2015 INFINITI QX80

Great Infiniti QX80 Ownership Experience

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 5 Performance Rating: 5 Interior Rating: 5 Reliability Rating: 5 Safety Rating: Technology Rating: 5 Value Rating: 4

My 2015 QX80 is my second Infiniti full size SUV as I previously drove a 2006 QX56 which I still own as a third vehicle for our family. I put over 205,000 miles on the 2006 model, and had absolutely no problems. Great quality vehicle with outstanding ownership experience. When it came time to look at new vehicles I again did rigorous evaluation before purchasing my 2015 QX80. I looked at the Ford Expedition (I previously owned a 1997 model), the Lincoln Navigator (my wife drives a 2006 model), the Cadillac Escalade, the GMC Yukon Denali, the Chevy Tahoe LTZ, and the Toyota Sequoia Platinum. I am 6'-8" and immediately eliminated the Toyota Sequoia as I could not even sit in the driver seat due to the very short headroom as my head hit the ceiling even with the seat back reclined pretty significantly. I loved the legroom and headroom for all the GM products as they had best in class legroom, but GM still has not engineered a decent 3rd row seat to fold flat into the floor. While they advertise the new versions that way, in reality you lose at least 4" in the height of the cargo area as they have artificially raised the cargo floor to accommodate the third row seating when folded down. Legroom on their 3rd row seating was basically unusable. That left the Lincoln Navigator and the Ford Expedition, but there was simply no comparison when evaluating the quality of the vehicles between the Infiniti QX80 and the Ford and Lincoln products. I have been extremely pleased with the outstanding quality of my QX-80. With 400 horsepower it has plenty of power to provide effective performance for such a large, heavy vehicle. While it does not have sports car acceleration, if you are driving a full size SUV that is not a primary consideration. I have found the 5.6 liter engine to have plenty of power and zip and even when cruising at 70 mph there is still plenty of acceleration when you need to pass. The 315 horses available on my 2006 QX56 was adequate, and the new fuel injection on the QX80 provides a noticeable difference in power. The greatest improvements in with the QX-80 is in the changes made with technology to improve the ride and to make the driving experience safer. I have found the blind spot monitor to be a tremendous help, and the intelligent cruise control is an amazing technology to monitor what is happening with vehicles ahead of you to ensure safe distances are maintained. If you have not used this technology, you will love it as you can set the interval you are looking to maintain and the sensors on the vehicle do an amazing job of monitoring not only the vehicle immediately in front of you, but also the vehicle on ahead to determine if there is a potential safety hazard and will automatically adjust the set speed accordingly. The driving and passenger ride experience is incredibly comfortable. With the long wheel base, the quality of the seats, and the suspension system provides a luxury car ride for your passengers. I get so many compliments from those riding with me as to how incredibly comfortable the ride is as well as how impressed they are with the luxury finish. Infiniti has used very high quality materials and it is very evident in the look and feel of the vehicle. Even with the size of a full size SUV, the QX80 handles incredibly well for both highway driving, city driving, and the surround view cameras and sensors make it every easy to handle vehicle even in tight spaces. Turning radius is excellent for this size vehicle and I can actually U-turn in a much smaller radius than many passenger cars. This vehicle is a dream to drive on the highway as the ride is so comfortable, yet when needed the handling is very responsive. Another great advantage to a full size SUV is the amount of cargo you can haul in the cargo area behind the 2nd row, and if necessary with the second row captain seats folded down. I have hauled an incredible amount of gear in my vehicle multiple times over the past 15 months and having the voluminous cargo area is great. This is where it is so important at the elegant engineering of how the 3rd row seating folds into the floor. While I would agree with the other two reviews listed regarding the low end of the gas gauge accuracy, and at times the shifting of the transmission could be smoother, but that is only when you are really pushing the vehicle and need to accelerate quickly. Overall, to me these are very small issues compared to the overall quality and experience of owning this vehicle. The QX80 also has unique styling which you may either love or hate, but you won't look like every other full size SUV on the road. I personally really like the styling as it is not just a square box like so many of the competitors. The net is, I love my 2015 Infiniti QX80, and would highly recommend this vehicle to anyone.