Newly redesigned QX56 is top luxury full-size utility vehicle

Infiniti, the upscale luxury division of Nisan Motor Company, has completely remade its luxury wagon QX56 for the 2011 model year. It competes with the likes of the Cadillac Escalade, Lincoln Navigator, Lexus LX, all vehicles bucking the tough economic trends where high gas mileage and new electric vehicles are all the rage.

While the previous generation QX56 was a thinly disguised Nissan Armada with both built at Nissan’s Canton, Mississippi assembly plant, the new QX is made in Japan and based on the Nissan Patrol, a vehicle sold most places in the world save the U.S.

The nearly three ton QX is nothing short of huge and can easily cast a shadow across the sheet metal of vehicles like Escalade or Navigator. Powered by a super smooth 5.6-liter aluminum 400 hp V8 and seven-speed automatic transmission, we managed just a tick above 17 mpg with mostly highway driving. The engine powers the QX56 with remarkable ease.

The genius of the QX is it doesn’t feel like you’re driving such a huge beast. The remarkably easy handling is attributed to what Infiniti calls its “hydraulic motion control system.”

Our test vehicle was well equipped. It came with the optional 22-inch wheels included in the deluxe touring package, making it a stretch for shorter drivers and passengers to board the vehicle. Once inside, the view is panoramic although rearward visibility isn’t nearly as impressive.

The QX has received mixed reviews relative to its new styling with most skewing negative. I’m not saying it’s gorgeous, but I can easily declare it far better looking both inside and out than any super-sized luxury SUV on the market today.

The curvaceous sheet metal rounds to a snub nose up front. The audacious brightwork barred maw renders the HID bi-functional xenon headlamps as mere slits in the fabric. Add the three-hole non-functional ventiports on either front fender and its exaggerated girth strikes a luxurious king of the road presumption.

The interior smacks of Wall Street board room luxury with genuine Tuscan burl trim, intoxicating airline leather seats, and dozens of tech and personal amenities available as standard or options to please the most distinguishing of tastes. For example, our tester came equipped with the technology package that included blind-spot warning system, intelligent cruise control, distance control assist, forward collision warning with front pre-crash seat belts and the lane departure warning system that delivers an audible beeping when the driver wanders afield of his/her intended lane.

Infiniti also tossed in the theater package, which included dual 7-inch color monitors, two wireless headphones and a wireless remote control.

Safety equipment includes front, side, roof mounted side-impact and curtain side-impact airbags, anti-lock brakes, electronic brake force distribution, stability and traction control and an impressive Around View Monitor front and rear sonar system. It displays an aerial 360 degree view on the center stack LCD monitor to help ensure the detection of obstacles that might not be visible to the naked eye. It’s the best backing system we’ve seen on any vehicle and it comes standard.

Yet the plethora of standard and optional gear available for this vehicle is not what impressed me the most. Nor was it the incredibly comfortable heated and cooled seats, the generous space for the power-folding second row captain’s chairs that move back and forth, the thoughtfully placed and numbered cupholders, the tech upgrades or the plush appointments that drown you in seduction and luxury.

No, the surprise is that Infiniti can put this much content, size, performance, safety and driving pleasure on four wheels with an MSRP under $60,000. Try to get the Germans, the Brits or even Detroit to pull that off.

Now I understand any number of you will think I’m absolutely nuts to suggest that sixty-big is a bargain price and there’s no need to convince me it’s a lot of money. I can appreciate that many believe a space-gobbling, gas-guzzling oversized leviathan for personal transportation is amoral. But I do contend that for those who can afford to drive what they want have the right to do it as they see fit.

All I can say is the new Infiniti QX56 was sheer joy to test-drive.