2025 Infiniti QX80

Until recently, big vehicles – big SUVs especially – generally came with big engines. The Infiniti QX80 was no exception. Since its 2004 debut – as the QX56 – all the way through to last year – it has always come standard with a 5.6 liter V8.

The just-updated 2025 QX80 breaks with that tradition – and as is usually the case when there is a break with tradition, there are things some people will like and some things other, more traditionally minded people may not like.

What It Is

The QX80 is Infiniti’s flagship – largest and most-expensive – vehicle. It is a full-sized luxury SUV with room for 7-8 passengers, depending on the configuration. Until this year, it came standard with a 5.6 liter V8 engine. It now comes standard with a new, twin-turbocharged 3.5 liter V6 engine. This new engine is much smaller – and has two fewer cylinders.

But it makes 450 horsepower – 50 more than last year’s V8.

It seems there is a replacement for displacement.

All trims come standard with 20 inch wheels, a 14.3 inch secondary touchscreen mounted on the center console – where it’s much easier and much more natural to tap/swipe the surface – synthetic leather seats (first two rows with heaters) a panorama sunroof and a 14 speaker premium Klipsch audio system.

Base price is $82,450 for the Pure trim – which is the only trim that doesn’t come standard with 4WD. It can be added to the Pure as an option, bumping the MSRP up to $8550.

There are three other trims, beginning with the $89,500 Luxe – which comes with 22 inch wheels, an adaptive suspension system, real leather upholstery and power-folding second row seats.

The $99,950 Sensory trim adds a 24 speaker Klipsch ultra-premium audio system, massaging front seats and a built-in camera that records the road ahead – like a Go Pro but without having to have the Go Pro mounted on the dashboard. It can be used to prove the guy ahead of you brake-checked you and things of that nature.

The top-of-the-line Autograph trim – $109,900 – comes with everything the Luxe and Sensory trims come with plus massaging second-row seats and heated third row seats, quilted leather upholstery, a refrigerated compartment built into the center console and a self-driving feature called ProPilot Assist.

The Luxe, Sensory and Autograph trims all come standard with 4WD.

What’s New for 2025

The QX80 gets a complete makeover, including the new twin-turbo V6 engine, revised exterior styling and interior layout and new features that were not previously available in this model, such as the ultra-high-end Kilpsch audio system and the massaging chairs.

What’s Good

New twin-turbo V6 is 50 horsepower stronger than previous V8 and uses slightly less gas.

Higher standard towing capacity (8,500 lbs.) than rivals such as Cadillac Escalade (8,100 lbs.) Lexus LS600 (8,000 lbs.) and Jeep Grand Wagoneer (8,200 lbs.)

Priced several thousand dollars below Escalade ($87,59 to start) and LX600 ($105,500 to start).

What’s Not So Good

Base price is $8,300 higher than last year.

V6 isn’t a V8.

Like its rivals, the Q is massive – and the roads and parking spots out there often aren’t.

Under The Hood

The big change is a change that has been happening generally. The Q’s previously standard  5.6 liter V8 has been replaced by a much smaller 3.5 liter V6 – with a pair of turbos to make up for its smaller size. Without the turbos, the 3.5 V6 would not be able to move as much air as a 5.6 liter V8 because its cylinders hold less air and there are two fewer cylinders. This brings up the question – why would moving less air be more desirable? The answer is simple. An engine that moves less air uses less gas – and generates less exhaust gas. This is why – all else being equal – a smaller engine uses less gas (and emits less gas) than a larger engine. And that matters very much – to a vehicle manufacturer trying to comply with government regulations requiring vehicles use less gas and emit less gas.

The obvious problem, of course, is that the smaller engine – all else being equal – will also make less power. Enter the turbo. Or two of them, in this case. That is how the new Q’s much smaller 3.5 liter V6 is able to make more power – 450 horsepower and 516 ft.-lbs. of torque – than the old Q’s 5.6 liter V8, which only made 400 horsepower and 413 ft.-lbs. of torque. This makes it one of the strongest, smallest engines available in a full-size SUV. It is 30 horsepower stronger than the Cadillac Escalade’s largest-in-the-class 6.2 liter V8 (420 horsepower) and the Lexus LX600’s slightly smaller 3.4 liter V6, which also has two turbos bit only makes 409 horsepower. The Lincoln Navigator’s same-size 3.5 liter V6 (also turbo’d twice) touts 430 horsepower and 510 ft.-lbs. of torque. The big Lincoln also claims the highest max tow rating of the bunch – 8,700 lbs. – but that’s only 200 lbs. less than Infiniti says the new Q says it can pull – 8,500 lbs. – and the Nav’s base price of $99,995 is about $18k higher – which is a lot to pay for the additional 200 pounds of pulling capability.

The big daddy of the bunch – at least insofar as power is concerned – is the Jeep Grand Wagoneer, which also has the smallest engine of the bunch. Its 3.0 liter six – boosted by a pair of turbos – touts an astounding 510 horsepower.

The new Q’s gas mileage  (16 city, 20 highway) is about the same as the old Q’s (14 city, 20 highway) but the upside is you get a substantial bump in horsepower without an appreciable decrease in fuel consumption.

