The “Sport Activity Vehicle” or “coupe-SUV” genre is the latest trend in luxury crossovers. The even-numbered BMW X vehicles and the Mercedes-Benz “Coupe” crossovers started a fad that’s proliferating to other makes. The Infiniti QX55 is the latest of those, taking the QX50 small crossover and rounding off the rear end to coupify it.
The 2022 Infiniti QX55 debuts the model as a new small SUV entry in the luxury segment. Its chief differentiator from the QX50 is its coupe-styled sloping rear roofline and hatch and its bigger price tag by comparison. For that price jump, though, it comes pretty fully stocked, with all-wheel drive and 20-inch wheels as standard. Infiniti’s 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine with turbochargers (268 horsepower output) and automatic compression adjustment is pulled straight from the QX50, but in the QX55 it feels more refined and ready for the public. The retuning of the engine done for the QX55 plus the adjustment of the continuously variable transmission (CVT) it mates to add up to a much better drive feel and performance than might be expected.
The 2022 QX55 is comfortable, dutifully posh inside, and unusually smooth riding compared to others in this size class. The multi-tone interior and wood trim are nice touches, especially in the QX55-exclusive Monaco Red theme. Like most Infiniti models, the QX55 uses a dual-screen infotainment setup, an 8-inch display on top and a 7-inch screen below. There are some dated elements there, including map graphics and virtual buttons, but the screens do a good job of splitting the work between them and becoming intuitive as a result. Apple CarPlay is both wired and wireless while Android Auto is wired only.
The rear seats of the 2022 Infiniti QX55 are decent enough for a small vehicle, but headroom is compromised by the sloping roofline so anyone over six feet will not be sitting upright. The sloping roof also means less visibility out the rear for the driver, but luckily it doesn’t mean less cargo space. The cargo area is 26.9 cubic feet, which is about 10 cf less than the QX50 has. That’s not much loss considering the competition in this segment. The rear seats don’t fold flat, however, and the slide-forward option to create more cargo space leaves a large gap between the rear cargo floor and the seats that will, inevitably, get things dropped into it.
As a daily driver, though, we enjoyed the 2022 QX55 as a fine-feeling vehicle. It’s not jumpy fast, but it’s quick and easy to enjoy. Most of the expected driver’s aids are there, including lane-departure warning, forward and rear collision mitigation with automatic braking, and blind-spot monitoring. The base model has a lot of other things too, such as LED headlamps, a WiFi hotspot capability, and heated front seats. Moving up the trim levels (there are three) adds other stuff as well, including advanced adaptive cruise control and blind-spot intervention to keep the car in its lane when another vehicle is in its blind spot.
Probably the greatest feature of the QX55 over its QX50 sibling is its nimble nature and better engine/transmission tuning. These are what make it a well-done daily drive.
The 2022 Infiniti QX55 has a starting price of about $47,500 plus delivery.
This review originally appeared on DriveModeShow.com.
