Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Next Infiniti FX to gain interior volume

The Infiniti FX, soon to be renamed QX70 thanks to the Japanese brand's convoluted naming scheme, is currently in the midst of its second-generation. And while we like the compact, sporty crossover's driving character a lot, it lacks the "utility" part of the CUV moniker. That lack of cabin space will be addressed in the future, though.

Automotive News recently sat down with Nissan's global design boss, Shiro Nakamura, to talk about the future of what he called "the icon of Infiniti." And while Nakamura-san admitted the FX/QX70's worth to the brand, its sales have long been something of a disappointment. "Exterior and styling-wise, it's very strong as an icon. But to be honest, its sales volume has not been as big as we wanted," a reality Nakamura believes is due largely to its tight cabin relative to its competition.

Finding the right balance might be difficult, though. The FX/QX70 is selling extremely well in both China and Russia, according to Nakamura, because of its looks. Altering that style in order to increase interior space risks alienating a new and important group of buyers for Infiniti. The designer put it best when he told AN, " It is selling well in China and Russia because it stands out. So we want to maintain that striking look." As it stands, we'll likely be living with the current vehicle for a few more years – AN doesn't expect the third-generation of the FX/QX70 to arrive until 2015 or 2016.

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/09/03/i...nterior-space/

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

FX has always been a niche SUV. Def a hotrod with the 5.0L V8

LexFather

Its amazing they continue to sell it after over a decade of slow sales. I just read too that their new design chief is going with a different look for Infiniti and the new Q50 is the OLD style, not new one. Maybe it debuts with this. And I think they forgot the car is called QX70 or whatever now.

If they can merge different and more room they might fare better.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

recently i was looking at the cuv/suv line-up of infiniti and didn't realize until then that they have four models... what were named ex, fx, jx, and qx.

ex is 5 seater sort of entry (but very nice interior)
fx is 5 seater sporty, been around forever, but had decent refreshes
jx is 7 seater, really nice, but bigger than you might imagine
qx is 7 seater, HUGE, and fugly (to me)

i guess making the fx bigger makes sense to distance it a bit more from ex and make it more useful, but i'm assuming it won't become 7 seater?

84Cressida

It took me years to figure out that this was a RWD, performance crossover and not based on the Murano platform.

It will also likely take years for me to remember what QX this thing will soon go by.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

The FX looks good but that's about it.

I8ABMR

interior volume??? How about better fuel efficiency. Although the interior room on the FX is laughable by todays standards they need more than just room on the next gen

LexBob2

When the FX launched it was radical. It still seems radical, but dated. Needs freshening ASAP.

I8ABMR

it made a huge splash when it hit the streets. It was the first good looking SUV on the market, well actually the second because the X5 was bad ***. Before that it was always tarted up version of a lower end manufacturer trying to pass it off as a luxury SUV. The RX was great but had nothing on the FX for power, performance, or looks. I am amazed they are still selling the FX and have not totally redesigned the thing