Here at The Autopian, few things pain us more than a car marque not living up to its potential. After all, wouldn’t it be great if every brand succeeded? That would mean more choice in great cars for everyday drivers. One brand that’s still getting back on the horse is Infiniti, after a long period of corporate neglect. Between 2010 and 2012, American Infiniti sales crescendoed at more than 200,000 cars every year. However, that momentum wasn’t to last.
In 2015, U.S. Infiniti sales stood at just 133,498 cars, and while they’ve had their ups and downs since, the prevailing trend has been downward. In 2019, U.S. sales stood lower still at 117,708 cars, and even though 2023 was a post-shortage rebuilding year with a 40 percent increase in sales volume over 2022, that only totalled 64,699 cars. Mercifully, new product is on the way, but it might not be the product Infiniti needs. As Automotive News reports:
A redesigned, six-figure QX80 flagship crossover arrives this summer, while a sporty QX65 crossover coupe comes in 2026 — the first all-new addition to the portfolio since 2021. A pair of battery-powered vehicles — a sedan and a crossover — will follow in the second half of the decade.
Under this strategy, there are no plans to replace the QX50 compact crossover that first went on sale in 2017, nor plans for entry-level products to get a new generation of luxury consumers aboard the Infiniti brand. Add in cooling industry sentiments on EVs and renewed interest in hybrids, and it seems like Infiniti’s still trying to find its feet. Not to worry, though. We’re here to help, and here’s what I’d do to revitalize Infiniti’s lineup.
The Naming Scheme Is Actually Fine
It’s been a decade since Infiniti fell victim to Johann De Nysschen’s prerogative of completely confusing consumers with entirely new naming schemes before leaving the building, and while some may argue that it’s still hard to remember models by name alone, enough time has passed that the old model names are largely irrelevant. Volvo’s claimed the EX prefix that was used on the QX50’s predecessor, the QX60’s developed a strong brand in its own right, and the Q50 has been around for that entire decade, so people know what it is by now. Does Infiniti have a great naming scheme? No, but it’s good enough, and if we’re going to do this, sticking with good enough naming is good for the bottom line.
A Qashqai By Literally Any Other Name
Let’s start by addressing two gaps in Infiniti’s current lineup — it sells nothing smaller than the uncompetitive QX50 compact crossover, and nothing with a hybrid powertrain. However, there’s a way to fix that in one fell swoop, and that’s by disguising the European-market third-generation Qashqai e-Power series-hybrid small crossover as Infiniti’s own cooking. It already has massaging seats, a huge moonroof, quilted leather, and a 360-degree camera system available, and the top trim seems nice enough that it could be a legitimate Infiniti.
Now, before it comes here, a few changes must be made. The front lights, front bumper, front grille, and tailgate stamping would need to be replaced with items that carry the Infiniti brand image, but I reckon Infiniti could get away with leaving most exterior parts unchanged. That’s a good thing, as lights are properly expensive, but once some extra interior glitz is added, the result should be a product just different enough from current U.S. Nissan fare that most people wouldn’t know the baby Infiniti’s humble roots, just big enough to find fans, and just nice enough to be a legitimate entry-level premium product. Hypothetically, let’s call it the QX40, because nobody wants to be reminded of the Mercedes-Benz GLA-based QX30 of a few years back.
What’s Japanese For Mopar?
Congratulations! There’s now a hybrid in the Infiniti lineup, which means that something needs to be done about the aging Q50. Well, why not take a page out of Dodge’s handbook and give every trim level the Red Sport’s 400-horsepower twin-turbo V6 while keeping prices reasonable? Sure, it won’t move massive volume, but an extra 100 horsepower is one hell of a deal-sweetener, and should keep some volume of metal moving until a replacement can come.
Leveraging Synergies To, Um, Keep Lexus At Bay
You know what’s hot right now? Compact crossovers and plug-in hybrids. The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV has a pretty kick-ass plug-in hybrid system, and since it’s built on the same platform as the Nissan Rogue, Infiniti might be able to get permission to dress it up into a convincing compact crossover. If there’s any theoretical product to go all-out on, it’s this one. We’re talking new stampings, molded exterior parts, and lights to make it look like a baby QX80, a plusher dashboard, softer door cards, deleting the third row and pushing the second row back for increased legroom, and retuning the suspension for ride comfort. Not only could this offer a compelling green alternative in the compact premium crossover space, it could scoop up would-be Lexus NX PHEV buyers who can’t get an allocation.
