The new Infiniti QX50 crossover went on sale in 2018. For some reason, the Japanese did not change the name for a completely new car, but gave it the name of its predecessor, which was previously called EX, but in 2013, after reformatting the line, it was named QX50, just like its heir. According to Avtostat in 2019, Infiniti with the new QX50 model managed to enter the Top 10 crossovers in the price range from 3 to 4 million rubles, the Japanese SUV took second place in the rating, albeit from the end. The manufacturer has sold 1 cars in Russia (a total of 107 cars, taking into account complete sets with a price of over 1 million), for comparison, the leader of the Lexus RX segment was sold in the amount of 333 units. Despite more than modest sales figures in comparison with competitors, for the Infiniti brand, the QX4 model has become a bestseller in Russia, and its sales make up 7% of the entire model range.

The Japanese completely changed the exterior of the new QX50, now the car is fully similar to a full-fledged crossover, and not like its predecessor, which outwardly resembled a raised hatchback. During the test drive, people asked me about the car more than once, everyone was attracted by the design of the QX50 and it was interesting to know what it is, although the model is no longer a novice on our roads. Yes, the new QX50 is not as aggressive and futuristic as the QX70, which, by the way, left our market, but nevertheless it looks very interesting. The optics are all LED, and the headlights are adaptive that change direction in the direction of the steering wheel, plus there is an automatic switching of the high beam.

The interior design has also undergone changes, although it is also easily guessed that the car belongs to the Infiniti brand. The massive automatic transmission lever has disappeared from the central tunnel, its place was taken by a neat “joystick”, which is loose, although there is no need for this and it could be easily fixed. By the way, in the first minutes of the test, I managed to knock the joystick into neutral on the go, when I reached for the radio button – a flaw. The Japanese have removed the lurid large wood-like panels, the decorative inserts are now small and neat in the spirit of German automakers, they would have added good contour lighting and it would be absolutely wonderful. But there is something to scold the interior of the new Infiniti QX50. I don’t know what it’s connected with, maybe it’s the difference in mentality between the Europeans and the Japanese, but the latter, in my opinion, allow for such bloopers that are not found among Europeans. The QX50 has a beautiful interior, a leather (albeit artificial) front panel, a headliner made of a material that imitates suede, and at the same time a large insert made of “ringing” inexpensive plastic under the “joystick” of automatic transmission, which you can find in the most affordable Nissan car. And right there next to the manufacturer makes an elevation of the central tunnel with sidewalls of soft high-quality plastic, sheathed with leather on top. Or take decorative wood panels for example, they have become thin and neat, with a bend that passes from the doors to the central panel, but for some reason they do not match the pattern.

The front seats are electrically adjustable and have a position memory, you get comfortable in them quickly enough and you don’t change the settings afterwards. The steering wheel is also electrically adjustable in two planes and it is always enough for reach. The seats are soft, with a good profile and developed lateral support, you don’t get tired of them even on long trips, although I would like a longer pillow for myself. For comfort, there is a three-level heated seat and ventilation, the latter is very helpful in the summer, when the dark interior is properly warmed up in the sun. The rear space has been added in comparison with its predecessor, I sit down without any problems with a height of 187 cm and even my knees do not rest against the back of the front seat. Only two passengers will be comfortable behind, three will already be cramped in the shoulders. Isofix mounts are on the edges, they are recessed between the pillows, but in general, the child seat can be installed quickly enough.

The trunk in comparison with the previous model has become larger, quite a decent 565 liters, against 309 liters from its predecessor. But unlike the previous generation, the stowaway has disappeared from the underground of the new QX50, and for many this can become a disadvantage when choosing a new car. You can increase the volume of the luggage compartment by folding the backrests of the rear sofa separately, and this can be done directly from the trunk using special handles along the edges. The backrests fold completely and form an almost flat floor, and the beam with a curtain is removed and hides in a niche. In all trim levels, an electric tailgate is available, but there is no way to completely close the car at the same time.

The Infiniti Intouch head system with two touchscreen 8 “and 7” screens with VGA resolution is incomprehensible and confusing for a beginner, although after the basics of training you understand how to operate it, but still many things defy logic. For example, to control the upper screen, you can use the touchscreen, buttons on the steering wheel or the puck on the center tunnel, but for the lower display, only touch control is used, mixed with the classic buttons around it. Or another example, in the new QX50, the Japanese finally got rid of the shameful tiny monochrome display on the dashboard and installed a large 7 “color screen between the devices, but it only displays some information about the car, but the data from it cannot be controlled.

The head unit is powered by an Intel processor, the operating speed does not boggle the imagination, and the rendering of the menu is inferior even to the new Kia / Hyundai systems, not to mention the Germans. The built-in navigation based on HERE maps has not been updated for a long time and does not know the roads and junctions that were introduced more than a year ago, and you can update only at the dealer, there are no air updates. Information about traffic jams is available only by radio channel and is useless in our market. On the other hand, built-in navigation is integrated into the car’s system, prompts for it are displayed both on the dashboard and on a high-quality projection screen. On the projection, of course, the speedometer is available, and the driver assistants’ tips are also displayed.

