Quick Spin: 2021 Infiniti QX50 | The Daily Drive | Consumer Guide® The Daily Drive

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2021 Infiniti QX50 Autograph AWD in Majestic White (a $695 option)

2021 Infiniti QX50 Autograph AWD

Class: Premium Compact Crossover

Miles driven: 147

Fuel used: 7.1 gallons

Real-world fuel economy: 20.7 mpg

CG Report Card


Room and Comfort	A-
Power and Performance	B+
Fit and Finish	A
Fuel Economy	B-
Value	B-

Report-card grades are derived from a consensus of test-driver evaluations. All grades are versus other vehicles in the same class. Value grade is for specific trim level evaluated, and may not reflect Consumer Guide’s impressions of the entire model lineup.

Big & Tall Comfort

Big Guy	B+
Tall Guy	A

Big & Tall comfort ratings are for front seats only. “Big” rating based on male tester weighing approximately 350 pounds, “Tall” rating based on 6’6″-tall male tester.

Drivetrain
Engine Specs	268-hp 2.0L
Engine Type	Turbo 4-cylinder
Transmission	CVT
Drive Wheels	All-wheel drive

Driving mix: 55% city, 45% highway

EPA-estimated fuel economy: 22/28/25 (mpg city/highway/combined)

Fuel type: Premium fuel recommended

Base price: $56,850 (not including $1025 destination charge)

Options on test vehicle: Premium White Leather Package ($2000), premium paint ($695), illuminated kick plates ($485), Cargo Package ($285), welcome lighting ($425)

Price as tested: $61,765

Quick Hits

The great: High-luxe cabin trim when properly equipped; eager acceleration

The good: Passenger and cargo room; long list of comfort and technology features; quietness

The not so good: Gets very pricey in top trim levels; disappointing fuel economy

More QX50 price and availability information

CG Says:

When Infiniti came out with a fully redesigned version of its QX50 premium-compact SUV for 2019, we at Consumer Guide took to it right away, naming it a “Best Buy” in the class. That hasn’t changed in the two model years since, even if a few things about the QX50 have.

Redesigned for the 2019 model year, Infiniti’s compact SUV sees no changes of note for 2021 save for a higher level of standard equipment on all models. The Autograph is the top trim level in the model lineup.

The ’19 model we tested was an Essential, the highest of three available trim levels. Just a year later, though, the Essential was in the middle of the pack, exceeded by added Sensory and top-line Autograph versions. Plus, all QX50s got expanded standard safety equipment (blind-spot alert, lane-departure warning, high-beam assist, and rear cross-traffic alert) and a new infotainment system that incorporated Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functionality. Now for ’21, rear side airbags, automatic collision notice, acoustic side glass, and a Wi-Fi hotspot are standard throughout.

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The QX50’s interior trimmings are particularly lavish (and maybe a bit ostentatious) in the Autograph model with the Premium White Leather Package, which adds white semi-aniline leather upholstery with a quilted stitch pattern, a brown “Ultrasuede” synthetic-suede headliner, and blue Ultrasuede accents with blue accent stitching.

We’ve liked the QX50’s deft balancing of the sport/utility equation, and admired the performance of its intriguing variable-compression-ratio 4-cylinder engine (even if fuel economy lags that of class rivals). Now we’re getting to sample it for its highest level of luxury by driving an Autograph.

An all-wheel-drive Autograph has a starting price, with delivery, of $57,875. That puts it a considerable $4850 above an AWD Sensory, but buys a good number of performance and luxury items. From the former camp is Direct Adaptive Steering. Drivers select from “Heavy,” “Standard,” or “Light” resistance and response modes, and then the system uses makes continual digital adjustments to reduce vibration. The Autograph also gets a hitch for a 3000-pound towing capacity and a motion-activated liftgate.

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There’s decent space for adults in the QX50’s back seat. Rear-seat passengers get their own climate controls, dual HVAC vents, a USB port, and a charging port, all housed in the rear of the center console.

Passenger comfort is enhanced by console-mounted rear-seat vents for the tri-zone climate system, ventilated front seats, power lumbar support for the front passenger seat, and retractable sun shades in the rear doors. Look and feel are upgraded with a dark-paint finish for the 20-inch alloy wheels, semi-aniline leather upholstery, natural maple interior trim, Ultrasuede headliner, ambient interior lighting, and metallic cargo-area finishers.

Our tester wasn’t done there. Among the options that pushed its full price to $61,765 was a $2000 Premium White Leather Package option with quilting-stitched white semi-aniline leather with blue Ultrasuede highlights on the seats; blue Ultrasuede accents on upper doors, upper instrument panel, and console-box lid; and brown Ultrasuede headliner. It is a crisp and sophisticated look, but its appeal will probably be limited to strict “no eating in the car” types.

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The QX50 offers 31.1 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seats, and 64.4 cu. ft. with the rear seats folded. Our test vehicle was equipped with the $285 Cargo Package, which includes the reversible cargo-area protector shown here.

Ride quality (a little on the firm side) and handling nimbleness remain on a par with our initial positive impressions of the QX50. The same is true for the 2.0-liter turbocharged engine that makes the same 268 horsepower and 280 lb-ft of torque. Even a partial stab of the accelerator is met with an eager response—this in a powerteam that includes a continuously variable transmission. However, we can’t seem to get near the EPA fuel-mileage estimates for the QX50—22 mpg city, 28 mpg highway, and 25 combined with all-wheel drive. Individually, none of our testers met the city mark, and collectively we averaged just 20.7 mpg with 55 percent city-style driving. (We had only slightly better luck with the front-drive 2019 QX50.)

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The QX50’s sole powertrain is a 268-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter 4-cylinder that’s paired with a CVT automatic transmission. Twenty-inch alloy wheels are standard equipment on Autograph models.

In any form and fashion, the QX50 boasts fine passenger room in both rows, convenient in-cabin storage provisions, and uncomplicated climate and audio controls—not necessarily a given in all luxury-brand vehicles. The Autograph is one of the models that comes standard with ProPILOT Assist, the light-autonomy system with full stop-and-go adaptive cruise control and automatic lane-centering steering. There’s good cargo room for the size as well.

The Autograph certainly packs in extra luxury, but the recent additions of important features to all QX50s make any of them worthwhile, even if they don’t cost as much.

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The Infiniti QX50 offers excellent passenger and cargo space within its tidy exterior dimensions, ritzy interior materials, peppy acceleration, and distinctive styling.

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