The QX50 comes with amazing features and is cheaper than the rest so there is an obvious appeal based on that. I bet you'd have to spend some extra dollars on options in some of the other vehicles just to catch it up to the outstanding standard package that Infiniti offers.
QX50 Compared
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Infiniti wants us to take them seriously as a luxury marquee, they want to compete for the big boy bucks with the likes of BMW, Audi and Mercedes. One of the hottest segments at this time is the small SUV/CUV segment. I've always seen Infiniti as a peripheral luxury brand on par with Cadillac, and a step above Lincoln and Buick.
How does the QX50 hold up against the cream of the luxury CUV crop? To find out i compared it side by side with the BMW x3, Range Rover Evoque, Audi Q5 and Mercedes' GLK.
QX50:
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X3:
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Evoque:
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Q5:
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GLK:
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The three Germans bring typical sexless, sterile German styling, they replaced emotion with efficiency. To me the Evoque has the most attractive styling, with its rakish lines and wheels pushed to the corners it looks like an awesome little power wagon, just dont try any mudding with those lo-pros. By default the QX50 lands in second place, its curvy design is reminiscent of a pretty girls coke bottle waist, although the design is getting a little long in the tooth. I cant wait to see a QX50 refresh/redesign featuring Q50 design lines...
MSRP from Base
QX50: $34,400
X3: $39,600
Evoque: $42,040
Q5: $37,300
GLK: $37,480
The QX50 received a $2,500 price cut from last year’s EX. The decision was a good one considering last year the EX was priced at $36,900 and that’s only a short hop from Q5 or GLK, I believe Infiniti gave the QX50 a price cut as an incentive to draw shoppers in over the marquee brands. The QX50 is also the only competitor to come standard FWD. Evoque, Q5 and X3 come with standard AWD while the GLK comes with RWD. The Evoque is the priciest of the list, however the Evoque comes jammed with standard off road features the other 4 can only dream about.
Standard Features
QX50:
Full option/features list here
X3:
Full option/features list here
Evoque:
Full option/features list here
Q5:
Full option/features list here
GLK:
Full option/features list here
If you’re an audiophile the BMW is certainly make an attractive case with its 12 speaker audio system. The Evoque follows closely with 11, the Q5 with 10, while QX50 and GLK fall at the end of the spectrum with 6 speakers apiece. If exploring is your thing than the Evoque may be for you, it comes standard with a bevy of hardcore Land Rover off road features like hill descent, hill start assist and different preset terrain selectors. 99% of Evoque owners have no idea what these features do. For the money the X3 appears to be the most technologically advanced, featuring stop/start tech, regenerative braking and dynamic stability control. The QX50 however is the best bang for your buck, at $3,000 cheaper than the nearest competitor it jams the majority of the competitor’s standard features and some options into its base package, IMO this is the only way for Infiniti to induce purchase of the QX50, the price cut was necessary, at the original $36,900 it was only a short skip into an X3 or Q5, and $7k to hop up to an Evoque. Now with QX50 almost $10k cheaper than an Evoque we may see more people opting for QX50 as a poor mans Evoque.
How does the QX50 hold up against the cream of the luxury CUV crop? To find out i compared it side by side with the BMW x3, Range Rover Evoque, Audi Q5 and Mercedes' GLK.
QX50:
X3:
Evoque:
Q5:
GLK:
The three Germans bring typical sexless, sterile German styling, they replaced emotion with efficiency. To me the Evoque has the most attractive styling, with its rakish lines and wheels pushed to the corners it looks like an awesome little power wagon, just dont try any mudding with those lo-pros. By default the QX50 lands in second place, its curvy design is reminiscent of a pretty girls coke bottle waist, although the design is getting a little long in the tooth. I cant wait to see a QX50 refresh/redesign featuring Q50 design lines...