Leave The QX60 Alone
I’ve driven the new Infiniti QX60, and I’m pleased to report that it’s actually pretty swell. Not only does it have a richer cabin than the Lexus TX, thanks to a proper ZF nine-speed torque converter automatic transmission, it drives leagues better than the old one. Good job, Infiniti. More like this, please.
Sure, Let’s Add An EV
It’s about time Infiniti had an electric vehicle, and with the QX70 nameplate sitting dormant, why not fancy up the Nissan Ariya? The Ariya already has a pretty nice cabin, but more is always more, so why not slather it on? Stuff like a quilted dashboard facing, a sueded headliner, crystal-like switchgear, more metal, more wood, a different steering wheel, thicker armrest padding, a full-length centre console with dual wireless smartphone chargers, and a dedicated climate control panel, bolder colors, all that jazz. Sure, this is a no-brainer, but it’s all just an idea for now.
Let The QX80 Run Its Course
With belt-tightening on just about everyone’s minds, Infiniti celebrated this year’s New York International Auto Show by unveiling an all-new QX80 full-size SUV with pricing that dives into six-figure territory as you ascend the range. Sure, it feels like Infiniti might not have read the room with the launch of this beast, but it’s set in stone now, so let’s just let it play out. Only time will tell whether or not the new QX80 is the product Infiniti needs right now.
How Would You Fix Infiniti?
So there we are, a theoretical top-to-bottom range that doesn’t involve starting from scratch, fills two holes in the lineup, dramatically updates one aging model, and gives the Q50 more bang for the buck. While we miss Infiniti’s days as a performance car manufacturer, I have a strong feeling that a lineup like this could be exactly what the brand needs right now. Then again, maybe not, which is why we’re turning it over to you. How would you fix Infiniti? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
(Photo credits: Infiniti, Nissan, Thomas Hundal)
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Is Infiniti anything more than a Japanese Buick?
Genesis is taking the place of Infiniti with better product and a vision of what it wants to be.
Infiniti is irrelevant – let it die.
You’d have to literally gut every dealership- fire everyone and replace them top-down.
Throw it away
The thing Infiniti has to do is go back to the fundamentals. When Infiniti started, Lexus was trying to be Mercedes, and they were trying to be BMW — luxury with a sporty edge. If they can create a vehicle that presents a compelling alternative to other options, either by price or by offering a comparable vehicle but with more power and more luxury, they have a chance.
The problem, as shown in the comments here, is that too many people see them as fancy Nissans. So their vehicles have to be like Lexus in that, while they are fancy Toyotas, they are worth spending more to buy. If they don’t do that, they are Lincoln.
To fix Infiniti, first you have to fix the parent company Nissan. Before you run, you have to walk. And right now, they can’t even walk.
That’s what I was thinking too. Take all those Infiniti resources and aim them at making Nissan better.
Just kill the brand. They’re gussied up Nissans, which basically means putting lipstick on a pig. Nothing they make is remotely compelling or interesting, or even on par with other Japanese luxury marques. And the thing is, I genuinely don’t think they’re capable of making anything better.
This is really the only sensible idea. Infiniti has been synonymous with faux-luxury for too long now, the body has been losing blood the entire time, just euthanize it and be done. Nobody wants reheated Nissan leftovers because Nissan is a low-rent brand overall. It used to be that Nissan could point and laugh with all of the rest and Mitsubishi, but now everyone is pointing and laughing at Nissan too–they just haven’t figured it out yet.
Under evil Mr. Bean, Nissan cheapened everything, let their models go WAY beyond stale and then based a luxury brand upon such misery? Best thing that ever happened to Nissan was Carlos being stuffed into a box and shipped out of Japan. Maybe Nissan can start to regain some ground, but Infiniti is mortally wounded. Just put it out of it’s misery. Post a picture of the original Q45 and tell everyone thanks for all the memories…
I just noticed that Infinity’s grille looks exactly like ED-209 from RoboCop, and they did that to convey the decadence of American cars at the time.
I don’t have a point other than mentioning Robocop, so carry on.
