Last week in Phoenix I was able to test drive a 2024 Infiniti SUV courtesy of PageOneAuto of Chandler, Arizona.  Sawyer Bolger of POA was nice enough to have the vehicle waiting at Sky Harbor airport for my visit to the Valley of the Sun.  Ruth accompanied me and we stayed in Scottsdale, visiting the Colorado Rockie opening day game at Chase Field in downtown Phoenix.  The Infiniti was brand new and painted with Moonbow blue metallic paint and had a matching Saddle brown  leather interior.

Infiniti is the luxury division of Nissan Motors of Japan.  The QX is a mid-size upscale crossover and has a 3.5 liter V6 with 295 hp under the hood.  The the engine is mated to a nine speed automatic transmission with manual shift mode.  Big magnesium paddle shifters are behind the steering wheel to take care of shifting with both hands under heavy acceleration.  The economy ratings are 20 city/25 highway, and during the week I was pleased to observe an overall mileage rating of 20.8 mpg.  The car has Intelligent All-Wheel Drive with snow mode, and reportedly accelerates from zero to sixty in 6.4 seconds.

On Thursday afternoon we jumped in the QX and blasted off for Mesa, AZ, location of the park n’ ride lot for Valley Metro, a means to get to the baseball field.   It was a pretty good distance from Scottsdale, and allowed us to get a feel for the big Infiniti out on the Interstates.  The QX has ample clearance for a crossover, but is in fact built somewhat low to the ground like a sports car.  It rolls on 255/50R20 V rated tires and 20″ 10 spoke alloy wheels.  The styling of this four-door is dynamite – I have admired them since they were introduced.

The interior of the Infiniti is first class in both upholstery and electronic gadgetry.  The hard drive nav/backup camera has an 12.3″ infortainment setup.  In the screen the driver is able to view “eye in the sky” location of the car for parking or backing up.  All the power options are on hand including tilt/telescope, seating (both heated and cooled up front), 33.5 cubic feet of cargo space, 17 speaker Bose stereo, Bluetooth music and phone connection and the technology package.  Total M.S.R.P. came to $69,240.00.

I found myself enjoying our short vacation in Phoenix a little more due to the top flight wheels Ruth and I had to move around in.  We put on several miles and were able to show it off in the Randy’s Ice Cream shop parking lot for a nice brunch on two separate occasions.  The Rockies were not winners in the opening series of two games (that we attended), but the Infiniti QX-60 was and is a winner, both in looks and in operation.

 Moonbow blue metallic paint with Saddle brown leather seating for 7 – heated front and rear outboard captains chairs, power driver and passenger seat, all-weather package, and 33.5 cubic ft. of cargo space behind second row seats, weighs 4,669 lbs., has a 114.2” wheelbase, is 198.2” long, 20” – charcoal tone finished multi spoke aluminum wheels and 255/50R20 Hankook Dynapro all season radials, Autograph trim, 12.3” infotainment screen including driver’s gauge cluster, surround vision camera setup, radar cruise control, wireless phone charger, pushbutton/remote electric starter, power tilt/telescope steering column, leather wrapped heated steering wheel, navigation, 17 speaker Bose premium FM/AM-Satellite stereo, heated folding exterior mirrors, and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto capability, 295 horsepower 3.5 liter V-6  w/ 270 lb. ft. of torque, nine speed automatic transmission, all wheel drive, zero to 60 in 6.9 seconds and 120 mph top speed, $69,240.00 list price  –  built in Smyrna, TN, 25 MPG highway rating, 22 MPG combined rating, 20 MPG city rating – 448 miles of range with 18 gallon tank capacity