The new QX65 borrows heavily from the bold Infiniti FX playbook, delivering a striking look that demands attention, but the beauty masks some mechanical compromises that matter once you drive it. This piece walks through styling cues, cabin experience, driving behavior, powertrain realities, and practical usability to explain where the QX65 excels and where it falls short. Expect clear, direct observations about how flashy design and real-world function sometimes pull in opposite directions.
The QX65’s styling is the headline act, and it performs. Sweeping shoulders, a tapered roofline, and aggressive grille geometry give it road presence most SUVs can only wish for. People will notice it at stoplights, which is exactly the point of leaning into an FX-inspired look.
Inside, Infiniti aimed for luxury and managed to deliver on the tactile side. Soft-touch surfaces and leather accents make an immediate good impression, and the cabin layout prioritizes driver focus with a stacked center console and supportive seats. Still, some controls feel fussy and the infotainment interface can slow the mood when you just want to change a station.
On the move, the QX65 shows mixed signals. Steering is light and aimed at comfort, so city cruising is effortless and stress-free. However, once you push into twisty sections the same setup leaves the chassis feeling floaty and disconnected from the road.
The underlying issue is mechanical, not aesthetic. The platform seems tuned more for relaxed highway miles than athletic handling, and the powertrain choices reinforce that intent. Acceleration is adequate for daily driving, but the engine struggles to match the car’s muscular look when you ask for brisk performance.
Transmission behavior amplifies this mismatch. The gearbox prefers smooth shifts over urgency, which helps manners but hurts momentum. That makes merging and passing feel deliberate rather than confident, and drivers who expect the visual promise to translate into shove will be disappointed.
Ride quality tries to strike a balance between plush and controlled, and it lands awkwardly in the middle. Potholes are swallowed without drama but the QX65 responds to mid-speed compression with a bob that undercuts composure. That soft setup also contributes to body roll during lane changes, which blunts the sporty illusion the exterior creates.
Practical aspects are mostly sensible, though packaging reveals a few compromises. Rear-seat headroom declines quicker than you expect because of the swooping roofline, and cargo space trades capacity for style in some trim levels. Still, ingress and egress are easy and daily usability isn’t ruined; it’s just not as generous as rivals that prioritize space over looks.
On safety and driver assistance, Infiniti equips the QX65 with a modern stack of features, and many of them work reliably. Adaptive cruise, lane keep, and automatic braking are standard or available depending on trim, which keeps it competitive in tech. The execution is polished, but some of the alerts feel intrusive at the margins, interrupting an otherwise calm cabin vibe.
Fuel economy and ownership costs reflect the vehicle’s priorities. Expect numbers that are average for the segment rather than class-leading, and maintenance costs that align with luxury-brand norms. Buyers chasing headline-grabbing economy will want to compare closely with rivals that are optimized around efficiency.
Where the QX65 wins is simple: presence, a refined interior feel, and a comfortable bias that pleases commuters. Where it loses ground is under the surface, in the mechanical choices that prioritize comfort and smoothness over dynamic engagement and usable interior volume. For shoppers focused on striking design and a relaxed highway cruiser, it’s attractive; for drivers who want performance that matches the look, it will feel compromised.
