Infiniti QX60 Strives to Stand Out in a Crowd

• A new Infiniti QX60 SUV will enter a crowded market by the end of the year.

• Only the 3.5-liter V6 is carried over, everything else is new.

• Fully endorsed by Kate Hudson.

After months of camo shots and ­­teasers, Infiniti finally pulled the cover off its coming QX60 three-row luxury crossover for all the world to see. It even had help in the launch from “Hollywood movie star” Kate Hudson, who was in a video about the Q that should be out about the time you’re reading this. So if Kate Hudson drives one (at least she did in the video) it’s got to be cool, right?

Let’s check it out.

The QX60 is all new for 2022, except for the 3.5-liter V6. The new crossover shares a lot of architecture and all of its drivetrain with the also-new Nissan Pathfinder, except that everything in the QX60 is tuned specifically for Infiniti luxury.

Even the 3.5-liter V6 produces more power and torque than its Pathfinder sibling. The QX60 makes 295 hp vs. the Pathfinder’s 284 and torque is at 270 lb ft vs. 259. The two trucks share their rated 6,000-pound towing capacities, good enough to haul an Airstream or just about whatever you want to haul.

The QX60 shares its new 9-speed automatic with the Pathfinder, replacing the CVT that previously rode in both. The new transmission sounds promising.

“The all-new QX60 has a very direct and linear acceleration feel,” assured Dave Kiesel, manager of powertrain performance at Infiniti. “It gives the driver confidence to not only increase their standing start but also passing on the freeway and in the city. You just step on the pedal, it downshifts, and you go.”

Kiesel said the 9-speed also has a larger ratio spread, almost 10:1, meaning there is a wider gearing selection for the vehicle’s shifter brain to choose from.

“This gives the customer the ability to have a standing start performance that is confident and responsive and then the corollary of that is that you also maintain your fuel economy on the freeway.”

And you could even call it sporty.

“In sports mode the transmission will actually simulate a heel-and-toe, like a race car-type response, where it matches the engine’s rpm to the drive load and basically makes it much smoother, much more responsive on the re-acceleration.”

(None of those claims have been independently verified yet.)

The 3.5-liter V6, meanwhile, is still from the award-winning VQ engine family that has served Nissan and Infiniti so well for many years. It was so good, in fact, that they didn’t change a thing on it. If it ain’t broke…