For certain companies, honoring their heritage sometimes means reaching into their enormous archives and paying homage to a model that was out when cars still ran on leaded fuel and took couples to their neighborhood soda fountain. Picture vehicles such as the bygone Chevrolet SSR and Chrysler PT Cruiser.
INFINITI was founded in 1989, so it found inspiration for its all-new QX55 all the way back in...2003, when the curvaceous FX first went on sale. Like that distinctive SUV, the QX55 has an attractive body with a swoopy roofline, as well as the mechanical hardware of the QX50. Priced from $46,500*, the QX55 is available in entry-level Luxe, midrange Essential, and top-of-the-line Sensory trim levels. My QX55 Sensory test vehicle came dressed in a premium paint color and equipped with the Lighting Package and cargo Package, all of which brought its final price to $60,045.
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2022 INFINITI QX55 Sensory Exterior
A lot has changed since the FX came out and showed that it's possible to move two rows of passengers in an SUV designed by people that think outside of the two-box format. Fortunately, INFINITI's ability to create an attention-getting vehicles has remained the same. It doesn't hurt that the QX55 has several similarities to the curvaceous and attractive QX50, such as its double-arch grille, dramatic LED headlights, sculpted hood, and contoured doors.
The QX55's fast roofline manages to make what was already an appealing shape into something even sleeker, if not quite as spacious inside (the QX55 offers 54.1 cubic feet of space behind the first row compared to the QX50's maximum of 65.1). In addition to a power rear liftgate with an upright profile, my tester had Slate Gray paint, a cross between gray and blue which I have officially dubbed "bluetral," ensuring it couldn't be mistaken for anything but a QX55 because that color isn't available on its more conventionally styled sibling.
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2022 INFINITI QX55 Sensory Interior
INFINITI used the same color-and-shape approach to make the QX55's cabin as distinctive as its sheet metal. My media loaner was configured with the Monaco Red color scheme, which was even more vibrant set against the surrounding Black Natural Maple Wood open pore trim and black leather seats. One particular artistic flourish made just as big a visual impact with far less material. More Monaco Red covered the lid to the center console and flowed forward, spread up and to the right of the hard buttons for the dual-zone climate control system and heated and ventilated front seats, then hooked left and curved upward to finish at the edge of the main instrument panel.
The flash of red and the asymmetrical layout was the automotive equivalent of a boldly styled awards show dress and instantly made the QX55's interior feel more upscale and special. I had mixed emotions about the dual-screen INFINITI InTouch infotainment system. It's been around a while and at times I wondered why two displays are necessary when many automakers can get things done with one. But the more I used it, the more I understood the logic behind it and appreciated the convenience it provided. It started with the onboard Wi-Fi hotspot and wireless Apple CarPlay, which allowed me to punch in an address to an unfamiliar place on Apple Maps and keep the path to it on the eight-inch top display at all times, which was great for someone as terrible with directions as me, and adjust other functions on the seven-inch lower display, including the settings for the 16-speaker Bose Performance Series audio system.
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2022 INFINITI QX55 Sensory Performance
All QX55s are equipped with INFINITI's turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that can change its compression ratio to maximize efficiency or low-end power. Output is 268 horsepower and 280 lb-ft of torque and exclusively routed through a shift-by-wire Continuously Variable Transmission, 20-inch wheels, and INFINITI Intelligent All-Wheel-Drive, which can send 100 percent of available power through the front wheels to save gas or deliver up to 50 percent of it to the back end when wheel slip is detected.
The EPA rated my test vehicle capable of returning 22 mpg in the city, 28 mpg on the highway, and 25 mpg combined. Out of the four available drive modes (Standard, ECO, Sport, and Personal), I passed most of the 254.7 miles I traveled in the QX55 in the Standard setting and ended up hitting an average fuel economy of 22.8 mpg.
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2022 INFINITI QX55 Sensory Safety
Selecting the Sensory trim level is the quickest way to check off all of the safety and driver assistance boxes on the build sheet. My media vehicle had a head-up display, rain-sensing wipers, Forward Emergency Braking with pedestrian detection, Rear Automatic Braking, and more. One particular drive with my fiancé showed me just how well INFINITI tuned the sensors of its ProPilot Assist system, which can maintain a set speed and following distance, keep the QX55 centered in its lane, and even input steering corrections to guide it through gentle curves. We were driving home into the sun shortly before sunset on a highway that was unevenly paved in sections and had new white lane markings next to the old ones that weren't faded enough to be completely disregarded.
The combination of the almost blinding light in the sky and on the pavement, the road surface, and the confusing lines was difficult to process at times, but ProPilot Assist didn't get confused for a second. It maintained a clean line and the right speed and distance the whole way. As of right now, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has not fully crashed-tested the QX55, but the organization did determine that it earned a five-star Frontal Crash rating.
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2022 INFINITI QX55 Sensory Overall
The QX55 is one of the newest entrants to the luxury SUV coupe segment, but the concept behind it has been in the works off and on for a while. The original FX was the embodiment of the idea of a utility vehicle that curved where others went into right angles; the QX50 launched for the 2020 model year provided the cosmetic and mechanical underpinnings for its attractive and helpfully engineered spiritual successor. To learn even more about the 2022 QX55, head to your local AutoNation INFINITI dealership and take one for a test drive.
