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2020 Infiniti QX50 Luggage Test | Not infinity, but enough

The 2020 Infiniti QX50 is a comfortable five-seat luxury crossover that competes with the Audi Q5, Acura RDX, Volvo XC60, Lexus NX and others. If you’re interested in a QX50, itÂ’s probably got something to do with its impressive, technologically advanced VC-Turbo variable compression engine. It also has sumptuous swales of bodywork, a long list of driver-assist and safety features, and a solidly luxurious interior with a two-screen infotainment setup. The window sticker for the QX50 we drove recently in Essential trim says the seats were leatherette; if true, itÂ’s the most buttery fake leather out there. Still, the engineÂ’s the star. If performance is your only consideration, you can also get the VC-Turbo in the Nissan Altima sedan weighing 400 to 500-plus pounds less and at an MSRP starting $7,500 lower, a price spread that quickly expands as you option up the QX50. But if you want the QX50, itÂ’s probably because itÂ’s a crossover. You want to haul stuff. Which brings us to: luggage test. The QX50 has a cargo capacity of 31.1-31.4 cubic feet behind its raised back seat, which expands to 65.1 cubic feet with the rear seats down. That's more than most in its class, and the QX50Â’s cargo hold certainly looks big and usable enough. To test it, I had six roller suitcases at my disposal. Three would need to be checked at the airport, and one of those is particularly mondo (29x19x11, 26x17x10, 25x16x10). Three others were small enough to carry on (24x14x10, 23x14x11, 22x14x9). Several bags have four wheels that protrude and were counted in the dimensions. I lacked access to RiswickÂ’s wifeÂ’s fancy bag. An asterisk to all our luggage tests: Our crack team of test suitcases is empty. I know someone who can seriously overstuff a soft-sided bag, so depending on how you pack, your results may vary. The QX50 didn't arrive with a cargo cover, so that made things easier. My first stab at loading all those bags seemed promising — five out of six bags fit. Two of the big boys on edge, three carry-ons standing up. That would be one bag for every occupant, but hey, we can do better.  Standing them all up was the easy solution. This fits all six bags, and I'm certain they wouldn't fly forward in a hard stop. But the driver's rear view is impeded. I'd be annoyed to look back at this throughout a long trip. That biggest bag is the biggest offender, so can we just lay that one down? Sure, but we're back to just five bags fitting.

Infiniti QX55 spied for the first time looking sleek

The Infiniti QX55 is well on its way to joining the crossover coupe ranks in 2020, and here’s our first view of the car out testing. Infiniti is expected to debut the ‘ute in the first half of 2020, so it wonÂ’t be long till we see it without the swirls and body cladding on it, too. As the name suggests, the QX55 is a derivative of the QX50 crossover, which was just completely redesigned for the 2019 model year. Infiniti debuted its new VC-Turbo (variable compression) engine technology in that crossover, and itÂ’ll certainly be along for the ride in the QX55 as well. The latest teaser suggested that Infiniti would be greatly differentiating this crossover coupe to the rest of the field by giving it a uniquely long tail for more cargo space. That tail still exists on the vehicle caught out testing, but it doesnÂ’t look drastically different than other vehicles of its ilk. To that end, rear cargo space is likely to be slightly down from the more traditionally shaped QX50, even if itÂ’s slightly better than competitors. However, rear seat space appears to be better than expected. The roof itself doesnÂ’t taper at a horribly steep angle into the rear passengerÂ’s heads, and the rear windows are large enough that they may only cause minor claustrophobia. Most of everything except for the rear end will likely resemble the QX50 verbatim, so itÂ’s just the back half that weÂ’re waiting for in the reveal. The grille itself has the same waveform shape as the normal QX50, and the body creases in the hood and doors protruding through the skin-tight camo resemble it as well. Even the wheels on this tester are exactly the same design as the rollers used on the production QX50. When it does come out, the QX55 will join its German competition in this stylish but utility-hampered segment. The BMW X4 and Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe will be the main targets when we expect this car to hit dealer lots later this year. Related Video:    

Mystery shoppers love Infiniti, hate Tesla

Infiniti, followed by Lexus tied with Mercedes-Benz took the top two spots for best sales experience according to mystery shoppers from the latest Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index, while EV manufacturer Tesla recorded the lowest overall score. Not surprisingly, premium brands dominated the top ranks. Including the three already mentioned, luxury brands occupied seven of the top ten spots and included Audi, BMW, Porsche, and the only American brand to crack the upper echelon, Cadillac. Toyota, Volkswagen, and Nissan rounded out the first ten positions. The news for domestic automakers isn't good. Aside from Caddy, the only other star-spangled automaker to score above the industry average is Chrysler. The rest of FCA, most of GM, and all of Ford fell below the line. But Pied Piper's mystery shoppers handed Tesla the biggest walloping – the company is ten full points below the next lowest brand, Volvo, and its score of 86 is 17 below the average of 103. It's baffling, considering the company's touted direct-sales model. "Tesla leaves me scratching my head," Fred O'Hagan, Pied Piper's president and CEO, told Wards Auto. "They own all of their stores, so you would think each one would be doing the same thing. But they're not. Tesla is consistent in its inconsistencies." O'Hagan added that there's a "huge variation" in Tesla's store-to-store effectiveness, and that in some cases, shoppers found showroom workers that acted more like "museum curators," Wards Auto reports. It might be popular to call Tesla the Apple of the car world, but based on Pied Piper's work, the brand has a long way to go to emulate the uniform shopping experience of an Apple Store. The news might be bad for Tesla, but even for the brands that scored below average, there's cause for celebration. Only Tesla and Mini lost points in this year's rankings, and only Mercedes and Lincoln held steady. Every other brand, including Infiniti, which topped the index for the first time, gained at least one point. The biggest improvements belong to Porsche, Land Rover, and Mitsubishi, which all jumped five points. Pied Piper's annual Prospect Satisfaction Index uses mystery shoppers – over 6,100 this year – from across the country to assess dealers and generate rankings from over 50 individual factors. News Source: Pied Piper via WardsAuto Green Audi BMW Cadillac Chrysler Infiniti Lexus Mercedes-Benz Nissan Tesla Toyota Car Buying Car Dealers study