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Sunday, February 27, 2011
The 2011 Infiniti QX56 produces 400 horsepower and 413 pound-feet of torque from its 5.6-liter engine, 80 more horsepower and 20 more pound-feet than its predecessor, with equal displacement. As a result, performance is unsurprisingly better. Routed to all four wheels through a seven-speed automatic gearbox, all that power is good for a zero-to-60 sprint of just 6.1 seconds, and a standing quarter-mile in 14.8 seconds at 93.9 mph. The QX56 actually manages to return 10 percent better fuel economy than the model it replaces, with both two-wheel and four-wheel drive models being rated at 14 city, 20 highway miles per gallon
Exterior
The exterior design gets a new, bold front chrome grille flanked by automatic on/off bi-functional xenon headlights, body color running boards, body color integrated front and rear splash guards built into the wheel arches, roof rails, power sliding tinted glass moon roof and a power rear lift gate. The 2011 QX56 is also 1.4-inches longer, 1.1-inches wider and 3.8-inches lower in overall height than its predecessor.
Deputy editor Joe DeMatio, however, doesn't mind the fact that the lane departure warning system and blind spot detection systems work in tandem: "I'll take any electronic assistance I can have, thank you very much, for the task of keeping this big beast in its lane." DeMatio especially appreciates the electronic aides when it's time to "fiddle with any of the many controls on the center stack." Joe is apparently the first staffer to fill the QX with six adults and he decided to test the third row for himself: "Plenty of headroom, but legroom was tight and overall the accommodations were not as good as you'd get in a minivan or in the Ford
