Infiniti’s 2022 QX60 has merged a 9-speed automatic transmission with the company’s 295-horsepower, 3.5-liter V6 in the latest SUV in the QX stable.
A question we posed to an Infiniti spokesperson was, how can the 2022 QX60 be considered all-new if it includes the same 3.5-liter V6 engine that powered previous Infinitis, long enough to be an award-winner? How about that new, 9-speed transmission, our source replied.
Calm, quiet, and confident are adjectives I’d associate with a bank or brokerage firm, or perhaps a mattress. Then again, I like vehicles that behave in ways that inspire criminality, so maybe being refined and advanced as the QX60 claims to be is a good thing.
“The upcoming, all-new 2022 INFINITI QX60 embraces the tenets of what our brand stands for,” said Infiniti chairman Peyman Kargar. “Teams from Japan and the U.S. have worked tirelessly to bring to customers the new QX60, our most refined and advanced three-row crossover yet.”
The new 9-speed automatic transmission, developed with supplier ZF, “has a direct and linear acceleration feel. The 9-speed has a larger ratio spread — almost 10:1. It gives the driver confidence to increase their standing start, passing on the freeway, and in the city,” said Dave Kiesel, manager of powertrain performance at Infiniti’s Arizona Testing Center. “You just step on the pedal, it downshifts, and you go.“
In Death Valley, California, engineers subjected the QX60 to temperatures above 122 degrees Fahrenheit. The desert is conducive to testing the QX60’s cooling capabilities and its interior environment. They fine-tuned the QX60 to be tranquil and relaxing, despite the oppressive heat and punishing landscape outside the cabin.
Like Buzz Lightyear, who famously said, ‘To infinity, and beyond!’, Infiniti, the car company, is cueing up the QX60, their latest three-row luxury crossover cruiser, as a family wagon for families who dislike wagons. More details about the 2022 Infiniti QX60 are to be divulged soon.
[Images: Infiniti]
It’s a sad day when the medical-grade Covid mask starts influencing automotive styling.
Seriously… please tell me this is camouflage…
Looks like camouflage.
I don’t see a vehicle anywhere. (Must be camouflage.)
“It’s a sad day when the medical-grade Covid mask starts influencing automotive styling.”
I saw my first “angry beaver” BMW live in the wild today. With the US license plate tacked onto the front, it looks even worse in person than in the photos. A giant medical-grade mask would be a huge improvement.
Not having a CVT is at least a good start.
Sounds like the Germans (ZF) have defeated the Japanese (JATCO) in this transmission skirmish.
I’m ok with it. What other luxury brand of vehicles uses CVT’s? Every CVT I’ve driven felt like a sacrifice for fuel economy, never a luxury experience. How many customers has Nissan lost forever over grenading CVT’s?
Lot of unhappy folks with bad CVTs from many different makes. GM started the turd in a punchbowl with the Saturn Vue/Ion for a couple of years. Minis…Nissans… Subaru “seems” to have a lot less issues at least by forum scuttlebut, not really sure.
I’m hearing better things from newer Hondas and Toyotas with CVT’s but I haven’t driven one.
For the ones with issues, Subaru extended the warranty to 10 years.
Still based on the old Nissan D platform?
The loss of Jatco CVT is a start though.
Infiniti QX60 and Nissan Pathfinder. Same vehicle under the skin, have been for years. So if one changes to a ZF 9 speed, well, so will the other. They’re both made in Tennessee by Nissan.
Chrysler has a joint-venture factory building the ZF 9 speed in the USA for its four cylinder stuff. Honda used to use the 9 speed in Acura TLX, Pilots and MDXs, but seem to be migrating to their own 10 speed. Uh oh, production cuts for ZF. So, no doubt ZF/Chrysler made Nissan a deal it couldn’t afford not to take on the 9 speed. Plus, a CVT uses a non-trivial amount of power for a hydraulic pump to keep the two cones at exactly the right distance apart or belt slippage occurs, so not really the most energy-efficient transmission for a torquey V6. Better suited for lighter vehicles and lower torque engines.