2023 Infiniti QX80 Review

Infiniti QX80 prioritizes comfort and it’s quite evident. It has a high-power engine that’s supposed to offer impressive performance, but in reality, it’s mediocre at best, and doesn’t do well on highways. You get plenty of premium interior features, infotainment, and the newly added Amazon Alexa voice control.

The driving demeanor is neither sharp nor athletic, but the smooth engine manages to make the ride comfortable. This vehicle is more capable on city roads as compared to highways.

Engine

It’s powered by a 5.6-liter V8 engine generating 400 hp @ 5800 rpm and maximum torque of 413 hp @ 4000 rpm. The engine runs on gasoline direct injection fuel system.

Transmission

The engine is paired with 7-speed automatic transmission.

Suspension

It comes with control arms for both front and rear suspension. The lineup gets four-wheel independent suspension along with stabilizer bars.

Steering

You get a power-adjustable steering wheel which is integrated with the lane departure system to generate haptic feedback.

The lineup is armed with several safety and driver assist features which give drivers and passengers peace of mind.

Brakes

It comes with a 13.8-inch vented disc for both front brakes and rear brakes, along with emergency braking preparation and emergency braking assist.

Airbags

There are multiple airbags available to keep the driver and the passenger safe during a collision. It has front side-mount airbags and head airbags available for all three rows.

Electronics

The lineup comes equipped with multiple standard and available safety features. Some noteworthy ones are pre and post-collision safety systems, blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-keep assist, child seat anchors, child safety locks on rear doors, tire pressure monitoring, and anti-theft alarm, to mention a few.

Lights

Dusk sensing headlamps, front fog lights, LED headlamp, and daytime running lights are some of the important inclusions.

Traction control

The lineup is equipped with traction control to ensure a strong grip on the road and prevent any form of slippage.

In general, large SUVs are not the best at offering stellar fuel economy. Even if you keep that in mind, it’s hard to justify QX80’s fuel economy numbers—it’s a major drawback that makes the car less desirable to current buyers, especially at a time when sustainability is being prioritized and fuel prices are soaring high.

Engine size

QX80’s massive 5.6-liter V8 engine could have set up the lineup for success, but unfortunately it does the opposite. Despite its capability, it has extremely poor fuel economy, not so great acceleration, and lack of athletic feel.

Gas per mileage consumption

It offers 14 mpg and 20 mpg on city and highway respectively, which is way too low even for a large SUV.

The QX80 offers 3 rows as standard, making it a good choice for big families. The interior has remained more or less the same since the lineup first hit the market a decade back, with the exception of new additions such as the new center console. The third row is suitable for adults, but there are plenty of other SUVs that offer more space and comfort.

Seats

The front seats have 39.6 inch legroom with leather upholstery, bucket front seat, 8-way power-adjustable and height-adjustable driver’s seat, and lumbar support in the passenger seat with multi-level heating. The rear seat has 41-inch legroom and they are equipped with a power folding mechanism. The third row seats are also power-folding ones, however, the leg space is not particularly abundant.

Design

The vehicle looks very similar to what it looked like in 2013, from inside out. Despite making small changes here and there in an attempt to include modern and luxurious features, the vehicle does feel a decade old—and not in a good way. The design language makes it clear that it’s a rugged large SUV, with the interior somehow trying to make up for its luxury-grade pricing.

Infotainment

QX80’s infotainment system doesn’t disappoint. It offers a 12.3-inch infotainment unit, Bose stereo system and speakers, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, speed sensitive volume control, among other features.

Overall height and space

The vehicle is 75.8 inches in height, 210.2 inches in length, and 79.9 inches in width.

Trunk space

The standard cargo space is 16.6 cubic feet which might feel too cramped for a large SUV. But if you need additional space, you can fold down the seats to max out the cargo area to 95.1 cubic feet.

When you’re spending nearly $80k on an SUV, you’d expect it to give you all the comfort and modern luxurious features that are offered by the likes of Cadillac Escalade or Jeep Grand Wagoneer. The QX80 belongs to a similar price range but fails to impress car owners and critics, especially when compared with the fresher and more tech-savvy competitors.

The QX80 belongs to the large luxury SUV segment, so the prices are on the higher side. However, considering the hefty price tags, the trim levels could offer more.

Trim Level	Price
Luxe	$74,395
Premium Select	$78,995
Sensory	$86,045

If you have to pick one among the three available trim levels—Luxe, Premium Select, and Sensory— the rational choice would be the entry-level trim. Why? Because it’s the most affordable of the lot and contains necessary luxury features including heated seats, adaptive cruise control, and high-quality leather-clad heated seats.

AWD/FWD

The lineup offers both rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive modes.

Warranty

The warranty front of Infiniti QX80 is impressive by all standards. The limited warranty coverage is available for 4 years or 60,000 miles and the powertrain warranty is available for 4 years or 70,000 miles. The automaker also offers free scheduled maintenance for the first 3 years.

Extras

Infiniti QX80 boasts a massive towing capacity for both all-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive. When properly equipped, it can tow up to 8500 pounds—one of the best in its segment.