Large Luxury | 2016 Infiniti QX80

By Marc Schulhof
June 2016 View more For The Road

It’s June: School’s out, summer vacation looms, and the open highway beckons. With road trips on your mind, what vehicle would you like to see parked in your garage?

If your tastes tend toward the extra-large and extra-luxurious, Infiniti’s “flagship” QX80—land-yacht reference purely intentional—might be the SUV for you. With three wide rows of seating and up to 8,500 pounds of towing capacity, the QX80 is one of the true ready-for-anything trucks on the market.

The QX80 starts at a reasonable $63,250, which is lower than any of its primary competitors such as the Cadillac Escalade and Lincoln Navigator, and various models from Range Rover and Mercedes. That base price gets you a rear-wheel drive model; adding all-wheel drive bumps the starting price to $66,350.

Options List

You can save the trouble of perusing the voluminous options list by checking the box for the all-wheel-drive QX80 Limited—a top-of-the-line edition that bundles every available option with special leather and wood interior trim, dark chrome exterior accents, and an $88,850 sticker price.

Under The Hood

The QX80 does everything in a big way, starting with its 5.6-liter V8 engine. This unapologetically large power plant produces 400 horsepower, 413 pound-feet of torque, and enough thrust to effortlessly propel the SUV through traffic even with all seven seats full. Car and Driver magazine estimates that the QX80 will hit 60 miles per hour in about six and a half seconds—a grin-inducing sprint in a vehicle this large. High-speed cruising is equally effortless to the extent that drivers would be wise to keep an eye on the speedometer, lest they be surprised to discover their true velocity.

Fuel Efficiency

The oversized 26-gallon gas tank points to the downside of all this power. With EPA-estimated fuel economy of 14 miles per gallon in the city and 20 on the highway, the QX80 requires frequent fill-ups, especially for in-town driving. On road trips without a trailer, the big tank means that overall range is quite good.

Tuned For Comfort

The QX80 is tuned for comfort. That means drivers trade steering feel for a suspension that soaks up most bumps and potholes. As with any vehicle this tall—more than six feet to the top of the roof rails which is enough height to make you flinch as you roll into some parking garages—confident cornering often requires a prudent application of the brakes. While the big SUV’s stability control system does wonders, safe driving still starts with a healthy respect for the QX80’s high center of gravity.

All QX80s come equipped with two captain’s chairs in the second row and power split-folding, reclining third-row seats. The back seats are comfortable enough for children, but the middle row is definitely the place to be. With so much leg room, hip room, and head room—not to mention power ports and optional old-school video screens built into the back of the front headrests—second-row passengers have it made. A traditional three-seat middle bench is a no-cost option, but most buyers will choose the more comfortable two-seat layout.

On the Limited model, the QX80’s already luxurious interior gets a major upgrade with quilted leather seats, suede-covered pillars and headliner, and leather-wrapped grab handles. The latter are extremely handy for shorter passengers who need to pull themselves into the cabin. The QX80’s running boards help there, too.

Perhaps most luxurious of all, the QX80 feels quiet. Like the limousine-soft ride, the low-decibel cabin creates a truly pleasant environment for June road trips, or just the daily commute.