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Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
Truth be told, the last time I drove a V8-powered QX70 5.0 it went by the name of FX50, and that was way back in 2009. An impressive machine with 390-horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque at your beck and call, it was also a tad thirsty
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Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
While a rear-drive model is offered in the U.S., here in Canada it’s all-wheel drive or nothing. This means that all-weather traction is impressive, with fabulous grip off the line and great maneuverability no matter the road conditions, but fuel economy is slightly affected. As per the new more rigorous and certainly more realistic five-cycle Transport Canada testing process instituted for all 2015 models, the QX70 is estimated to achieve 14.6 L/100km in the city and 10.7 on the highway, quite reasonable for a five-seat luxury CUV with such strong performance.
The
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Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
The seven-speed’s engaging persona helps to rev up the fun metre through corners, where the QX70 truly glistens. Ever since I first drove the original Bionic Cheetah during its official launch through some wonderfully windy mountain roads just
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Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
That Sport package looks dark, mean and menacing. My tester, finished in Black Obsidian, has most of its exterior trim blackened out to match the black wheels. Only the chromed Infiniti badges on the otherwise black grille, wheel caps and rear
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Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
Inside, the black motif continues with high-grade soft-touch black plastic surfacing in a dark anthracite tone, plenty of gorgeous dark high-gloss wood trim, rich black carpets, a dark fabric headliner and opulent quilted black leather upholstery, albeit with very cool purple contrast French stitching on those seats, as well as on the leather-wrapped steering wheel, shifter boot, front and rear seats, front centre console armrest, front and rear
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Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
Those seats are unique to the Sport model, allowing greater lateral support thanks to power adjustable side bolsters and manual thigh extensions to better support the legs of taller drivers. At five-foot-eight I’m hardly tall, but they were completely comfortable, while the adjustable side bolsters helped keep me locked into place during aggressive cornering. The driver’s seat offers an additional 10-way
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Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
Before I delve into some of the standard QX70 features that are grandfathered into this top-line Sport model, some additional Sport features include an eight-inch WVGA colour touchscreen display with a navigation system featuring lane guidance with 3D building graphics, NavTraffic real-time traffic info, an Around View monitor with moving object detection plus front and rear sonar, adaptive front lighting with auto-leveling headlights, as well as a couple of items that Infiniti might want to consider offering standard on the base model in a future update, such as voice recognition and Bluetooth streaming audio. Instead, Infiniti
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Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
Likewise Infiniti includes rain-sensing wipers as part of its $3,500 Technology package, a feature that’s often standard in the QX70’s premium crossover category, or at least included in an upgraded trim level like the Sport. The rest of the package’s features include full-speed range Intelligent Cruise Control, Distance Control Assist (DCA), front pre-crash seatbelts, Lane Departure Warning (LDW) and Lane Departure Prevention (LDP), Intelligent Brake Assist (IBA) and Forward
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Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
Now that we’re talking safety tech, as you probably expected the QX70 includes the usual anti-lock brakes, electronic brake force distribution and brake assist as standard equipment, as well as traction and stability control, plus active front headrests, front seatbelt pretensioners and tire pressure monitoring. Additional standard highlights include automatic bi-functional HID headlights, LED brake lights,
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Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
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Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
The QX70 is a mid-size five-seater and therefore quite roomy front and back, while its rear quarters include standard 60/40-split reclining seats. Behind those seats is a cargo hold capable of hauling up to 702 litres of gear, or 1,755 litres when those seatbacks are folded forward. Overall this worked well for me and I especially appreciated the remote fold-down releases, although I’d like to see Infiniti adapt the 40/20/40 seatback configuration showing up with some competitors now, which offers a lot more passenger/cargo versatility.
With
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Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
While I’ve been a tad critical of some items that should be included as standard equipment, you’ve got to factor in that its German competitors charge thousands more for their sportiest mid-size crossovers that Infiniti does for its QX70, which makes the QX70 a better deal even in top-line Sport trim with its optional Technology package. More than just a good value, however, the QX70 is an excellent luxury CUV that’s unquestionably worthy of your attention.
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