2007 Infiniti QX56 Exterior Review [ 2008 ]
Infiniti QX56 Exterior Review
Exterior - 5.6 (Mediocre)
Reviewers aren't terribly impressed by the QX56's exterior. While interpretations of its stylistic shortcomings vary widely, the overall tenor of opinion is represented by Edmunds's contention that the QX56 has an "oddball form" and a "strange greenhouse design that looks like the melding of two dissimilar structures."
AutoWeek thinks, "The crooked roof-line gives the SUV the look of a cap welded askew on the back of a pickup -- which it is, sort of." "The Infiniti's exterior features include a large hood reminiscent of a classic truck, a giant horizontal grille and barrel-shaped sides," explains the Detroit News. "Oddly, sedan-like arches over the side doors look incongruous next to the QX56's truck cues."
A number of reviewers fixate on the QX56's massiveness. As About.com puts it, "This thing is so big that grown men quake in its shadows. Mere full-size SUVs get lost in its wake." The Car Connection claims, "There's something about Infiniti's new QX56 that seems unseemly. It's not that it's bigger than every other SUV (it isn't -- though it's mighty big) but that it has apparently been designed to celebrate its own gigantism so brazenly." New Car Test Drive breaks down that design: "It does embody massiveness. Perhaps it's the waterfall grille visually surrounded by large expanses of metal. Or the high headlights. Or the huge black intake vent embedded in the bumper above the grille."
A few reviewers like the exterior of the QX56, finding it understated. Auto Media (says it "won't offend folks who may have grown up with Suburbans, and their take-no-chances, predictable good looks." Forbes Autos writes, "Unlike many large SUVs and trucks, which are unapologetically if not defiantly macho, there is something almost elegant about the QX56." The Chicago Sun-Times finds the QX56 conservative to a fault, saying it must depend "on its sheer size to help it stand out in a crowd."
