Suv Automatic Roof Rack Leather Sunroof Back Up Cam Push Start Pwr Locks & Wins on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Infiniti readies Juke-based ESQ crossover specifically for China

When most luxury automakers started getting into SUVs and crossovers, they started at with the largest models, but have gradually been getting smaller. Think Lexus and the LX, Audi and the Q7, or BMW and the X5, and you'll see what we mean, because each of them has been steadily downsizing its crossovers ever since. But Infiniti is going even smaller. At least, in China, anyway.
That's where the luxury marque from Nissan will soon be offering the new Infiniti ESQ. The smallest of Infiniti crossovers has been developed in China, exclusively for the Chinese market to meet Chinese tastes. It shares its underpinnings with the Nissan Juke, but instead of starting with the base model, Infiniti China has started with the more potent Juke Nismo - complete with 1.6-liter turbo four producing 197 horsepower - and added on premium accoutrements. The exterior that appears to be differentiated by a new grille and wheels, featuring the ESQ logo instead of Infiniti's, but the same quirky styling that sets the Juke apart. Though all we can of the interior is the steering wheel, you can bet that Infiniti gave the ESQ a more luxurious cabin space, too.
Infiniti's global communications manager Stefan Wienmann told Autoblog that the company is "expanding [its] portfolio not only globally but also specifically in China," adding the ESQ to a market-specific lineup that includes long-wheelbase versions of the Q50 sedan and QX50 crossover. "We see specific sales opportunities in this segment," explains Wienmann, adding that a targeted project like the ESQ "also enables us to gain experience in positioning a new premium model to the 'new millennials', a customer group that is very important to us."

2025 Infiniti QX80 confirmed with 450-hp twin-turbo V6, 50 hp more than now

Infiniti's back to tease the 2025 QX80 that debuts in 15 days. Automaker executive Ivan Espinoza starts by telling us what we already knew, the ancient 5.6-liter V8 gets sent packing by a 3.5-liter V6. Espinoza calls it "all-new," but this is in reference to the application. Parent company Nissan loves itself a TTV6, the GT-R given the codename VR38DETT, the new Nissan Z's version codenamed VR30DDTT, the same mill formerly serving the Infiniti Q50 and Q60. The 3.5-liter displacement in the QX80 means its engine can be expected to be called the VR35DDTT. We've got output numbers at last, those being 450 horsepower and 515 pound-feet of torque, improvements of 50 hp and guaranteed-to-feel-it 102 lb-ft. That outdoes the closest Japanese competition, the Lexus LX that gets 409 hp and 479 lb-ft from its TTV6. The 2025 QX80 is going to shift through a nine-speed automatic gearbox, the two additional cogs over today's seven-speed providing a 40% wider range of ratios. Owners are going to get more performance down low and efficiency up high. Doubling up on the efficiency, engineers added active grille shutters to reduce drag when massive cooling isn't needed. Espinoza also cites "a new chassis and larger frame," however, the QX80 is expected to ride on an updated version of the current SUV's body-on-frame platform, Nissan's F-Alpha that once served the Pathfinder and Titan, plus the erstwhile QX56, and still serves the Nissan Frontier. The evolution yields 57% more lateral stiffness and 25% more torsional rigidity. A new electronic air suspension with active damping keeps the hardened cage from becoming a punishment. We get our best, albeit very brief, looks at the interior as well. The four-spoke wheel is now a two-spoke wheel, a la Genesis. The digital gauge cluster and separate infotainment binnacle morphed into what looks like a single, uncovered widescreen (composed of two or more screens), akin to what we've seen in several electric vehicles like the Kia EV9 and Honda e. The restraint and subtlety in these snippets matches what's been done to the exterior, so far as we can see. The livestreamed reveal happens March 20, expect a Monograph Concept plus some flourishes. A week later, we'll get up close and personal for the 2025 QX80's public debut at the New York Auto Show.

2014 Infiniti Q50

Avoiding An Identity Crisis... For Now
Infiniti is a brand that has been quietly undergoing major upheaval - and not just with the numbers and letters on its trunklids. Back in December, Nissan's premium brand rankled fans and pundits by announcing it would redo its alphanumeric nomenclature, yet that decision was but a PR speedbump - there are bigger fish to fry. After all, this is a marque that was on the chopping block just a couple of years ago, and now it has a major opportunity to succeed thanks to new investment, new independence (Infiniti is now responsible for its own design, engineering, marketing, quality and human resources), a new global headquarters in Hong Kong, and new marching orders from new leadership that calls for a revitalized and expanded portfolio.
Yet if you think that the Q-based naming convention is the first sign of the brand's new direction, you might have missed Infiniti's biggest signal flare: the 2013 JX crossover. Fine premium three-row crossover that it may be, it's still the first Infiniti in ages that operates without a scintilla of driving entertainment at the core of its genetic makeup. (The last - and perhaps only - previous example was also Pathfinder-based, the 1997 QX4). To be fair, three-row CUVs have a laundry list of priorities before driving enjoyment figures in, but the message the JX (henceforth known as the QX60) sends is clear: Infiniti is going after more segments and more customers. Plans are afoot to expand the company's product line by a whopping 60 percent over the next five years, and in short, that means Infiniti is no longer content to be the unsung Japanese BMW - it needs vehicles that satisfy a wider swath of consumers. Despite all this, Infiniti officials we spoke with were keen to assert that driving pleasure remains very much core to their mission, and to that of this 2014 Q50 in particular.