If the QX80 is a “crossover” then what SUV-shaped vehicle isn’t a crossover?
One stupid phrase for Infinity: Luxury hybrid minivan.
Also high-powered halo hybrid sports car. Baller sedan with a similar drive-train and hybrid everything else. And throw in some 16″ screens “for the kids”.
But really you nailed it in the article.
Baller sedan would have been the Q50 Eau Rouge. GTR Drivetrain in a Q50 skin.
I bought one of the first 100 G35 sedans to roll off the boat in 2002 – Emerald Myst 5AT with all the bells and whistles (reclining rear seats!). I still have this car 22 years later and it runs like a champ while continuing to turn heads (original paint – shines like an “emerald” in the sun).
I’ve put $7-8K I to it over the years, but generally speaking it’s been a comfortable, reliable family rocket that still gives me goosebumps whenever I bury the accelerator (pushed it to 148 MPH once while climbing *uphill* on I-280 out of Stockton, CA). That VQ ROAR is intoxicating!
The thing is, when I first bought my “G” it was this rough, wild beast of a car that scared the crap out of the 328i, IS 300, TL (Torquesteer unLimited), and A4 crowd. It was unrefined, tricky to drive, but rewarding in ways that were hard to articulate. It made you feel like the bully at every stoplight staredown.
Of course, I’ve been witness to Infiniti’s evolution through the early noughties and beyond. And though the 2005-2006 G35 models felt like a natural progression of the design, the company started to lose its way circa 2007. That model year saw the company shift from a raucous performance focus towards more cushy accoutrements, like their obsession over ’07 G’s new front door and how it was designed around the speaker to maximize audio fidelity.
I drove several service loaners from that and subsequent generations, but none of them delivered that visceral, seat of your pants vibe that my OG G35 did. And when those stoplight staredowns were replace by awkward encounters with middle-aged women sitting behind the wheels of the majority of new Infiniti’s I encountered, I realized the company had abandoned all pretense of pushing a performance message and were instead catering to the “frumpy librarian” segment.
I get that Infiniti’s Nissan masters were in turmoil from all the Ghosn drama, but it seems clear that their “luxury” division suffered the most – they traded their “soul” in a desperate grab for market share and ended up losing both.
Bottom Line: I still love my OG G beast and will drive it until its VQ finally kicks the bucket (still has less than 200K miles on it). But after nearly 30 years with the brand (I owned a 96 G20 and 99 G20t before the ’03 G35), I can’t see myself ever buying another Infiniti.
Meanwhile, I’ve opened my mind to alternatives: My current family “stable” includes a 2017 Mini Cooper S (a different kind of “fun” to drive), a 2012 Audi A3 Sportback (for driving around my overseas home in Mauritius), and various Nissan economy boxes for my offspring.
I have a different take. First, I think Thomas’s take is way more realistic, so let’s get that out of the way.
For my part, I say fixing Infiniti starts at Nissan. On here and out in wider world, Nissan has the stink of fleets and rentals all over it. There’s nothing compelling, the closest thing being that bulbous 370Z the replaced the sleek-if-bland 350Z. Nissan seems like its own worst competitor, both with itself and with respect to Infiniti. It’s not like it’s going toe-to-toe with Toyota or Honda and just missing by hairs; it’s that it’s ugly, lumpen, cheap, and gray, often with bad build quality to boot.
How do you derive luxury from something that sucks in the first place?
I had some fun hypotheticals written about a Versa SE-R, but I could feel myself getting deep into desk chair quarterbacking, so I’ll just say I’ll be happy if Mazda gobbles up their slice of the pie at this point.
Q50 looks good even after 10 years, but has an awful interior. Fix the interior and make the red sport engine standard, then drop the price. Most of that tooling has to be paid off by now so they can still make money on higher volume. Infiniti’s roots are in stuffing a high-powered Japanese motor in a sleek, good looking car, and keeping things fairly reliable. Even their SUVs like the FX35 looked amazing and had a great powertrain. Somehow they’ve diluted the aspects of the brand that made them appealing while managing not to make anything else better
Honestly like others have said I kinda forgot infinity was still around. It’s weird, if I saw a Saturn or oldsmobile badge I would stare. If I see an infinity badge I gain temporarily amnesia.
Also why is there badge not the infinity symbol?