MSRP from Base
QX50: $34,400
X3: $39,600
Evoque: $42,040
Q5: $37,300
GLK: $37,480
The QX50 received a $2,500 price cut from last year’s EX. The decision was a good one considering last year the EX was priced at $36,900 and that’s only a short hop from Q5 or GLK, I believe Infiniti gave the QX50 a price cut as an incentive to draw shoppers in over the marquee brands. The QX50 is also the only competitor to come standard FWD. Evoque, Q5 and X3 come with standard AWD while the GLK comes with RWD. The Evoque is the priciest of the list, however the Evoque comes jammed with standard off road features the other 4 can only dream about.
Standard Features
QX50:
- Automatic on/off headlights
- Integrated front fog lights
- LED rear brake lights and center high-mounted stoplight
- Dual Zone Automatic Temperature Control system
- Power adjustable, heated outside mirrors with courtesy light under driver's mirror
- Leather-appointed seating
- 8-way power driver's seat with adjustable lumbar support
- 4-way power front-passenger's seat
- 6-speaker audio system, including AM/FM/CD with MP3 playback capability, Radio Data System (RDS) and speed-sensitive volume control
- Single in-dash CD/DVD player
- USB connection port for iPod® interface and other compatible devices
- SiriusXM Satellite Radio with 3-month trial subscription
- Illuminated steering wheel-mounted audio controls
- Tilt and telescopic steering column
- Infiniti Controller for audio, climate control, fuel economy, maintenance, and comfort and convenience features
- 7-inch color vehicle information display
- Infiniti Advanced Air Bag System (AABS) - includes dual-stage front supplemental air bags with seat belt sensors and an occupant-classification sensor. Air bag inflation rate is adjusted depending on crash severity and seat belt usage. If the front-passenger's seat is empty, a sensor will deactivate the air bag
- Driver and front-passenger side-impact supplemental air bags
- Roof-mounted curtain side-impact supplemental air bags for front and rear-seat outboard occupant head protection
- Front-seat Active Head Restraints (AHR)
- 3-point height-adjustable front seat belts with pretensioners and load limiters, driver's seat Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR) and passenger's seat ELR and Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR)
- Second-row 3-point seat belts with ELR and ALR
- Zone Body construction with reinforced passenger compartment and front and rear crumple zones.
- LATCH System (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) helps simplify proper installation of compatible child restraint seats.
- Electronic Brake force Distribution (EBD)
- Brake Assist (BA)
- 4-wheel Anti-lock Braking System (ABS)
- Traction Control System (TCS)
- Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC)
Full option/features list here
X3:
- Auto Start-Stop function
- xDrive all-wheel-drive system
- Dynamic Stability Control (DSC), including Brake Drying, Brake Stand-by, Start-off Assistant and Brake Fade Compensation
- Hill Descent Control (HDC)
- Brake Energy Regeneration
- 4-wheel ventilated anti-lock disc brakes with Dynamic Brake Control
- 8-way power adjustable front seats with 2-way manual headrests, and driver’s-seat and mirror memory
- Leatherette upholstery
- Automatic climate control with micro-filter and air recirculation
- Tilt/telescopic steering wheel column
- Rain-sensing windshield wipers with Automatic headlight control
- Power tailgate
- BMW Universal garage-door opener
- Bluetooth wireless technology for hands-free calling
- USB audio connection
- iDrive system with on-board computer and Controller, and 8 programmable memory buttons
- AM/FM stereo/CD/MP3 audio system with 12 speakers, 205-watt digital amplifier, Radio Data System (RDS),
- Auto-Store, 3-channel FM diversity antenna system and auxiliary audio input adapter compatible with portable music players
- HD Radio with “multicast” FM station reception
- Driver’s and passenger’s front airbag supplemental restraint system (SRS) with advanced technology
- Front-door-mounted side-impact airbags
- BMW’s Advanced Safety System for integrated deployment of passive and active safety features
- Automatic-locking retractors (ALR) on all passenger-seat safety belts
- BMW Assist eCall™ includes Emergency Request (SOS button) and Automatic Collision Notification
Full option/features list here
Evoque:
