wheels

Motoring | Test Drives

Long-term review: Infiniti QX 56 - Week 1

Amit Benjamin welcomes our new long-termer, the Infiniti QX 56

By Amit Benjamin, Editor, wheels
Published: 13:03 November 1, 2012

Image Credit: Grace Paras/ANM
Superb ride and loads of space, the QX is a great family car. Just a very, very large one.

The underground car park in my apartment block is pretty unremarkable. Getting in and out in most manner of civilian transport isn’t exactly daunting. I’ve effortlessly traversed this stretch in many hunkered down and large automotive exotica and SUVs.

However, this week I faced a big challenge when trying to make my way out of the very car park. A five-metre long, two-metre wide challenge, to be precise. Yup, the Infiniti QX is enormous. It’s nearly half a metre longer than the Range Rover Vogue. And that’s a fairly massive car to begin with.

I dread the day when some extremity of the QX will meet an unyielding concrete structure with unpretty results. On the upside it’s got enough room for seven adults with all their limbs intact, and like any great premium family hauler, the seats fold electrically in a variety of ways to liberate a positively cavernous cargo space of 2,693 litres.

Now, you would probably imagine that with its scale-destroying heft, the 2,655-kilogram QX would gather itself off the line with the elegance of a sumo wrestler trying to get out of a Lazy Boy. But with a naturally aspirated 5.6-litre, 400 horsepower V8 channelling motivation to all four wheels, it’s hilariously rapid for something this big.

The ride’s predictably super soft, which coupled with the lofty height means the QX feels like an oil rig in corners. But that’s missing the point, you don’t fling something this gargantuan in corners like you would a sportscar. Plus, you need give in the suspension to be able to conquer daunting off-road terrain.

The fact that underneath the QX’s vast expanses of sheet metal, it is in fact a Nissan Patrol, means its prodigious dune-bashing talents are not in question. You can throw any challenge that the UAE’s great wide open can serve up its way and the QX 56 will emerge victorious. I’m confident. It’s getting out of the car park in the first place that I’m more worried about.

Facts

Driven by: Amit

Start mileage: 10,562km

Recent cost: Fuel

Average fuel economy: 20 litres-per-100km

Highs: Superb ride, faster than you’d expect, loads of space

Lows: Huge, thirsty

More from Motoring

All articles in Motoring

More from Life & Style

Packed with the latest local and global motoring news, first drives, up-market car products, bikes and more

Life & Style editor's choice

15 of the best iPhone, iPad and Android apps

A roundup of new and notable apps for iPhone, iPad and Android devices
Are you in financial trouble? Take our quiz

Take a quiz to assess your financial situation and reward yourself with peace of mind
Abuse: Bollywood stars break their silence

Veena Malik, Amrita Rao and other stars talk about why some women are abused in a relationship
Dieting disaster shoppers may not be aware of

If you want to maximize your chances of success, don’t go to the grocery store on an empty stomach
Secret project out: Balloons that beam internet

Google's baloons to bring the world's current 4.8 billion unwired people online