Luxury SUVs and crossovers are massive sellers for the manufacturers that provide them right here within the U.S. At final rely, North American luxurious SUV gross sales accounted for practically half of all the globe’s urge for food for these automobiles. That market dominance began years in the past and constructed momentum within the Nineteen Nineties as manufacturers like Acura, Lexus and Infiniti began providing luxed-out SUVs.
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Years earlier than the Cadillac Escalade and Lincoln Navigator, Acura and Lexus rolled out SUVs that mixed rugged off-road functionality and luxurious into one package deal. Acura’s first foray into the sector was a rebranded Isuzu Trooper known as the Acura SLX. Lexus went to its father or mother Toyota and turned the legendary J80 Land Cruiser into the first-gen LX450. As for Infiniti, the luxurious model went to the one straightforward SUV possibility it had: The Nissan Pathfinder.
Years earlier than the Pathfinder morphed into the sedan-based mostly crossover we now know, it was a succesful body-on body SUV based mostly on Nissan’s compact pickup truck. This would show to be the premise for the primary and solely era of the Infiniti QX4, constructed from the second-generation R50 Pathfinder and debuting for the 1996 mannequin yr.
And once I say based mostly on, I actually imply “badge-engineered.” Aside from barely completely different fascias, trim and lights, the QX4 was all however equivalent to the Pathfinder. The QX4 bought a singular hood and entrance bumper with built-in fog laps and its personal rear hatch. All the remainder of the sheetmetal, and the powertrains, have been shared.
The QX4 was initially powered by a 3.3-liter, 168-horsepower V6 engine mated to a four-pace automated. What was actually distinctive in regards to the QX4 was its refined 4 wheel drive system shared with the Nissan GT-R. The QX4 was outfitted with a multi-plate clutch within the heart differential, which directed engine torque to the entrance or rear relying on the highway situations. A change on the instrument panel allowed drifters to change between 2-wheel, 4-wheel, or automated all-wheel drive, and the QX4 was surprisingly all-terrain succesful for a luxurious automobile.
Inside, the QX4 had leather-based seats, a Bose stereo system and a bit extra wooden trim than its Pathfinder sibling. But it was missing in a number of areas. Being primarily a Nissan pickup at its coronary heart meant pickup-like trip high quality. The again seat was weirdly small, having solely 31.8 inches of legroom — lower than in the present day’s Infiniti Q60 coupe. It additionally got here with rear drum brakes and unconvincing pretend wooden, two issues that some consumers might need discovered unacceptable for a luxurious model.
As the years went on, promoting the identical automobile as Nissan for extra money began to make much less and fewer sense. An replace to the QX4 got here in 2000 with the addition of a brand new 3.5-liter V6 with 240 hp, together with different options like xenon headlights. A brand new rear-drive base mannequin with was launched as nicely, however that didn’t assist issues. The Pathfinder nonetheless made extra sense.
A totally loaded Pathfinder XLE with a few of the similar luxurious options because the QX4, like leather-based seating and four-wheel drive, began at $33,897. Meanwhile, Infiniti anticipated consumers to fork over $36,075 for a comparably outfitted QX4. Was a bit extra pretend wooden trim, a Bose stereo system and that Infiniti badge price $2,178 over the Pathfinder?
It’s onerous to say, however the QX4 didn’t stick round lengthy. When manufacturing led to 2002, 122,000 QX4s had discovered consumers.
The QX4 felt a bit of like a brief resolution, and historical past bears that out: Just two years after it was canceled, Infiniti had a extra aggressive luxurious SUV within the QX56, based mostly on the Nissan Armada. But you possibly can thank the QX4 for ushering within the period of Infiniti luxurious SUVs, and their QX naming scheme.
Source: jalopnik.com