Club Lexus Competition Test: 2019 Infiniti QX50 First Drive

Is Infiniti’s newest crossover enough to woo fans of the Lexus NX 300 and RX 350? Club Lexus goes behind enemy lines to find out.

When I first laid eyes on the 2019 Infiniti QX50, I felt as though this midsize crossover would be a threat to Lexus. The Infiniti’s bold, sculpted lines seemed like they would play well with Lexus customers’ first impressions, as well as their affinity for the NX 300’s and RX 350’s elegantly chiseled lines and creases. After spending a day sinking into the QX50’s NASA-inspired “Zero Gravity” seats, grabbing its leather-wrapped steering wheel, and weaving it through Southern California’s myriad roadscapes, I can confirm the threat is real … but more on that later. Let’s review the current climate of the luxury crossover market as it applies to Lexus buyers.

If you currently drive an RX or NX, you’re in good company because the RX is by far the best-selling luxury SUV of any size class in the United States. Lexus sold 108,307 RXs in 2017. That’s more than 40,000 units ahead of its closest challenger in the midsize luxury SUV segment: the Cadillac XT5. The NX is also a heavy-hitter in the market, claiming the title of best-selling compact luxury SUV in America. Lexus moved 59,341 NXs off dealer lots last year, putting that model more than 8,000 units ahead of its closest competition in the Acura RDX.

And then Infiniti goes ahead and comes out with this stunning QX50. We in the automotive media often complain about how car companies rely too heavily on alphanumeric model names. This is especially true for Infiniti. An apt alternative to “QX50” would be “Disruptor”. I’ll stop short of predicting the QX50 will steal the RX’s and NX’s sales crowns, but after driving this Infiniti and experiencing its revolutionary variable compression ratio 2.0-liter VC-Turbo engine, I see it weakening the robust leads that the Lexus crossovers are enjoying.

The current sales leader in the Infiniti lineup is the Q50 sedan, which competes with the likes of the Lexus IS, Audi A4 and BMW 3 Series. Infiniti sold 40,739 Q50s in 2017. Sedan market share is declining, though. Crossovers are all the rage right now, and they are displacing sedans in garages from coast to coast. Due to current automotive market trends, the Infiniti QX50 is a shoe-in to become the brand’s best seller. If they move 45,000 of these by the end of 2018, a good chunk of that could be former Lexus customers.

Take a look at Infiniti’s market-comparison spec sheet. The first models they list among the competitive set are the Lexus NX and RX. Infiniti is coming for you. They want you as a conquest buyer.

Not only do the numbers compare favorably, but so does the driving experience. The QX50’s tech-packed chassis drives as smoothly as the Lexus GS 450h, my personal 2014 car of the year. But the QX50 beckons Lexus buyers long before the ignition button is pushed. Take a moment to breathe in the delicate sculpting on the QX50’s clamshell hood and along its flanks. The Infiniti’s complex curves, twists and turns are the result of advances in metal stamping technology. You couldn’t stamp complexity this sensual 10 years ago. Today, though, automotive manufacturers can manipulate steel and aluminum almost as magically as the clay vase that got felt up in the movie Ghost.

Even if you hate the QX50’s aesthetic, you have to appreciate the technology behind its execution. Infiniti has pulled off a design emblematic of this century’s roaring ’20s. You needn’t eyes to appreciate the rest of the SUV, either. Simply melting into its seats will do. Holding court amid a sumptuous, hand-stitched, semi-aniline leather interior are seats that make you want to wiggle every time you sit in them. Infiniti’s mainstream sister brand, Nissan, has been using Zero Gravity seats in some of its cars for a few years. Now Infiniti has taken that technology, and they’ve made it feel more pampering.

Nissan’s Zero Gravity seats are impressive in that they are a market leader when it comes to the lack of pressure points you feel when you’re behind the wheel. Infiniti’s lack of seating pressure points is just as impressive, but the luxury brand adds an element of squishiness I’ve yet to feel from any other car company. As soon as my backside hit the driver’s seat, I let out an audible “ooh”. These are the first seats I’ve ever experienced that feel as though they’re fondling you as soon as you sit on them. After my “ooh” I began to wiggle, shimmy and burrow into the seat to prolong the high-density foam’s flirtatiousness. I need one of these for an office chair, but inside the Infiniti, the driver’s seat does a masterful job of snuggling you through any hairpins or traffic you may encounter.