Because it’s the Infiniti symbol.
Ba-dum-tss
The badge is a road going off in to inifinty in front of you.
There are a couple gaps in that that I think would be good…
A premium performance sedan based on the GT-R. That’s still a great car – and premium sports sedans still sell.
A premium offroader – take what ever Nissan does to finally bring a offroad capable SUV back, and add some fancy to it to build a Defender competitor.
I honestly forget Infiniti is still around. I rarely see their cars around, in an area where I see a RX, MDX, X5, GLE all the time. Seems like I am more likely to see a “shell of its former self” G35/37 than a new QXwhatever. The naming scheme still sucks, they couldn’t find a lamer way to name their models.
I just looked at some photos for a 2024 Q50 Red Sport for sale. The navigation map looks like the one in my 2013 Toyota. You can’t update what is on the screen? I get it, you don’t want to redesign the interior, but you can’t pop a better infotainment screen in? Come on. Just lazy.
I was also expecting the ancient Q50 to have a Scrooge McDuck sized pile of money on the hood, but if they do, dealers aren’t advertising it. Am I really going to go to an Infiniti dealer, which is probably like the South Park Mall after the Amazon fullfillment center opens, and they are going to tell me $1-2k off sticker is the best they can do on a Q50 “Sensory”?
And the QX60 might be decent, but it 1) Can reach $70k(!!!) sticker price and 2) Get a dismal low 20’s mpg. Give me a better option than Toyota that will make me forget the reduced reliability I am probably signing up for.
Unfortunately, I don’t think the Q50 should get a new generation unless it can tap into the G35/37 crowd, as it wouldn’t be able to pay itself off. I don’t see them making a car interesting enough to miss, unless it’s electric.
The Qashqai and Outlander PHEV would both need different engines.
The Qashqai hybrid has the KH5T 1.5L VC-turbo that makes 160hp, and 190hp combined (the Rogue uses the KR15DDT that makes 200hp). I feel like 190hp is marginal for the segment, but the fact it’s a 3 cylinder with CVT-like drone in a luxury car would not fly in the US. You’d have to use a 4-cylinder of some kind, whether it’s a detuned KR20DDT or the PR25DD in Atkinson cycle.
The Outlander PHEV uses Mitsubishi’s 2.4L 4B12 4 cylinder which only makes 130hp, which I think is fine for the application since it’s 248hp combined, but somehow only achieves an absolutely pathetic 26mpg combined when the battery is drained. I don’t know what Mitsubishi did, but it MUST be fixed for the Infiniti. They could also use a KR20DDT or PR25DD here, but probably less detuned. An Atkinson cycle V6 is probably too inefficient and would go unappreciated when paired with this CVT-like transmission.
Is the fuel economy simply a by-product of it being a series hybrid rather than parallel? Even when the battery is depleted, the gas engine is working as a generator to run the electric motors to drive the wheels. That sounds like it should be efficient, but is it? Sadly there are few vehicles out there that one could directly compare it to in order to test that.
I can say that it sounds more fun to drive than a typical parallel hybrid powertrain, but I’ve never had the opportunity.
The Accord and CR-V full hybrids are series hybrids with 1 and 2 overdrive direct drive gears, respectively. The overdrive gear is definitely used at highway speeds, and the CR-V’s lower DD gear was implemented to help give it a towing capacity (only 1000lb), but might be used at medium speeds.
(Note: all following transmission efficiency percentages are from quick google searches. If anyone knows better, please correct me!)
The almost perfect 97% efficient DD gears help mitigate the inefficiency of the series system, which is always going to be (motor efficiency)^2 at best if an inverter is not needed. If we use a good 95% motor efficiency, that means series operation is 90.3% efficient at best, dropping to 87.5% if using an older 97% efficient inverter. This could easily drop to ~80% if you cheap out on inefficient motors.
Both the Accord and CR-V get good EPA ratings of 46/41/44 and 40/34/37 respectively, compared to the eCVT Toyota Camry and RAV4’s 44/47/46 and 41/38/39 respectively, eCVT Ford Escape’s 42/36/39, the Outlander PHEV’s 25/27/26 and it’s platformmate, the CVT Rogue gets 28/34/31 (city/highway/combined, big wheels on the sedans, AWD for CUVs).
