Exterior The exterior might be the least exciting part of the QX50. Its styling very much apes the larger QX60 down to the matching rear window kinks that add some needed visual flair to the sides of the SUV. Up front, the two also are pretty much identical, with similar grilles and headlight clusters. The QX50 is a bit more angular, the hood is sculpted more aggressively, and there’s black cladding around the fenders and side skirts.
Interior On paper, the changes to the cargo area especially are impressive. The 2017 QX50 only offered 18.6 cubic feet of cargo room behind its rear seats, but the 2019 version expands that to 31.6 cubic feet. Slide the second row forward and that expands to 37 cubic feet; drop the seats and you get 60 cubic feet. In real-world terms, Infiniti says that with the seats up, you’ll be able to fit three golf bags back there. There is also a favorite feature of mine in the cargo area: underfloor storage to hide valuables from prying eyes.
Under the Hood Now we get to the exciting part. The QX50 will debut brand-new engine technology in the form of variable-compression tech. At the bottom of each piston is a control shaft, which can change how high up in the cylinder the piston goes. The higher the piston goes, the more compression you have in the cylinder, so by changing the angle of the control shaft, the engine can switch between higher compression (14:1), which is better for efficiency, and lower compression (8:1) for more power.
The turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder makes 268 horsepower and 280 pounds-feet of torque. It’s mated to a continuously variable automatic transmission, and the QX50 will offer both front- and all-wheel drive. Infiniti announced some expected fuel-economy figures, too: 27 mpg combined for front-wheel drive and 26 mpg combined for all-wheel drive.
Safety Infiniti is also introducing new ProPilot Assist technology, which supports single-lane highway driving. The system helps the driver control acceleration, braking and steering while driving on the highway, but it doesn’t drive for you – Infiniti clearly states that the technology is a step removed from autonomous driving.
