2022 INFINITI QX55 (INFINITI)
By Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Japanese luxury brands are going back to the future to find their mojo.
First Acura time-traveled back to the 1990s to rediscover its sporty roots. The successful journey brought us the Acura NSX supercar and athletic RDX and MDX SUVs. Infiniti is using the same method to aid its SUV fortunes.
Say hello to the sexy QX55 — created from the frozen DNA of an Infiniti FX found after a trip in the way-back machine. I took it to Hell (Michigan) and back.
QX55 is the first Japanese fastback to brave the compact luxe segment against the German trinity of BMW X4, Mercedes GLC Coupe, and Audi Q5 Sportback. But it's not the first fastback Infiniti SUV. Indeed, Nissan's premium brand pioneered the racy SUV concept waaaay back in 2003 with the FX. With a rear-drive layout, a long hood that arrived an hour before the cabin, and salacious looks, FX (which eventually became QX70 under Infiniti's new nomenclature until it disappeared in 2017) was a German-like SUV hottie before the Germans ever thought of it.