When you think of Infiniti, it’s hard not to think of the headlines their parent company has been making over the last little while. First, it was the talks of financial turmoil as to whether or not Nissan would survive another year. Then, Honda showed up as an unlikely ally and both companies announced a merger, followed by a very public falling-out in short order. What does this mean for Infiniti? Who knows, but for now, the luxury sub-brand seems to be keeping their head above water but not really doing anything to stand out or move forward. That about sums up the 2025 Infiniti QX60 and where it lands in the hotly contested midsize crossover segment.
The QX60 is competent, but I’m not sure it differentiates itself from the Nissan Pathfinder on which it’s based to really warrant the price premium. Nissan products have seen an improvement from a fit-and-finish perspective over the last little while, but the double-edged sword here is that they nearly step on their Infiniti siblings’ toes. On top of that, Infiniti has lost much of its mojo, going from a legitimate BMW fighter through the 2000s to having no real identity now. It wasn’t long ago that we’d fawn over vehicles like the G35, M45, and FX50, but can you name everything else they sell today—aside from the recently redesigned (and excellent) QX80 and the QX60 I’m talking about here?
It’s too bad, because the QX60 is attractive, especially in our tester’s Harbour Grey paint. It wears Infiniti’s familiar front end, which is handsome but tends to blend into the background a little bit after being exposed to it for so many years. Slim headlights flank Infiniti’s signature grille, which is blacked out on our Black Edition-trim tester, as are the accents on the front and rear fascias and the Infiniti logo and lettering out back. Oddly enough, the window trim, door handles, and even the Infiniti logo up front remain chrome, which detracts from the overall attention-to-detail. There’s also a smidge of Toyota Highlander in its proportions, so we’re looking forward to the QX60 eventually adapting some of the new QX80’s styling cues. But for now, it soldiers on virtually unchanged from its debut in 2021, remaining understatedly handsome but mostly forgettable against its peers.
Inside, the QX60’s trimmings are well-put-together, with quality touchpoints throughout and nothing really cheapening the look too much. Like the exterior, it’s subdued and avoids any real gimmicks. You still have the customary dual-screen layout, flanked by some physical controls and a fingerprint-magnet gloss black touch panel for the rest. There’s no learning curve to the controls and the layout will feel familiar to anyone upgrading from an older Nissan or Infiniti, but the double-edged sword here is that the QX60 feels dated compared to the competition, especially when you factor in the so-so graphics from the infotainment. Wireless Apple CarPlay is standard, along with a pretty good 17-speaker Bose sound system, but Android Auto is wired. However, no matter many times I plugged in, I couldn’t get Android Auto to connect for the life of me.
Elsewhere inside the QX60, the seats are comfortable in the first and second rows. Like many other three-row crossovers in this space, the third row is akin to sitting in a coupe, with not much legroom to speak of unless your age happens to be a single digit. I also liked that the interior isn’t all a sea of black; our tester’s black leather upholstery had contrast white stitching, while higher-spec QX60s offer more visual spunk in the form of quilting, piping, and softer semi-aniline leather. There’s a just-right amount of bright silver trim to add a touch of class, including the uniquely integrated metallic speaker grilles on the doors.
One major change for 2025 is under the QX60’s hood. Gone is the previously ubiquitous 3.5-litre V6, in favour of a 2.0L turbo-four with Infinit’s variable-compression turbo tech. It’s less powerful but more torquey than the V6, rated at 268 horsepower and 286 pound-feet of torque. Despite the sizeable dip—the previous V6 was rated at 290 hp—the new powertrain isn’t wanting for power, but I had two complaints with it.
First, it sounds uninspiring. Where the old V6 had a satisfying soundtrack, the new one sounds like my son’s lazy-whine when he wants to go home. Second, although Infiniti touts its variable-compression turbo as being the best of both worlds—those worlds being performance and efficiency—it tends to fall flat with the latter, at least based on my real-world use. Without pushing it particularly hard in my city-heavy commute, the QX60 averaged a ho-hum 12.8 L/100 km. Compare that to the V6-powered QX60 we tested almost a year ago in the same wintry conditions, which averaged 11.8 L/100 km.
The 2025 Infiniti QX60 is a bit of a tough sell in a hotly contested segment. It can’t quite hold a candle to its European counterparts, its immediate competitors like the Acura MDX and Lexus TX are newer and fresher, and mainstream options like the Mazda CX-90 and Toyota Grand Highlander feel arguably more upscale. And if you want to stay in the family, the top-spec Pathfinder offers more off-road chops, feels more luxurious, and still has the arguably better engine at least for now, and can be had for much less than our QX60 tester’s $67,395 as-tested price tag. Unless the Infiniti badge really means something to you, it’s hard to justify spending the money when there’s more value to be had in-house.
