2023 Infiniti QX50

The second-gen Infiniti QX50 compact luxury crossover eschews the sporty old RWD-based architecture and six-cylinder power for a FWD-based platform and a boosted 268-horsepower four-cylinder. This decision is risky business when you're up against rivals such as the BMW X3, Volvo XC60, and Genesis GV70, and automakers have to have their ducks in a row to make an impression in this class. On the face of it, Infiniti is onto something good with its innovative variable-compression engine technology and an economy-minded CVT, while putting the tech in an attractive, comfortable, roomy, and well-equipped crossover that looks like it has all the ingredients to sell well. But this hasn't been the case, with the QX50's sales languishing near the bottom of the class and amounting to less than a quarter of the sales of most of its European rivals. The 2023 car is the same as last year's but it gets a new trim, more features, and additional after-sales cover to attract a few more buyers. In last year's review of the Infiniti QX50, we weren't bowled over, so have these changes made any difference?

The new Infiniti QX50's base price starts at an MSRP of $40,300 for the Pure trim, and the Luxe trim will cost you &43,600. After that, you get the Sport at $48,500, the Sensory at $52,800, and the Autograph at $57,300. These prices are for the default FWD drivetrains of the bottom four trims and adding AWD to any of them increases the price by $2,000. The top Autograph trim is only available in AWD. These prices don't include extras or Infiniti's $1,025 destination charge.

Infiniti has chosen to focus on comfort and not sportiness when tuning the QX50's suspension system, and that was probably a good call, as it's not the kind of car you're going to throw around a circuit. The ride is absorbent, the seats are comfortable, and the car cruises quietly on the highway, making it easy to live with every day. The powertrain disappoints, though, with the CVT falling foul of the typical drone and rubber-band effect and the engine complaining vocally as the transmission sends it soaring up the rev counter. Performance is adequate, but this is no sports crossover, and the union between engine and transmission is an unhappy one - and not improved by selecting the Sport drive mode. This is made worse by a rather soggy brake-pedal feel and anesthetized if precise steering. The Autograph comes with the artificial-feeling adaptive steering system, which takes some getting used to, but the variable ratio does make for less arm-twirling when slotting the crossover into a parking bay.

The Infinity QX50 is perfectly adequate for the daily grind, with a nicely built, roomy cabin, lots of standard equipment, a suite of driver aids, and a comfortable ride providing all the refinement you expect from a compact crossover with a premium badge. The engine is passably powerful and fairly economical in normal use too. The QX50 starts to falter when you ask more of it and the engine doesn't feel quite as powerful as the outputs suggest - and becomes noisy and strained when revving hard. This happens quite a lot due to the CVT, which suffers from the usual CVT drone and rubber-band effect when driven hard. In this toughly contested market segment, this is not enough to place it near the front of the field and you're better off with a more competent rival.

We don't think a QX50 should cost more than $50k and for a smidge under that, destination included, the new Sport trim seems to strike a great balance, with items such as climate-controlled front seats, sporty looks, navigation, a 360-degree camera system, and a premium audio system doing just enough to earn our recommendation over the other trims in the range. It's not enough to warrant consideration over any number of rivals, but it's the best QX50 in the lineup.