- After over a year of teases, Infiniti has finally debuted the all-new QX55 SUV.
- It shares mechanical parts and an interior design with the QX50, but offers a more coupelike exterior style reminiscent of the brand’s storied FX SUV that debuted for the 2003 model year.
- Interested buyers won’t have to wait long, as the 2022 QX55 is expected in North American Infiniti dealers in spring 2021.
Coming soon to an Infiniti dealer near you is the 2022 QX55, the brand’s fastback compact SUV which will battle it out for crossover-coupe supremacy with the BMW X4 and the Mercedes-Benz GLC-class coupe. Infiniti’s designers were tasked with adapting the squareback QX50’s platform to create the QX55, but they didn’t have to look far for inspiration. The brand’s athletic-looking FX SUV served as their muse, the evidence of which you can see in the QX55’s curved roofline and muscular rear fenders.
Other styling differences set the QX55 further apart from the QX50, including a larger front grille with an origami-inspired mesh inlay. The lower front bumper is also unique to the QX55 and piano-key lighting elements in the taillights tie it to the brand’s redesigned QX60 crossover.
The QX55 is powered by the brand’s 268-hp variable-compression turbocharged four-cylinder engine but, unlike the QX50, offers all-wheel drive as standard. We haven’t tested the QX55 yet, but a similarly equipped QX50 model set a 6.4-second zero-to-60-mph run at our test track. The 20-inch wheels shown in these photos will be standard and their design is specific to the QX55.
While the QX55’s dashboard and center console design is essentially identical to that of the QX50, designers have chosen to use bolder color combinations and have passed over the QX50’s optional quilted leather upholstery for a two-tone look. Base Luxe models will come with faux leather but genuine leather and semi-aniline leather will both be offered in mid-range Essential and top-spec Sensory trims.
Black-colored open-pore wood trim accents the door panels and dashboard in Sensory models—a tasteful alternative to carbon-fiber trim that prevails among sporty SUVs; Luxe and Essential trims get a dark aluminum trim. For better or worse, Infiniti’s dual-screen infotainment system carries over unchanged to the QX55, but wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capability are now standard.
The dramatically sloped roofline has a predictable downside in the form of pinched rear-seat headroom and a smaller cargo area. Behind the second row seats—which slide fore and aft for some level of adjustment—buyers will find a slightly smaller 26.9-cubic-foot cargo area, down from 31.4 cubic feet in the QX50.
Infiniti hasn’t released pricing for the QX55 yet, but we expect it will start slightly above similarly equipped QX50 models when it goes on sale. That would mean a starting price for the base Luxe model of around $43,000, with pricing moving up to around $45,000 for the Essential and over $50,000 for the Sensory trims.
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Source: Motor - aranddriver.com