- Automatic climate control with air filtration and air quality sensing for automatic recirculation
- auto dimming rearview mirror
- Interior mood lighting
- footwell, glovebox and load compartment illumination
- oxford leather steering wheel
- terrain response
- hill start assist
- hill descent control
- ABS
- drive select with paddle shift sport mode
- roll stability control
- knee airbags
- side curtain airbags
- thorax airbags
- Power tailgate
- front and rear park aid
- rear view camera
- 8 inch hi-res touchscreen
- audio connectivity
- bluetooth ans streamed audio connectivity
- 380 watt Meridian Soud system features 11 speakers including subwoofer
- USB connectivity x2
Full option/features list here
Q5:
- Three-zone automatic climate control
- Four-spoke multifunction steering wheel
- Tilt and telescopic manually adjustable steering column
- Driver and front passenger dual-stage airbags, front thorax side airbags and Sideguard® head curtain airbags2
- Front passenger occupant detection—for airbags
- Power central locking system with safety unlock feature if airbags deploy
- Anti-lock Brake System (ABS) with Electronic Brake-pressure Distribution (EBD) and brake assist
- Electronic Stability Control (ESC) with Off-road mode and traction control (ASR)
- Leather seating surfaces
- Eight-way power front seats and four-way power lumbar adjustment for driver
- Audi concert radio with ten speakers and single CD player with MP3 playback capability
- Driver information system
- SiriusXM® Satellite Radio with 90-day trial subscription3
- Cruise control with coast, resume and accelerate features
- Audi music interface with iPod® integration
- BLUETOOTH® wireless technology preparation for mobile phone
- Garage door opener (HomeLink®)
- Rain/light sensor for automatic windshield wipers and headlights
- Automatic headlights
- LED taillights
- Power-adjustable, heated exterior side mirrors
- Front and rear fog lights
- Aluminum roof rails
- LED turn indicator lights in the side mirrors
- Heated windshield washer nozzles
Full option/features list here
GLK:
- ECO start/stop system
- shift paddles
- AGILITY CONTROL suspension
- LED DRLs
- 11 way air bag protection
- ATTENTION ASSIST
- NECK-PRO front head restraints
- mbrace2 technology
- Adaptive braking
- Brake Assist
- ABS
- Electronic Stability
- Rain sensing windshield wipers
- Trailer Stability Assist
- Dual zone automatic climate control
- 14 way power driver seat with memory
- brake HOLD technology
- Garage door connectivity
- 6 speaker audio system
- USB connectivity
- Hands free bluetooth
- Bluetooth audio streaming
Full option/features list here
If you’re an audiophile the BMW is certainly make an attractive case with its 12 speaker audio system. The Evoque follows closely with 11, the Q5 with 10, while QX50 and GLK fall at the end of the spectrum with 6 speakers apiece. If exploring is your thing than the Evoque may be for you, it comes standard with a bevy of hardcore Land Rover off road features like hill descent, hill start assist and different preset terrain selectors. 99% of Evoque owners have no idea what these features do. For the money the X3 appears to be the most technologically advanced, featuring stop/start tech, regenerative braking and dynamic stability control. The QX50 however is the best bang for your buck, at $3,000 cheaper than the nearest competitor it jams the majority of the competitor’s standard features and some options into its base package, IMO this is the only way for Infiniti to induce purchase of the QX50, the price cut was necessary, at the original $36,900 it was only a short skip into an X3 or Q5, and $7k to hop up to an Evoque. Now with QX50 almost $10k cheaper than an Evoque we may see more people opting for QX50 as a poor mans Evoque.
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Fully in agreement, the English have a keen eye thats for sure. They can design them, they just cant build them, Jag and LR are two of the most unreliable vehicles available..
German designs are always blocks with high belt lines, they never give thier cars any figure, I like my cars shapely.
Have you seen what Infiniti has done with the Q30? Its a SUVish type thing with a Q50 snout, I think its a pretty good indication of where the QX50 is going to head...
does anyone think this color will make it to production?
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