diameter, thick-rim, three-spoke steering wheel that contains thumb-operated pushbuttons and toggles, benefiting from plenty of adjustment in two planes for driving comfort and gauge viewing. The optional shift paddles behind it are among the best around: big, solid magnesium pieces with leather along the back side for your fingers. Shifters are long enough to let you change gears mid-bend. downshifts are left-hand, while upshifts are on the right.

Ahead of the steering wheel are electroluminescent gauges lifted from the G37 coupe. Fuel and coolant temperature gauges are small, in lower corners. The average-size, white-on-black tachometer and speedometer frame a message center with trip data, scrolling information, and a decent-sized gear indicator you can read at a glance. After all, with seven ratios available, you might not always know which gear you're in. Odometer and gauge lighting work through silver-colored tabs at the upper sides of the pod (two on each side).

Controls are abundant, but more logical and better-identified than in many vehicles. Short-travel column stalks with chrome lips on the twist ends handle the usual chores: signals, lights, and wipers. To the left below the vent is a bank of switches for much of the available gadgetry. These include IBA Off (intelligent brake assist), VDC Off (electronic stability control), DCA (distance control alert), FCW/LDW (forward collision and lane departure warnings), AFS on/off (adaptive headlights that follow the road with steering input), and mirror adjustment and fold switches. Mirrors shouldn't need much adjustment in motion, but some of the other buttons will, and buried by your left knee all in white-on-black is not the easiest place to find them. The pushbutton start switch is on the dash to the right, in clear view.

Between the center vents is a sizable, well-shaded screen, whether you have navigation or not, which offers split-screen views and easy map reading. Below it on a near-horizontal surface is the multifunction control wheel with direct-access keys to the sides. The navigation system recognizes voice for climate, audio, phone, and, yes, navigation, this last run by a hard-disc drive and able to offer SiriusXM real-time traffic and weather) data on-screen. We were able to operate this without an owner's manual to consult, and got what we wanted with a minimum of missteps.

The vertical central control panel is finished in piano black. The upper set of audio controls flanks an analog clock lit like ice at night, while the lower set handles climate operations. In either case, the visual details appear on-screen. All of these operate in a straightforward manner, though the two round volume/audio knobs and left/right temperature knobs are identical and a quick reach could result in a radio change when you wanted more heat or cooling, or vice versa. At the bottom is a push-open felt-lined bin.

You won't see evidence of it, but the QX70 5.0 AWD climate control setup includes systems that sound derived from space travel. A Plasmacluster ionizer runs in two modes to trap particulate contaminants and make the air crisper and fresher, and a grape seed polyphenol filter neutralizes allergens that get past regular filters.

A small conventional shifter rides center on the console and offers manual mode, but the paddles do better at this and there's no chance you'll accidentally tap the shifter into neutral. Behind the shifter are the seat-temperature controls and suspension control switch, followed by a dual cupholder with wood cover, and dual-bin storage with iPod connection under the armrest.

Except for stretching past a wide floor sill, entry into the front compartment is quite easy. In the back, it's a bit more troublesome, due not only to the sill but to the relatively low roofline.

Front seats are comfortable and well-designed to match the cornering capability of the car, without feeling overly restrained. On the QX70 5.0 AWD, driver memory and seat heat and cooling are standard, though the coolers are a bit noisy at their max setting.

The optional sport seats on the QX70 5.0 AWD offer all the usual adjustments, plus thigh extensions and, for the driver, powered side bolsters for legs and torso. Snug, but not quite intrusive, side bolsters flank a gently curved seatback, to create an encompassing and inviting cocoon for the driver. An exceptionally long driver's seat bottom yields top-notch thigh support. Those sport seats are really impressive and, with that diamond-quilt pattern, come as close to a Bentley Continental or Italian exotic as you'll get in a crossover.

By SUV standards you sit fairly low in the QX70, and the front tunnel/hump around the running gear takes away a bit of foot wiggle room. But there is a lot of travel in the seat tracks, with 44 inches of legroom and a floor-hinged gas pedal so it won't be a deal-breaker.

The rear cabin matches the front for woodwork and finish, and the reclining seats are comfortable enough for two occupants; but a third, forced into the center, is likely to grumble. Better to pull down the center armrest than to seat a third person on that stiff, perchlike middle cushion, worsened by a fixed headrest as well as limited foot room around the prominent floor hump. Here, the stylish proportions of the QX70 become noticeable because shoulder room matches the front but headroom's a bit less, and legroom loses 10 inches from the front. It isn't exactly tight, but it isn't roomy either.

Nor is the cargo area particularly generous, offering 24.8 cubic feet behind the back seat and 62 cubic feet with it folded. A pair of big roller suitcases wouldn't fit under the cover. Lift-over height is a relatively high 31 inches, meaning you'll have to lift your cargo waist-high to load it in back.

The rear seats are easily folded from the door or hatch; the narrow seat is behind the driver. There are four light-duty tie-down points, a 12-volt power point and light, and the cover that rides on chrome rails folds in three sections. A metal threshold plate includes a spring-loaded cover around the latch, and the space-saver spare tire rides underfloor with a subwoofer resting within it.