2021 INFINITI QX50

The Infiniti QX50 features an innovative engine and beautifully restrained styling but struggles in the face of stiff competition from its European rivals. The QX50 does come with a good deal of standard safety gear, and Infiniti offers several upgrades that add value and desirable features. Updates to the QX50 for 2021 include a handful of new standard features, new paint color and upgraded safety features across the board.

Despite selling reasonably well—Infiniti moved almost 19,000 units in 2019—the QX50 can’t keep pace with its competition. For example, BMW sold over 70,000 X3s in 2019 and Porsche sold nearly 23,000 Macans in the same year. The Infiniti’s standout feature is its variable compression engine, which changes its compression ratio for better power or fuel efficiency as various driving situations dictate. But the reality of a vastly improved fuel economy hasn’t lived up to the hype.

Infiniti offers the 2021 QX50 in five trims: Pure, Luxe, Essential, Sensory and Autograph. All models come with the turbocharged 2.0-liter variable compression engine rated at 268 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque. It’s paired with a continuously variable transmission (CVT) and either front- or all-wheel drive.

The base $39,075 Pure model gets 19-inch wheels, leatherette upholstery, dual-zone climate controls, six speakers, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Bluetooth and a Wi-Fi hotspot. Stepping up to the $42,625 Luxe trim adds LED fog lights, a panoramic moonroof, heated front seats, remote start and lane departure. 

The $45,825 mid-range Essential trim adds features such as navigation and a surround-view monitor system. The $51,125 Sensory trim steps up to 20-inch wheels, unique cube design headlights, adaptive front lighting, reverse tilt-down mirrors, leather upholstery, a memory driver’s seat and a Bose 16-speaker stereo. The $56,225 top-of-the-line Autograph model gets a motion-activated liftgate, rear passenger window shades, semi-aniline leather upholstery, heated and cooled front seats and tri-zone climate controls. Upgrading to all-wheel drive is $2000 option across the board, except the top-tier Autograph, which includes it as standard equipment. (All prices include a $1025 destination fee.) 

All QX50 models come standard with several advanced safety features, including lane departure warning, forward collision warning, forward emergency braking with pedestrian detection, blind spot warning, rear cross-traffic alerts, rear automatic braking and automatic collision notification and emergency call. In addition, Infiniti’s ProPilot Assist semi-autonomous driver software becomes standard at the Luxe trim and traffic sign recognition becomes standard at the Essential trim. It’s reasonably accurate and adds a layer of safety but is by no means intended to reduce the amount of driver concentration and focus. 

The trick variable compression engine provides 268 horsepower and more than enough grunt to get the QX50 moving with gusto. Compared to the V6 it replaces, the four-cylinder shaves 57 horsepower from the engine’s spec sheet but adds 13 pound-feet of torque. The fuel economy is improved over the V6 as well, but only nominally. One wonders if the gee-whiz tech—and slightly coarse engine noise—is worth the effort. 

The CVT paired with that engine is one of the more impressive units of its type on the market today. Infiniti and parent company Nissan’s investments in continuously variable transmissions over the years have produced a gearless “gearbox” that is far more refined than other CVT units. Although some CVTs allow the engine to whine and wail when accelerating, the Infiniti’s transmission is smooth, refined and behaves almost like a normal automatic transmission in most situations.

On the road, the QX50 is tuned for nice compromise between ride comfort and sharp reflexes. Nobody expects the QX50 to perform like a rally car, but the SUV’s all-wheel drive system gives it excellent all-weather traction and helps it claw confidently across gravel roads and loose surfaces.

The QX50 already had great sound deadening and an impressively quiet cabin, but improvements made to its laminated glass give the vehicle a superior sense of isolation from the outside world. The front seats are deep and well-padded but still offer a modicum of support and keep the driver’s backside firmly in place in sharp maneuvers. Head and legroom are both generous for front-seat passengers, and the eight-way power seats allow for a great deal of precision in seat positioning.

Rear seat passengers sit under a gently sloped roofline, but headroom remains reasonable for most adults. The rear bench could use more shape and support, but kids in car seats won’t care about that. The QX50’s solid legroom and large rear door openings make for easy loading and unloading of the kids. Parents will appreciate the friendly ride height, which prevents needing to hoist a heavy toddler several feet in the air.

With 31.4 cubic-feet of cargo volume behind the second row, the QX50 outshines nearly every competitor. For example, the Acura RDX offers 29.5, the Audi Q5 25.1 and the BMW 28.7. Fold the rear seat flat and the QX’s hold grows to 65.1 cubic-feet. 

Curiously, Infiniti’s improvements to the QX50 haven’t addressed its clunky and confusing infotainment software. The two-screen setup splits controls across both, with seemingly no rhyme or reason behind where and why they are located. Moreover, the software itself doesn’t help and can be unresponsive or sluggish at times. Complicating matters, the available panoramic sunroof causes glare on the screens and makes them hard to see.

Advanced safety equipment is standard across all trims now, but some are held back for higher trim levels, such as blind spot interventions. The QX50 earned an overall five-star rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Though it missed out on a Top Safety Pick award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, it earned “Good” scores in crash tests and a Superior rating for its front vehicle-to-vehicle crash prevention systems. That’s an improvement over last year, where the vehicle earned a Superior rating only with optional features equipped.