There’s also a new 9 speed automatic transmission – which replaces the previously used 7 speed automatic. Automatic 4WD (with driver-selectable terrain-modes) is standard in all but the base Pure trim, which is the only trim where it’s optional.

On The Road

The full-sized luxury SUV has replaced the full-size American luxury sedan which you can’t get anymore. Hence the full-size luxury SUV – even if it’s not American.

The reason why you can get full-sized SUVs has to do with federal regs – specifically, federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy regs, which impose fines for “guzzling gas” on vehicles that do not comply with CAFE mileage standards. But the standards are less strict for big SUVs and trucks, which is why vehicles like the QX80 are still available.

The chief difference between a big SUV like the Q and a big sedan from the ’70s isn’t length so much as height. Park a big SUV like the Q next to something like a Cadillac Fleetwood from the ’70s and see for yourself. You could probably stack two Fleetwoods on top of each other and not quite reach the 76.6 inches off the ground roofline of the mighty Q. That’s a slight exaggeration but not much. A ’76 Fleetwood – last of the really big ones – stood just  56.8 inches off the ground at the roofline.

Ponder that.

Or just experience it. You have a fine view of the rooflines of other vehicles (excepting those of other big SUVs and trucks) and you’ll probably have to reach down to get at the pneumatic tube at the bank drive-thru. But you will be in command – which is ultimately what owning a massive, body-on-frame vehicle such as this is all about. As it was back in the day, when owning a big sedan like a Caddy Fleetwood made its owner feel the same way.

Today, you’ll feel even better – if you get the Autograph trim, which has three-program massaging seats as well as (of course) heaters and coolers built in, which are luxury amenities no ’70s Caddy ever offered.

The V6 – to cadge a line from Baine in Batman – pulls like a much larger engine, with nothing held back. This massive – and massively heavy – vehicle is capable of accelerating from a dread stop to 60 MPH in six seconds. That is easily twice as quick as a ’76 Fleetwood, which was powered by an eight liter V8. The V6 even sounds like a V8 when called upon to accelerate the 6,400 lb. (not a typo) QX with the authority befitting its status as king of the road.

Or one of them, at least.

You can drive almost 600 highway miles in between fill-ups, too. And unlike a battery powered device, the Q’s 24 gallon tank can be refilled in less than five minutes.

The big issue – so to speak – is that the Q and its kind are as big as they are and most everything else (excepting big trucks) is not. Including the space allotted for parking at supermarkets and so on. They are wide enough to comfortably accommodate a typical crossover that’s several inches less wide – leaving you (if you drive a Q) with not many inches to spare on either side when parked in between a couple of crossovers. Also not much leeway to back out of the spot when it’s time to leave on account of the space of the lane in between the rows. The good news is the Q, like the others of its kind, has an array of very good close-circuit cameras to show you how much space you have to back up and warning chimes to alert you before you back into anything.

At The Curb

How long is the Q? How about 211.2 inches, stem to stern. That is a lot of Q. Which is why there is a lot of room inside the Q, which is part of the point of owning a big SUV. There are no cars made anymore that can carry more than six people or even five in anything that could be described as “comfort.” The big Q can carry 7-8 people in the kind of comfort that heretofore was not even conceivable. Massaging second row passenger seats, for instance. Backseaters also get their own LCD flatscreen control interface mounted in between the seats, both of which can be remotely power-folded to open access to the third row seats (which are available with heaters, too).

The dash is all LCD now – as is common in ultra-luxury vehicles now. What isn’t common – and ought to be – is a low-mounted LCD interface for the big Q’s secondary controls, as for the AC, seat heaters (and massagers, if equipped). This isn’t just better-looking design; it is sound design, because the surface falls closer to hand and is thus easier – more natural – to use than the iPad-like LCD screen that are mounted Pop Tart-style on the upper part of the dash, making it necessary to reach up and forward to tap/swipe the controls. There is also a knob that can be turned by hand to make fine-adjustments to the stereo’s volume as you drive, without taking your eyes off the road.

One other thing about the new Q is its new look. It no longer looks like a guild navigator from the 1984 sci-fi movie, Dune. The old Q did and it was a detraction from what was otherwise – functionally – a solid contender in the class. But the weird-looking schnozz drove some buyers away, very much of a piece with the way the Pontiac Aztek’s look detracted from what was otherwise a sound and functional vehicle.

Anyhow, that’s no longer an issue. The new Q has the visual presence of an NFL center in a well-cut suit.

The Rest

Second row captain’s chairs and seven passenger seating are standard but you can choose a second row bench and gain seating capacity for eight. The base Pure trim does not come standard with the adaptive suspension or the real leather upholstery that comes standard in the Luxe and higher trims and that’s a little cheap, arguably, given the base price of the Pure is south of $82k already.

Also, there are few options. Just the trims. That means if you want, say, the upgraded (24 speaker) Klipsch audio system, you have to buy the Sensory trim and – similarly – if you want the quilted leather seats, you have to buy the Autograph trim.

But you can buy an umbrella holder for $355 extra. 

The Bottom Line

The engine’s smaller. But everything else is bigger – and that’s ultimately what a vehicle such as this is all about.

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