2015 Infiniti QX70's performance pays off

Porsche, Audi and others blend performance sedan and sport utility truck, but few deliver as stylish a blend as the Infiniti QX70.

The sporty QX with bulging fenders and long muscular sports car-style hood was formerly known as the FX37. The former moniker was tied to this sport-oriented SUV's engine size, a 3.7-liter V6 that cranks out 325 horsepower. Regardless of the name, the QX70 is a beast.

That can cut both ways.

The V6 delivers strong power to all four wheels in the test model. Step on the gas and you'll growl up to highway speeds in short order. That's real power needed to haul a heavy feeling SUV up to 65 mph. The QX weighs 4,321 lbs., but feels much heavier.

It's beastly in its ride as well. The sport-tuned suspension delivers an incredibly stiff ride that borders on severe at times, especially surprising considering it rides on a 113.6-inch wheelbase. The ride's stiffness seems to contribute to the QX rocking side to side on uneven roads. It's not what the average luxury SUV buyer who appreciates a soft, smooth, controlled ride would expect and for a truck that carried a final price of $59,535, I was surprised there was no electronic way to soften the ride.

Yet the QX70s performance bent pays off in other ways. Handling along with crisp shifts from its 7-speed automatic are strong points.

Steering is responsive with moderate wheel effort, and the Infiniti turns into corners well and stays planted. Its AWD system surely helps when the roads turn sloppy, which they did early in my drive. There's also a Snow setting on the console to help all the SUV's systems work better when the roads are bad.

The crisp transmission has a manual mode controlled by tall paddle shifters on the back of the steering wheel, but those are merely for fun as the shift points are already well handled. Another plus is excellent braking from large discs at all four wheels.

My white test unit's interior was black leather and the seats, dash and steering wheel featured purple stitching to give the cockpit some personality. Doors and center armrests featured a pillow-like soft leather feel and the seats are well shaped for comfort. The test truck also added power back and hip bolsters on the driver's seat along with two memory settings and a manual lower cushion extension on both front seats that aids long-legged drivers.

Dash layout is good, but Infiniti loads this center stack with buttons, as it does in several other models. I counted 43 buttons and knobs to control a touchscreen navigation and radio system. The good news is the system sounds great and includes six small channel selection buttons, avoiding a few clunky touchscreen problems that I've found in many vehicles. These old-tech buttons work, even when you're wearing gloves.

You'd expect this sort of power and luxury to push the cost envelope. At its base the tested QX70 AWD lists at $47,300 and adds a $995 delivery fee. But this one ladled on the pricey option packages to give it the luxury features most high-end crossover and sport-SUV buyers would expect.

These included a Technology Package for $2,950 that adds intelligent cruise control, lane departure warning, intelligent brake assist with forward collision warning, adaptive front lighting, rain-sensing wipers and front pre-crash seatbelts. I'd pass on this one just because the lane departure warning must be manually turned off each time you start the car. It defaults to "on" and beeps incessantly when you get near a center line.

More valuable is the Premium Package with its navigation system with easy-to-see 8-inch VGA color display. The system includes voice recognition, NavTraffic, NavWeather and Infiniti's Around View monitor that uses four cameras to show you all around the vehicle. The system also includes moving object detection and front and rear sonar, which is helpful in busy parking lots.

The premium package also includes a Bluetooth system, in-dash CD/DVD player, dual occupant memory system and entry/exit assist for the driver's seat and steering wheel. That means they power up and back when you turn the ignition off to ease driver access. Infiniti also includes outside mirrors with a reverse tilt-down feature, a power tilt/telescope steering wheel and aluminum roof rails in the package, which costs $4,300.

This one included a $3,550 Sport Package too that boosts the 18-inch tires to giant 21-inchers with 6-spoke dark finish wheels. The dark finish also includes the grille, roof rails, fog lamp surrounds, outside mirror housing, side air vents, lower side moldings and trunk finishers.

Other features of the sport package include that purple contrast stitching, a dark headliner, climate-controlled front sport seats with the power bolsters mentioned earlier, plus magnesium paddle shifters and aluminum pedals. Illuminated kick plates added another $440.

Standard features include a sunroof, power hatch, fog lights, HomeLink, sliding visors and power folding side mirrors. Its rear seat will split and fold flat to increase storage room too and there's a full-size spare under the cargo floor.

A downside of the QX's size and weight is paltry gas mileage. I got just 17 mpg in about 60% city driving and with a couple really cold days during my week's drive. The EPA rates the QX70 at 16 mpg city and 22 highway and it prefers premium unleaded.