Honestly, the Infiniti media system today looks very pale against the background of competitors, if the Japanese put here at least support for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, it would be more fun, but this is not yet. In the fall, an updated QX50 model is expected to appear, in which support for systems from Google and Apple will finally appear, the display resolution will increase, and one of the USB-A connectors on the central tunnel will be replaced with Type-C.

Connecting a smartphone to the media system via Bluetooth does not cause problems, the connection is always stable, and all data (contacts, call lists, music) is transferred to the head unit correctly. The speakerphone also works well; there were never any complaints from the interlocutors. For recharging, there are 4 standard USB-A connectors in the cabin, three in the front of the cabin, one in the niche under the center armrest and one for the rear passengers. Modern devices are charged from the vehicle’s on-board network quickly enough.

In all trim levels of the QX50, except for the very initial version, a three-zone climate control is installed, with a separate unit and a screen for rear passengers. It is proposed to regulate the temperature from flat, uncomfortable keys, which are inferior in functionality to handles, but everything is better than control from the screen. The climate system works flawlessly, and the airflow is always soft without abrupt transitions.

The set of driver assistants in the Infiniti QX50 is not bad. There is adaptive cruise control with a choice of distance to the vehicle in front. It works well, keeps the distance optimal, and slows down and accelerates without delay, which allows you to stay in the stream. Lane control is also in place, but its implementation is rather strange, when you leave the lane, it notifies you about this with visual and audio signals, as well as vibration on the steering wheel, but it will automatically start to get back into the lane only if you ignore the signals. The assistance system integrated with the blind spot monitoring system is similarly made, but here it looks logical, after ignoring the warnings about parallel vehicles, the car will automatically avoid a collision. By the way, monitoring the blind spots in the QX50 is a very useful thing, despite the seemingly medium-sized mirrors, they do not always show the complete environment. I almost demolished the Matiz when changing lanes, which turned out to be in the blind zone, since the warning system worked and I went back to my lane. There is also a distance keeping system that can independently brake and stop the car, it is convenient to use it in traffic jams. As well as the system for preventing collision with obstacles when reversing, the latter has also been tested in practice and it works great, however, sometimes it can react incorrectly to a high curb. Of course, there was a place for a circular view system, with cameras and sensors in a circle, but due to the low screen resolution, the picture from the cameras is not very good, and even at night they become practically useless, so you have to rely only on parking sensors.

The new QX50 rides and drives great. Steering without direct connection of the second generation DAS 2.0 works well, allowing precise control of the car in all modes. At low speeds, the steering wheel is very light, but with a set of speed it becomes noticeably heavier. Yes, if you listen to the car, you can find a difference from the classic feed-forward steering, but most will not see the difference. There are also no questions about the smoothness of the ride, the suspension works well for the unevenness of the roadway, behaves rudely only on large potholes. I also note the silence in the cabin, which is achieved thanks to the active noise cancellation system, by analogy with headphones with noise reduction. The Active Noise Cancellation system uses 2 microphones to characterize unpleasant low-frequency noise (hum), this noise is canceled out by generating the same noise, but out of phase. For the first time, the active noise cancellation system in cars was applied in 2003 by Honda, in 2008 it was implemented by Toyota, and later it was adopted by other manufacturers. And at CES 2019, Bose unveiled its own noise cancellation system for cars – QuietComfort Road Noise Control. According to the company, the first production models using their technology should appear in 2021.

The Infiniti QX50 has a new 2-liter turbo engine with 249 horsepower. The engine is working in tandem with a continuously variable transmission, the latter has claims only on a cold car, the variator gets out with a monotonous hum, but after warming up it disappears. The car has enough power, even on the highway you can accelerate without problems for overtaking. The car has several driving modes: Eco – for those who want to save fuel, Standard – for most scenarios, Sport – for full power and sharp control, Individual – with the ability to customize the parameters to the personal preferences of the driver. In standard mode, the car behaves calmly at speeds up to 30 km / h, and then it starts to give out full power, so you have to stroke the gas pedal only slightly to prevent overspeeding. In economy mode, the car is too sluggish, but sports are not for everybody, since all the reactions are too sharp, and the steering wheel is heavy. Fuel consumption would not say that it is small, in the city it easily exceeds 12 liters per 100 km, and in the combined cycle I got about 10.5-11 liters per hundred. I don’t think that the owner of the Infiniti QX50 will climb even on light off-road terrain, unless the standard navigation will accidentally lead him there, but all-wheel drive and a ground clearance of 217 mm will allow you to drive where a regular sedan cannot pass.

The new Infiniti QX50 in Russia costs from 2 rubles. The most complete and interesting equipment with electric adjustments and seat memory, navigation, a gorgeous panoramic roof with a sunroof and a Bose audio system will cost 995 rubles. The price of a car is quite in the market, but still a bit high for Infiniti, though brand dealers often offer very good discounts on available cars, so a good option can be taken in the region of 000 rubles, which is more interesting.

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