As you can see, the Hondas and Toyotas trade blows, though the Toyotas lose less on highway which may be due to their excellent 41% thermal efficiency dynamic force engines. The Escape is still competitive despite using an older Mazda era engine. I can’t find any easy explanation for why the Mitsubishi is that bad.
The Mitsubishi’s 2.4L engine has been used in some form since 2007 (but with significant updates such as increased compression ratio and different oil) and makes 130hp @5000rpm, which sounds low against the Ford’s 163hp @6250rpm 2.5L from 2008, but if you compensate for the RPM difference the Ford also makes 130hp.
I have 2 guesses for what’s causing this:
1) Mitsubishi cheaped out on aerodynamic enhancements compared to its Nissan brother, especially underbody shielding since the exterior looks ok.
2) The test engineers used the battery recharge mode when measuring mpg. While other PHEVs recharge modes only run the engine lightly for NVH reasons (my Escape PHEV stays under well under 50hp of engine load in my estimation), Doug DeMuro said that it seems like the Outlander runs at/near WOT and charges fairly fast. Mitsubishi can get away with this because they’re fine on CAFE numbers, with the PHEV boosting the numbers high, the Mirage inherently being fuel sipping, and none of their other vehicles getting full size pickup-like gas guzzling numbers. If this is really the case, Mitsubishi is leaving nearly free CAFE credit money on the table.
sorry for the essay, this keeps me up at night XD
Thank you for the explanation, and I don’t mind the excessive nerdery.
The Outlander PHEV also seems to have a fairly significantly greater EV-only range than others in its class, so perhaps higher battery weight is another compounding factor? (Although as you said, even then it shouldn’t be that bad.)
As for how fun they are to drive, I’d judge them to be about as fun as any CVT with simulated gears. Honda’s implementation varies the engine’s speed to simulate gears in addition to the RPM fluctuations from using the DD gear.
Most Infiniti’s I’ve seen have been the G35/37 and they no longer have a comparable model. While this is about 10 years too late, I think they should have made a luxury take on the GTR after swapping the expensive bits like possibly the dct with a zf8, the turbo v6 with a v8, etc to be able to sell it at a comparable or slightly cheaper price and taking a bit of the hard-core performance aspect but replacing it with opulance.
Infiniti’s problem is “What makes an Infiniti an Infiniti?” Why should anyone get one over a Lexus or Acura or even Mazda? Until Infiniti can answer that question, there’s nothing to do for them.
It’s a more expensive Nissan
And that’s why they’re not selling!
Think of the exclusivity.
Duh. You take whatever Infiniti you had before, then add one to it.
Re: Q50
Improve the steering feel and update the interior. That has been the issue with the car since this generation launched and could be sold for thousands less than the equivalent BMW.
Sadly, even if they did this it would not fix the Q50. The market for sport sedans continues to shrink and the price discount gets eaten away when buyers are comparing monthly lease payments.
Buy Mazda and slap the Infiniti logo on the now acquired product line.
Infiniti use to be what Mazda is trying to achieve today. Move upmarket while giving us a sporty(ish) reliable Japanese alternative to the Europeans.
You leave Mazda out of this.
Let the reverse happen. Mazda succeeds on its own, Infiniti dies after letting the market exercise its will.
Mercy-kill it.
Let Mazda rightfully take its place in the luxury space, with better products that aren’t warmed-over Nissans. Mazda deserves to compete with BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar/Land Rover, Lincoln, etc., so let them and encourage them with more sales.
Infiniti squandered its chances, so let the 35-year experiment come to an semi-graceful end. Heck, I’d have rather seen Mazda’s Éfini and Amati brands (ideally under one name, probably Amati) than Infiniti.
Let Nissan just be Japan’s Mopar/gm (metaphor works both ways for different reasons).
the Q50 idea would result in so many pedestrian deaths in the outer boroughs
Those are expansive ideas, both timeless and limitless. In fact, Infiniti’s potential is boundless. They just have to go beyond.
I see what you did there.
Collect underpants???Q50 Eau Rouge, do it cowards
(boo, it ate my 1./2./3. formatting)
yeh for whatever reason editing destroys formatting. It’s not quite markdown, but it’s not quite anything else, either, and it seems to be unrecoverable when you edit. Plus, no rich text options on mobile, fuhgeddaboutit