Background: Infiniti, the luxury division of Nissan, jumped on the sport utility bandwagon this model year with the introduction of the 1997 QX4. If the four-door, QX4 looks vaguely familiar, its because it shares the same automotive platform as Nissan's Pathfinder. During the past couple of years, Infiniti's upscale Japanese rivals, Lexus and Acura, both introduced sport utilities of their own. Lexus, the luxury arm of Toyota introduced its LX 450 (based on the Toyota Land Cruiser), Acura, the luxury division of Honda recently debuted its SLX (a reworked Isuzu Trooper). Auto manufacturers like sport utilities because SUVs have bigger profit margins built into the price; more than your average, run-of-the-mill mid-size sedan. And with the advent of luxury sport utilities, manufacturers have the opportunity to command luxury prices. For the past couple of years, SUVs have been selling like hot cakes, contributing to healthy bottom lines for many automakers.
Optional equipment: Since the QX4 is marketed in one, well equipped trim level, about the only options available are a power sliding sunroof and heated driver and front passenger seats. Both are available in the QX4 premium package.
Standard equipment: The QX4 is marketed with loads of standard features and very few options. Air conditioning, power windows and doors, steering wheel mounted cruise control, rear window defroster, rack-and-pinion steering, leather seats and dual power heated outside mirrors top the list of standard equipment.
Price: Infiniti's five-passenger QX4 starts at $35,550. With the $1,650 premium package, the bottom line totalled $37,695 including a $495 destination charge.
Safety features: Dual air bags, four-wheel anti-lock brakes, keyless remote entry, front and rear crumple zones, child safety rear door locks and energy-absorbing tilt steering column are all standard.
Engine: The sole engine available in the QX4 is a 3.3-liter, V-6, 168 horsepower engine featuring electronic sequential multi-point fuel injection. What sets QX4 apart from many competitors and its Nissan Pathfinder twin, is the all-mode, 4-wheel-drive system. By turning a dashboard rotary knob to the "automatic" setting, computerized control units in the front and rear driveshaft, automatically send the correct amount of power to the front and rear axles to achieve maximum traction for current driving conditions. When traveling on dry pavement, the computer directs traction to the rear wheels. This system is ideal for people who want the safety advantages of four-wheel drive, but don't want to be continually shifting gears. The dashboard rotary knob can be set exclusively in the two-wheel drive mode if towing a boat or trailer. And a floor-mounted gear shift allows the driver to enact 4-wheel-drive low for maneuvering out of mud or deep snow.
Seating comfort: Leather seats are convertible and supportive. An eight-way power driver seat and four-way front passenger seat are standard. Even with the optional moonroof, front headroom is decent. The same can't be said for back seat travelers, who sit a tad higher up than front-seat counterparts and may be a bit squished. Head and leg room is very tight for anybody approaching adult proportions. Rear doors don't open a full 90 degrees, so maneuvering into the back is not as easy as it could be. Maneuvering into the front is much easier. There is no great leap up into the front seat like there is in some other SUVs. The 60/40 split rear seats do fold up and away relatively easily when added cargo room is needed. The seat cushions fold up and forward, after which the back rests can be folded down once the headrests are removed. There is 85 cubic feat of space with the rear seat folded down.
Interior: Controls and instruments are within easy reach. Headlights activate from the turn signal stalk while intermittent windshield wipers monitor from a right-hand side stalk. The standard stereo/cassette/compact disc player situates below the rectangular-shaped temperature control center with push-button operation. Between the front bucket seats are in-line dual cupholders capable of handling 20-ounce drinks. The floor-mounted automatic transmission and four-wheel-drive floor shifter situate in front of the cupholders, and a storage bin/arm rest is behind. One nice touch is a digital compass with outside temperature readout on the ceiling between the rear-view mirror and sunglass holder. Road perception on the left (driver's side) is not as good as it could be so you'll need to depend heavily on the side-view mirror. With the back seats upright, headrests pop up in the rear view mirror quite prominently.
Exterior: Except for a Infiniti-inspired front grille and facia, the exterior shouts Nissan Pathfinder, which isn't all bad because it's a rather stylish body. The rear liftgate is hinged at the roof and opens up from the bumper as one unit. Drivers also have the option of flipping open the rear glass window from a dashboard-mounted toggle switch. The standard roof-mounted luggage rack and fog lamps, front and rear splash guards and step-up running boards add practical touches. Flush-mounted rear door handles are positioned high up, between the middle and back side windows.
Dimensions: Wheelbase:106.3 inches Overall length: 183.9 inches Overall width: 72.4 inches Overall height: 70.7 inches Front headroom: 38.1 inches Front legroom: 41.7 inches Weight: 4,275 lbs.
Tires: The QX4 includes large, 16-inch all-season radial tires affixed to 16-inch aluminum alloy wheels for a rugged look and decent traction. The spare tire stores out of the way, under the vehicle. This makes more sense than mounting it on the back liftgate where it blocks rear-view perception, or in the cargo area, where it robs valuble storage space.
Fuel mileage: In keeping with many SUVs, gas mileage is just plain lousy. Estimates are 15 miles per gallon city and 19 mpg highway. With 13,200 odometer miles, our QX4 averaged 16 mpg in combined driving with two-wheel drive engaged a majority of the time. The locking fuel door pops opens by pushing a floor-mounted lever, left of the driver's seat. The tank holds 20.8 gallons of unleaded fuel.
Final thoughts: Infiniti's QX4 is priced thousands of dollars less than Toyota's LX 450, but is in the same price range as Acura's SLX. You can save a few bucks by purchasing a loaded Pathfinder, but the easy-to-use, all-mode 4WD won't be part of the deal. Handling and suspension is quite good for a SUV. Back seats are best left for the pre-teen crowd. |