Infiniti QX60
Published · Researched 2026-09-21
Review: Infiniti QX60
Let's be honest about what we're doing here: reviewing a good-looking three-row SUV from a brand that might not be around in its current form by the time you pay it off. Everything below has to be read through that lens.
What it is: Infiniti's three-row family hauler and the brand's sales workhorse — 45% of Infiniti's US volume, which tells you how thin the rest of the lineup is. The second generation (2022+) rides on Nissan Pathfinder bones. For 2026 it got a facelift with QX80-style jewelry and a gamble under the hood: the old 3.5L V6 is gone, replaced by a 2.0L variable-compression turbo four (268 hp, 286 lb-ft) that demands premium fuel. Pricing runs roughly $52,500 to $68,000 with destination.
What's genuinely good: It's handsome — the 2026 facelift's illuminated emblem and piano-key running lights give it real presence. The cabin is quiet and comfortable up front, the 2026's dual 12.3-inch screens with Google built-in finally drag the tech into the modern era, and the Klipsch audio gets decent marks. The old V6 (2021–2025) is a proven, smooth workhorse, and the 9-speed automatic was a genuine upgrade over the first gen's CVT. Towing is rated at 6,000 lbs, best in class on paper. And here's the honest upside of a fading brand: depreciation. These things shed value, which makes a used QX60 one of the cheaper ways into a three-row luxury badge — if you're comfortable with why it's cheap.
What's actually wrong: The 2nd gen's record is a catalog of small miseries. Electrical shorts that lock owners out of their own cars, kill the mirrors, and make the trunk snap open and shut. A parasitic drain that kills the battery overnight — fifteen-plus times for one owner, new battery didn't fix it. Fuel pumps failing at highway speed with an "Engine Stalled" message flashing on the dash; one owner went through two pumps by 43,000 miles. A driver-side mirror that vibrates at speed — a dealer-confirmed known failure with no remedy developed. Panoramic sunroofs spontaneously shattering with no impact. A rough-idle vibration that dealers shrug at as "normal" across multiple model years. Heated seats one owner called "a joke," a wireless charger that overheats, and second-row seats that triggered a 2023 recall because they might not lock in a crash. None of these is a single fatal flaw. Together they're the signature of a company running on fumes: the engineering attention just isn't there anymore. And the 2026's new VC-Turbo engine is the biggest question mark on this page — variable compression is clever tech with no long-term record in this application, it needs premium gas, and you're beta-testing it for a brand that may not have the resources to make it right if something goes wrong. Finally, the structural risk: Infiniti's dealer network is a shadow of Lexus or Acura's, Nissan's Honda merger collapsed, and the product plan is fog. Resale will keep sliding, and warranty service depends on dealers staying open.
The social pulse: There barely is one, and that's the review. No mega-groups — the biggest QX60-specific group has about a thousand members, and the threads are fog-light questions and radio-volume complaints, not love letters. The concentrated discussion lives on infinitiqx60.org, where the tone is exhausted: 16-year Infiniti loyalists saying "this is the first one I absolutely hate," first-time buyers saying "my first, only, and last Infiniti." Edmunds consumers give it 3 out of 5 stars; the experts, 5.7 out of 10. Nobody's hyping this car because there's no one left to hype it — the community that remains is a support group for the disappointed.
Value call: New, the QX60 makes no sense — $52,500+ for a 2.0T four from a distressed brand, when the Acura MDX starts at $51,800 with a V6 and a future. The only rational QX60 is a used one, and the sweet spot is a 2024: the proven V6 instead of the unproven 2026 turbo-four, past the worst of the 2022–2023 electrical years, and priced in the soft part of the depreciation curve — expect meaningful discounts against original MSRP because the market knows what it is. Get a pre-purchase inspection from someone who isn't the selling dealer, verify the 23V108000 seat recall, and take a long test drive listening for the idle vibration and watching for electrical weirdness. Skip the 2022 (launch-year electrical gremlins: parasitic drain, mirror vibration, sunroof shattering reports) and skip the 2026 unless you enjoy being an early adopter for a company that can't afford a recall. If you need the three rows and the price is right, the mechanically identical Nissan Pathfinder is the same car with a healthier dealer network behind it — that's the tell.
Closing line: A nice-looking SUV from a brand running out the clock — buy it used, buy the V6 years, and go in with both eyes open about what happens to resale when the badge keeps fading.