Description

If you can get past this SUV's ugly mug, you’ll discover a luxurious ride that’s great for big families. WatchMojo.com spends a week behind the wheel of the 2011 Infiniti QX56.

Transcript

2011 Infiniti QX56 SUV Test Drive The look might not be for everyone, but if you’ve got a cottage in the country, a couple of kids and maybe some dogs. This might just be the SUV for you. Hi. I’m Miranda Lightstone with watchmojo.com, and today we’re to check out this behemoth of a ride from Infinity, the QX56. In the Infinity QX56, when you’re on the driver’s seat, you’re very much the pilot of this vehicle. And why is that? Well because everything is right here at your fingertips. Now this car can do a lot. It has a lot of gadgets. Some of them are a little bit aggravating but most of them are there to make your life that much more convenient. Now from this position, I can bring down the rear seats. I can turn on my huge steering wheel. I could turn on my heated seat. I can adjust my laser guided cruise control. I can adjust my all around car sensors. Put your setup under the mirrors on the front and the back to use for parking. I can also lift the rear tail gate. From here, I can also set the towing options on the QX56. Now, what’s kind of unique to this SUV and that I can tow up to 8500 pounds, that’s quite a lot. So I can set this 4-high or 4-low, putting into tow mode, or the option to put it into snow mode or turn my tracks control off if I really want to, though I wouldn’t recommend it in the winter or if you’re towing. Now this particular QX56 has seating for seven and not eight. Now I take off this large middle console here. And of course you can have a model with out this console and get a third seat here. Now I’m currently sitting on a third row in the back which is actually quite practical to have, not practical to put up. Unfortunately, you have to control these seats with an electronic button and putting the seats up or putting them down is probably like grass grow. These ones however can be controlled the button from the front. They’ve put down quite easily with those buttons or the levers on the side when you’re getting back here. Now I set this backseat was practical before. It’s practical to seat in and use and there’s quite a bit of head room. But once you have these seats up, the trunk space is pretty much unusable. It’s actually almost smaller than that of a Nissan Q. I really like driving the QX56 and I could be because I can’t see what it looks like for me here. But in all odds, this is a great car to drive. It has a very smooth transmission on the 5.6 litter V8 that pushes up 400 horsepower and 413 pound feet of torque. It’s controlled by a 7-speed gearbox. But it’s actually really good, and it has the strutted glimpse of the 370 Zed though obviously not in such a cool way that make sure every shift be it down or up is extremely smooth and there’s no lag. There’s no jump if you do want to put it in Sport mode. What I think about this car is very smooth, very sophisticated, very luxurious or just kind of what Infinity is all about. The interior of the QX56 in my opinion is its saving grace. It’s very infinity, it’s just great. It’s luxurious, It’s flashy. It’s sophisticated. You’d got your walnut inserts and your leather seats that are lazy boyish, which is Ideal for long trips for the country with the kids as out the screens in the back seat that will keep them quiet. The Infinity is also updated in its on-board entertainment system. It has a new fancy nav that very iDrive-ish which is great because it makes navigating the system much easier which in the past hasn’t always been the case. So in here, you can control all your entertainment and your navigation, your maps and your routes. I can almost forgive the QX 56 for its horrible looks. Thanks to its luxurious interior and its drivability. However, I’m kind of helping Infinity takes it upon themselves to redesign this car once again, next year.