2011 Infiniti QX56: Up Close

I still think full-size luxury SUVs have questionable value in any automaker’s lineup these days, but the market says otherwise. Through February, sales for the major players outpaced the industry’s 10 percent upswing. So here we are, checking out Infiniti’s second whack at the luxo-behemoth piñata.

I’m not sure the lines off the G, FX and M really suit a full-size SUV. The shapely lights look too small for a canvas this big, and they sit unnaturally below the car’s belt line. The QX56 looks more conventional than the FX, but it will take some getting used to.

That’s not the case inside. Materials are excellent – well-finished and padded where they need to be, and in numerous places you’ll hardly see, much less touch. The seats in the QX56 on display had a posh grade of leather; it also borders the center controls. Visibility is OK; the large second-row head restraints obscure the rear-quarter windows, but the side mirrors are appropriately large.

Infiniti touts best-in-class second-row room. Indeed, the seats feel like real chairs, not some floor-hugging bench. An enormous center console sits between them – it’s possibly larger than the front console – and no shortage of overhead air vents line the ceiling.

One-step tumbling second-row seats make it easy to reach the third row, but it’s Cadillac Escalade-sized back there. Legroom is tight, and the seat sits low to the ground. If you need to use the third row regularly, the Lincoln Navigator offers significantly more room back there.