IPrice is nearly identical between the tested AWD QX70 and the QX60 hybrid. A rear-drive QX70 is available starting at $46,845, including delivery.

Jean Knows Cars: 2015 Infiniti QX60 offers artful luxury

The Infiniti QX60 3.5 looks like a big SUV (it's actually midsize), but it is surprisingly easy to drive and to live with, for a three-row crossover.

It helps that the QX60 has just a ton more style than cars of this ilk. The side profile is quite lovely, and both front and rear views aren't the locomotives we've become used to seeing. And it helps that the interior is a beautifully, thoughtfully trimmed luxury palace, even without the $11,000-plus in options, which took our test car from a base price of $43,395 to $54,690.

In addition to the standard features you would expect (heated front seats, a good audio system, all of the necessary ports and jacks for your electronics and a full complement of front, side and curtain airbags), you'll be pleased to find leather-appointed seats, a power sliding and tilting glass moonroof and a Bluetooth hands-free phone system.

Drivers of smaller stature (and I with my demolition derby-damaged neck) will especially appreciate the standard power tilting and telescoping steering column, the power rear liftgate and a rearview monitor, which together make the QX60 less daunting. All part of the price of entry.

Options? Oh, buddy, are there options! You are on your own there, but bring your checkbook. The Deluxe Touring package is $3,450 (it's where you find the air-conditioned front seats and the power-up folding third row). The Premium package is $1,550, and that's where my beloved heated steering wheel lives. There is also the Premium Plus package ($3,000) with the magic AroundView Monitor with its moving object detection and front and rear sonar. You can sort it and your budget out on Infiniti's online configurator.

Our test car had all of that razzmatazz and, frankly, I liked it, yes I did. But the only must-have in my book is the Technology package ($2,800). That's where most all of the advanced safety resides, those technologies that are the precursors to fully autonomous cars: full-speed-range intelligent cruise control, lane departure warning and prevention, blind spot warning and intervention, intelligent brake assist with forward collision warning and backup collision intervention. You'll notice that most of these are more than warnings and alerts; they actually intervene when you're just not cutting it behind the wheel.

And isn't that what autonomous cars are all about?

You'll still be doing the driving in the 2015 QX60, so it's good to know that the 3.5-liter V-6 produces 265 horsepower — not a barnstormer off the line, but it will take you easily to 80 mph. It has a continuously variable automatic transmission, which Infiniti is very big on, and there are Standard, Sport, Snow and Eco drive modes. The main CVT benefit is that there are no gears to mesh and gnash and make loud noises while straining to up- and downshift. CVTs do a better job of maintaining optimum engine revs. And that pretty much works. The QX60's CVT tends to hem and haw a little at higher speeds but probably not enough to bother most drivers. You can ameliorate it by changing the drive mode switch to Sport.

More things in life should have a Sport option.

Three-row crossovers attract a specific clientele that are not me. I have no children, I don't have that many friends that need carting around, and the ones I have would rather walk than crawl into the wayback of an SUV.

I tested the QX60's cargo area by bringing everything I owned and my husband's golf clubs for a 1,100-mile trip across Florida. With midsize utility vehicles, you have to give up cargo to get that third row of seats. We did the opposite, accessing maximum cargo space with the power liftgate and power buttons that flipped down the 50/50 split-folding third-row bench. The low-load floor is a boon to women of the world with girly amounts of shoulder strength.

Three rollerboards went in upright, followed by the bag of clubs, four stuffed duffels, a few hatboxes, two garment bags and, yes, more. And you could still see out the rear window from the rearview mirror. Without those clubs, we could have left 50 percent of the bench in the upright position for a passenger.

When you don't need room for antiquing, that third row is pretty plush, with plenty of knee room and backs that recline. Getting back there is made easier by a clever forward flip of the outboard second-row seat behind the driver. This sets it up to slide forward on the same tracks that allow second-row passengers to fine-tune legroom. Even cooler is the ability to leave a child seat attached in place while accessing the third row. You won't have to make your kids crawl in through the rear and scale the back seat from behind.

There's an overhead handhold and an indentation in the sill to give you a boost. I gave it a go, got my 6-foot frame up and through the generous opening, and was impressed. However, getting out of the third seat almost crippled me. I'd recommend calling dibs on that second row with its cushy reclining and sliding seats and its own climate controller, complete with precise temperature settings.