Surprise! You get to drive an Infiniti QX80

People often tell me how traveling for work looks like so much fun. Driving rental cars, is not usually one of those “fun” parts, after all how excited can you get at opening the door to another Toyota Corolla, Nissan Altima, Hyundai Elantra or Ford Fusion Hybrid. Yes these cars have their place in a vanilla world, but if you have a passion for cars like me….a part of you seems to die each time you get in such an ordinary vehicle. Once in a great while you win the rental car lottery and score a free upgrade to a “Premium” vehicle. Such an event can make a drive from the airpot to your destination feel like a short vacation.  

I had the pleasure of driving an Infiniti QX80 on a trip last week in Salt Lake City…the vehicle was so new it still had a 30 day tag in the back window and some of the original shipping wrapping on it. In true Sale Lake City style, it was up-fitted with a ski rack for runs between the air port and Park City. The was a first for me, as I have never driven an Infiniti SUV before.

Let me just say that in my 25+ years in the automotive industry I have driven thousands of different vehicles from countless manufactures domestically and abroad (I do not claim to be a Jeremy Clarkson and this is not an episode of Top Gear or the Grand Tour). That being said, I have certain expectations when it comes to full size SUVs.

Pros - The fit and finish was on par with Cadillac and Lexus, though in the full size SUV world, tolerances in general are a bit lose due to application of these vehicles…they may look nice but they are work horses.  The 5.6L V-8 was smooth, quite and never felt underpowered. I can't speak for roadside as the ski rack made a nasty wireless above 5mph. Seats were comfortable with preset controls that pull away from the driving position when exiting and entering….a nice touch. The look of the vehicle made heads turn, even in this rather modest town.

Cons - The center controls system was the most confusing set up I may have ever seen. I reached up and turned largest nob on the center of the dash to either turn down the fan or the volume of the radio…it did neither. In fact it did noting at all….when moved side to side it controlled a completely out of date nav system (thanks Infiniti, I have an iPhone that does that better). The actual volume control was a small, un-lit knob on in a remote corner of the center console that appears to be a complete afterthought. The fan control were 2 horizontally paced buttons that were obscured by the gear shifter. Remember, this at heat a truck, driven by manly men…they don’t time for things like heat or good music! Speaking of heat….the heated seats are on toggle switches that do no reset when you turn the car off…so you may get a surprise like me: my pants were on fire when I first pulled out of the rental agency, it took me over 10 min on the side of the road just to find the switch to turn off those heated seats for the first time.  

Bottom line if you like the Infiniti brand you will feel at home in this beast. If your new to the brand you will enjoy this one once you get used to it’s quirks. I prefer a slightly smaller SUV myself, but can curtly see the attraction to the 8 passanger monster here in foothills of the Rocky Mountains.