The 2018 Infinti QX80: For those who like to 4WD in luxury
Infiniti hasn’t been a high-volume brand in Australia, playing as the high-end option for Nissan’s range of vehicles. The brand doesn’t have much history or cred in 4X4 land either, until you remember the QX80 is pretty much all Nissan Patrol under the skin. And now, the QX80 has been updated.
There is a new look, praise the lord. The front end is a big departure from what it used to be, which, was, um, pretty odd. The bonnet is longer and higher, but most importantly, those headlights don’t look like a sad hippo any more. That being said, I can still see the sad Stormtrooper on the back…
There are some tweaks on the inside as well, but it’s overall the same story: tonnes of technology, crammed in between lashings of leather and wood. It’s a seriously luxury interior, based on the Nissan Y62 Patrol from which it came.
What remains unchanged is what sits under the bonnet: 298kW and 560Nm from the 5.6-litre V8 donk. This runs through a seven-speed automatic gearbox and low-range transfer case, with a full-time 4WD set-up.
The QX80 sports a 3500kg towing capacity like the Nissan Patrol, which means it will work as a good tow rig, except for the atrocious fuel economy you’ll likely get from the petrol powerplant. It will tow well and tow fast, it will just cost you… Price, speaking about cost, also remains unchanged at $110,900.
