BIG SHOT

AFTER INFINITI'S EXTENDED NEW-PRODUCT HOLIDAY, THE NEW QX80 ATTEMPTS TO REAWAKEN THE SOMNAMBULANT LUXURY BRAND.

- Joe Lorio

THE PAST FEW YEARS, Infiniti has seemed about as industrious as a rudderless summer-house guest who spends extended periods floating in the pool. The brand has been largely unbothered by new-model introductions, save for a redesign of the three-row QX60 for 2022. And while, on a personal level, we can admire such a relaxed attitude, it's probably not the best strategy for a car company. Evidently, Infiniti has awakened to that reality and is wiping the sleep from its eyes. We've seen a string of concept cars, but the effort really begins here, at the top of its lineup, with the redesigned QX80—arguably the brand's most significant new vehicle since the original Q45.

The design was previewed by the QX Monograph concept, but a better descriptor for the production model might be QX Monolith, given the slab sides, flush door handles, unified greenhouse, and bluff front end punctuated by a towering grille (with a light-up logo, natch). Some may remember Infiniti's "rocks and trees" advertisements that showed nature scenes rather than a car. A fascination with the outdoors apparently still has a hold at Infiniti, as the company likens the new QX80's grille to "a bamboo forest," while its taillight treatment is supposed to recall "reflections of light upon a body of water."

Although more imposing in appearance than its predecessor, the 2025 version is just an inch longer and fractionally wider, although it's taller by 4.3 inches with its air springs fully inflated. Effectively, it could slip into a made-to-measure car cover for a Cadillac Escalade or a Lincoln Navigator, so close are its dimensions to those two key competitors.