What do Olympic athlete Gabby Douglas, TV personality Erin Andrews and actor Misha Collins have in common? Besides showing up in People magazine, that is? Apparently, they’ve all become experts on the new 2022 Infiniti QX60.
Douglas, Andrews and Collins anchor the new reservation program Infiniti is launching for the QX60, using a cadre of pop culture icons through the Cameo service to answer questions about the design, technology and features of the new SUV.
“The all-new 2022 QX60 is among one of our most significant product launches to-date, and this campaign with Cameo is in line with our goal to provide insightful and entertaining resources for our customers,” said Phil O’Connor, director of Marketing Communications for Infiniti Americas. “We know our customers value meaningful experiences and believe this platform offers an engaging and informative way to interact with this star SUV.”
Infiniti becomes the first automaker to make direct use of the Cameo video web-sharing service. With the tie-up, the automaker will begin taking advance reservations for the QX60 — though the third-generation crossover won’t reach showrooms until this coming autumn.
Japanese “essence”
What began life in 2012 as the Infiniti JX has become one of the marque’s most important products, so the launch of the 2022 QX60 will be a critical step in taking on competitors like Lexus, as well as German brands Mercedes-Benz and BMW.
The three-row Infiniti QX60 will start at $46,850, before factoring in $1,025 in delivery fees, for the base, front-wheel-drive “Pure” model . The top-of-the-line Autograph trim jumps to $60,350. All-wheel drive adds $2,000 on the Pure, Luxe and Sensory packages, but rises to $2,900 on the Autograph.
The 2022 QX60 is based on the same platform as the more mainstream Nissan Pathfinder, which has also gone through a complete makeover for 2022. But they share far fewer parts and design cues than in the past, noted Jeff Pope, the group vice president for Infiniti Americas.
The QX60’s design adopts what the automaker calls a “Japanese essence,” with “kimono folds in the headlamps, origami in the grille, and ripples on a pond in the leather-appointed seats.”
Mixing the practical and emotional
The crossover features a floating roof design though, for the first time, the QX60 can be ordered in two tone with a black roof that emphasizes the chrome surrounding the greenhouse. An alternative is the Moonbow Blue paint scheme, Infiniti notes, which uses special pigments to change its apparent color spectrum from purple to green, depending upon your viewing angle.
The QX60 cabin has been upgraded, the automaker claims, with the increased use of soft-touch materials like semi-aniline leather trim, There’s new ambient lighting. And, with the new Autograph grade, open pore wood is introduced. The front row, meanwhile, features Infiniti’s “Zero Gravity” seats which, it claims, enhances comfort during long trips. Ergonomic seat designs were added for middle- and third-row passengers, as well.
On a practical level, the new QX60 now stores up to 41.6 cubic feet of cargo with the third row folded, and the 2022 crossover’s underfloor storage space has been increased nearly 70 percent.
Infiniti’s “most advanced SUV”
The automaker bills the 2022 QX60 as its “most advanced SUV yet” from a technical standpoint. That includes a new 12.3-inch touchscreen for the InTouch infotainment system. It can handle wireless Apple CarPlay, though Android Auto still needs you to connect by USB. There’s a wireless smartphone charging system, meanwhile, large enough to handle the big Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max.
The crossover now gets the semi-autonomous ProPilot Assist system. While it requires a driver to maintain a light touch on the wheel, the technology helps hold the vehicle in the center of the lane and adjusts speed automatically to traffic flow. The latest version of ProPilot Assist adds Navi Link so it can read traffic signs and adjust speed, when needed and, as when a destination is plugged into the navigation system, the vehicle slows as it prepares to exit a highway.
A 10.8-inch head-up display is available, and the 2022 Infiniti QX60 gets high-tech safety technology including Rear Automatic Braking, Predictive Forward Collision Warning, and Forward Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Detection as standard equipment.
No battery power — yet
All U.S. versions of the crossover are powered by a 295-horsepower 3.5-liter V-6 paired with a 9-speed automatic transmission. It’s available in both FWD and AWD configurations. And, depending upon the grade level, the 2022 QX60’s towing capacity jumps 20%, to 6,000 pounds.
There had been some speculation that Infiniti might offer an electrified powertrain with the 2022 model. That’s not in the cards — at least for now — officials said, though they hinted there might be something coming.
“Electrification is not a part of the Infiniti QX60 launch this year (but) electrification is absolutely still a part of the Infiniti plan moving forward,” Pope told TheDetroitBureau.com during an online background briefing.
If there is a battery-based drivetrain in the works, he and other officials suggested it would likely be some form of hybrid. QX60 buyers tend to log plenty of miles and a significant share of them use the SUV to tow, explained Tim Franklin, the SUV’s product director. For now, at least, that would simply be too much of a challenge with today’s battery technology.
Infiniti will reveal fuel economy and crash ratings closer to the QX60’s arrival in dealerships later this year.
