So, you’ve outgrown your car. Maybe you now have a family and are looking to upsize to something a bit more practical but are reluctant to walk away from the sporty performance of the vehicle you now have to get rid of.
Oh, and you don’t particularly want a full-blown SUV because they are a bit too big. Enter the crossover, a large car that thinks it’s an SUV. There is actually a good choice of these crossbreeds which offer enough space for small families, luxury interiors, and more than decent performance.
One of them is the new Infiniti QX50 Long Wheel Base. It looks good, has plenty of room for passengers and has an excellent 3.7-litre V6 engine which is surprisingly sprightly. This Infiniti, known as the EX37 in a previous life before the luxury arm of Nissan introduced a rebranding exercise, has been around for a few years and while it has always been a quality vehicle it didn’t prove as popular as the larger FX and a lack of interior space was one of the main gripes.
However, this new QX50 has been given a facelift which not only gives it a more sophisticated, sporty look, but it also has a 114mm longer wheelbase (hence LWB) which means there is a little more headroom and legroom inside, so now it is more practical. The exterior design facelift includes a new front and rear bumper and lower front and rear fascia, new LED Daytime Running Lights, new signature Infiniti-style double-arch front grille, new side mirrors with integrated LED indicators and updated side sill styling. But it is the front that really sets it off as a distinctive high-end vehicle.
The leather seats are extremely comfortable both in the front and rear, our test car had maplewood trim which added extra prestige and the layout of the cabin is spacious and well designed.
So the technology in the car is good, and I would expect nothing less from Infiniti, but I do, however, have one small complaint.
As Infiniti are famous for innovation I was more than a little surprised and disappointed to see that the centre console infotainment layout and screen is not new. In fact it looks extremely tired.
I know this because I bought an Infiniti FX50S – now known as the QX70S – four years ago and it had an identical set-up which looked a little dated back then so it should surely have been replaced with something a little more state-of-the-art by now. It’s not a massive issue in the overall picture because it works perfectly well but it is one that I thought let this vehicle down a little bit.
And when dated layouts are left untouched in cars that have supposedly been given a revamp it does make you wonder, wrongly maybe, about whether they are being lined up to be discontinued.
One thing that certainly does not let the QX50 LWB down and is one of the biggest selling points is the engine which takes you by surprise a little by how responsive it is.
It packs 326bhp and 361nm of torque, delivering power to the intelligent All Wheel Drive system via a seven-speed automatic gearbox which has something called driver adaptive learning algorithm which senses your driving style and selects gear change timings to suit your mood – clever stuff.
There is also a rather pleasant engine note when you put pedal to metal and push this vehicle through the gears to 0-100kmh in around six seconds.
The handling of the car is also pleasing thanks to the excellent chassis and suspension system and you can chuck this vehicle at corners and there is hardly any noticeable body roll. So, it certainly ticks all the boxes if you want a reasonably large vehicle with a sporty performance, distinctive looks and a decent amount of room. It’s fair to say that the QX50 LWB does have some serious rivals like the Porsche Macan with a starting price of Dh185,000, Audi Q5 (Dh171,000), and Mercedes GLA (Dh150,000) and GLC (Dh181,793) to name the best of the German opposition.
However, the QX50 LWB pricing starts at Dh143,000 so it is quite a bit cheaper, more than holds its own when it comes to comfort and performance and it stands out from the crowd. As crossovers go it is one of the best.
