The QX56 is a full sized premium SUV made by Infiniti. The car is based on the Nissan Armada, a car made by Infiniti’s Japanese parent company,? Nissan. The Infiniti QX56 finds itself competing in a sector which includes established heavy weights like the very desirable Cadillac Escalade, Lincoln Navigator, Mercedes Benz GL Class and the Audi Q7. Both the German cars are shorter than the Infiniti QX56, but look classy, carries badges with a bit more pedigree and offer highly economical diesel engine options. The Cadillac and Lincoln are both bigger and better looking than the Infiniti QX56, and also offer gas/electric hybrids for those who look out for emissions and fuel economy along with the conventional SUV attributes.
The interior was re-styled last year to keep it alive in the competition. The car is available as a seven-seater with flat folding second row seats, or an eight-seater with second row split benches. The car offers a lot of buttons and powered conveniences. The 2009 model gets power open/close rear lift gate, power folding second row and third-row seats.
From the outside, the Infiniti QX56 tries to break the box on wheels look to an extend by offering loads of curves all along the body and a rather unconventional second row door, with the door handles actually placed on the B pillar. The Infiniti QX56 looks massive from every angle. The front is dominated by a huge, rectangular, chrome radiator grille and headlamps, sitting high up. With the 20 inch mirror finished wheels that reflect light on the road, chrome side rear view mirrors, roof rails and side rub rails, the car has lots of ‘bling’ to offer.
The 2009 Infiniti QX56 gets as standard, a host of features like auto leveling rear suspension that makes sure the rear end never sags no matter how much load you are carrying, a 12 speaker premium Bose audio with hard disk and Bluetooth connectivity, hard disk based satellite navigation with voice activation command, key less entry and ignition, dual zone automatic climate control, leather upholstery, heated steering, heated front and second-row seats, power adjustable peals and front seats, xenon headlamps, dual zone automatic climate control and reversing camera as standard. The options list includes a rear seat DVD entertainment system, adaptive cruise control and front sonar sensors.
The car scored the maximum five out of five for the driver and four out of five for the passenger in frontal crash test conducted. The good scores can be attributed to the standard safety features that include Anti lock disc brakes, stability control, active front seat head restraints, full length side curtain airbag and front seats side impact airbags. The issue with the weak brakes in the old models have been successfully addressed in the 2009 model. The 2009 Infiniti QX56 comes with a 5.6 liter V8 engine that pumps out 320 horsepower and 393 pound-feet of torque and a five speed automatic transmission. The car can sprint from 0 to 60 mph in 7.3 seconds. Both four wheel drive and rear wheel drive options are available. The rear wheel drive version can tow a load of 9000 pounds, thanks to the robust engine that produces loads of torque. The massive size and huge engine translate into huge fuel bills, with rated fuel economy of 14 mpg overall and 17 mpg in highway.
The Infiniti QX56 feels good to drive, devoid of typical body role and instability issues found among other full sized SUVs in the segment.
Source: www.nitrobahn.com
