2012 Infiniti QX56 Overview Change Vehicle

This 2012 Infiniti QX56 review explains changes for the model year, provides a summary of the 2012 QX56, and includes Infiniti QX56 safety, reliability, and fuel economy ratings.

Nearly 10 years ago, Infiniti introduced the QX56 full-size luxury SUV, a knock-off of the Nissan Armada, which was the full-size SUV version of the Nissan Titan pickup truck. Today’s QX – all new last year – is much different than the original model, now based on the Nissan Patrol that’s sold in other parts of the world, lending it proper and desirable exclusivity in the American luxury SUV market.

Infiniti shuffles the QX56’s option package content for 2012. The Deluxe Touring Package gains headlight washers (2WD models) and a Bose Cabin Surround audio system this year, while the Theater Package adds heated remote-tip second-row seats. The Technology Package is also upgraded for 2012, gaining a Blind Spot Intervention system. Finally, a Tire and Wheel Package was introduced late in 2011, and carries over for the new model year.

The Infiniti QX56 is sold in a single level of specification with a handful of option packages available at extra cost. Each QX is comprehensively equipped, and highlights include leather upholstery, power heated front seats with 10-way adjustment for the driver and eight-way adjustment for the front seat passenger, a power tilt/telescopic steering wheel, a memory system for the driver’s settings, individual second-row bucket seats divided by a center console, a power reclining and folding third-row seat, a heated steering wheel, and triple-zone automatic climate control. A Bose premium sound system with a USB port and iPod interface is included in the base price, as well as Bluetooth hands-free connectivity with streaming audio capability, satellite radio, audio and video input jacks, and a hard drive navigation system with real-time traffic and weather reports.

Infiniti Intelligent Key entry and push-button ignition, a power sunroof, and a power tailgate are standard on every 2012 QX56, along with automatic bi-Xenon HID headlights, an AroundView monitor, front and rear parking sensors, and rain-sensing wipers. Functional attributes include power folding heated outside mirrors with integrated turn signal indicators, body-color running boards, roof rails, and an integrated Class IV tow hitch with a seven-pin wiring harness. The entire package rides on big 20-inch aluminum wheels.

Infiniti’s All-Mode 4WD is available, and models so equipped gain a front wiper de-icer and a 4-Wheel Active Brake Limited Slip system. In addition to 4WD, the QX56 can be upgraded with several option packages, all of which require the Theater Package – whether you want it or not – as a pre-requisite. The Theater Package adds dual rear-seat entertainment screens, wireless headphones, a wireless remote control, audio and video input jacks, a 120-volt power outlet, and heated second-row seats.

Once you’ve purchased the Theater Package, you can get the Tire and Wheel Package which comes with enormous 22-inch wheels and 275/50R22 tires. And if you want to increase passenger capacity from seven to eight adults, order the Split Bench Seat Package, which replaces the standard second-row captain’s chairs and center console with a 60/40-split folding bench seat.

Next up is the Deluxe Touring Package, which is only available on QX56s equipped with the Tire and Wheel Package. Ventilated front seats, semi-aniline leather, darker wood trim, an upgraded Bose Cabin Surround 5.1 audio system, and an Advanced Climate Control System with automatic recirculation, a Plasmacluster air purifier, and a Grape Polyphenol air filter are included in this package. Additional features include second-row footwell lighting, headlight washers, and a Hydraulic Body Motion Control system that is designed to decrease body roll in turns.

Finally, there’s the Technology Package, which is only available on models that have the Deluxe Touring Package. Numerous safety features are included in this option, such as Blind Spot Warning, Blind Spot Intervention, Lane Departure Warning, Lane Departure Prevention, Adaptive Front Lighting, Intelligent Cruise Control with Distance Control Assist, Forward Collision Warning, Intelligent Brake Assist, and front pre-crash seatbelts. Some of these features are highly desirable. Others, not so much. We wish Infiniti would offer the ones that don’t take control of the vehicle in a separate package.

A direct-injected, 5.6-liter V8 engine making 400 horsepower at 5,800 rpm and 413 pound-feet of torque at 4,000 rpm is installed in every 2012 Infiniti QX56. Power is transferred to the rear wheels through a seven-speed automatic transmission with Adaptive Shift Control, a manual shift mode, Downshift Rev Matching, a snow mode, and a tow mode. An Infiniti All-Mode 4WD system is optional, and includes Automatic, 4H and 4L transfer case settings. Whether you have 4WD or not, the QX56 is rated to get 14 mpg in the city and 20 mpg on the highway, and it requires premium fuel.

As if its 2.75-ton curb weight weren’t enough to guarantee safety, the 2012 Infiniti QX56 is equipped with four-wheel vented-disc antilock brakes with electronic brake-force distribution and brake assist, a stability and traction control system, and six airbags including side curtains that protect outboard occupants in all three rows of seats.

Infiniti offers an optional Technology Package for the QX56, packed with safety features that warn the driver of danger and ultimately act on behalf of an inattentive driver if necessary. The Intelligent Cruise Control system features full-speed range operation and its radar unit at the front of the SUV makes Distance Control Assist, Forward Collision Warning, Intelligent Brake Assist, and front pre-crash seatbelt technologies possible. This option package also equips the QX56 with Lane Departure Warning and, if the driver does not react to warnings, Lane Departure Prevention. Similarly, if the driver ignores the Blind Spot Warning system, the new-for-2012 Blind Spot Intervention feature will automatically step in to avert a collision. This package also includes an Adaptive Front Lighting system that swivels the headlights to help see around dark corners at night.

Crash-test data is unavailable, because neither the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) nor the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has conducted testing on the redesigned QX56.

There are reliability predictions to report, and the outlook is impressive. Consumer Reports gives the Infiniti QX its highest possible rating for predicted reliability. J.D. Power and Associates is not quite as optimistic in this regard, but does expect reliability to be better than average.

The Infiniti QX56 boasts a coefficient of drag measuring 0.36. That’s less than a Fiat 500c.

With 28.8 inches of third-row legroom, the QX56’s rearmost seats are more accommodating of legs than the second-row seat of an Infiniti EX35.

The leviathan QX56 tips the scales at 5,595 pounds with rear-wheel drive and 5,855 lbs. with 4WD. Weight is unevenly distributed in a 40.5/59.5 front-to-rear split with rear-drive models and a slightly better 42/58 balance with 4WD. At least nobody will ever accuse the QX of being nose-heavy.

For as large as this SUV is, it doesn’t carry much cargo. Behind the third-row seat, there’s just 16.6 cubic-feet of space from floor to ceiling. Fold those seats, and the QX provides 49.6 cu-ft behind the second-row seat. Maximum cargo capacity is 95.1 cu-ft with both rows of seats folded.

The QX56 is equipped for towing right from the factory. Maximum towing capacity measures 8,500 pounds.

The 2012 Infiniti QX56 is built in Japan.

Based on Infiniti’s claim that QX56 sales are way up since last year’s redesign, it is clear that demand for overweight, pavement pounding, gas guzzling, mega-buck SUVs is rebounding in a recovering economy. As such vehicles go, the QX56 is a nice one, its primary calling card a likelihood of delivering excellent dependability over the long haul. Not as flashy as a Cadillac Escalade, and not as rugged as a Land Rover, the Infiniti QX56 may have found itself a comfortably sweet spot in a niche market.

By Christian Wardlaw