2025 Infiniti QX80 Review: Big SUV Brings Big Improvements (And Big Questions)

Leather seats, lashings of torque, and casting a big shadow aren't enough to distinguish yourself in the luxury segment anymore, a reality the Infiniti QX80 had plenty of time to realize. Now, with a dramatically upgraded 2025 QX80 headed to dealerships, it's an opportunity for Nissan's cosseting cousin to prove its recipe of body-on-frame capacity mixed with a high-end interior is still relevant in a fiercely competitive market.

The old QX80 wasn't a bad car, it just wasn't good enough. Not even by the measure of the luxury three-row SUV set, but the benchmark set by the unexpectedly polished second-generation Armada. Given the price delta, and the way Nissan had upgraded the latest Armada's cabin, it was tough to recommend the aging Infiniti.

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For the 2025 QX80, Infiniti has cranked up the horsepower, the scale, and the starting price. It also leans into the sort of high-tech features luxury buyers expect now, making more equipment standard. The biggest question remains, though: after so long out of three-row SUV contention, has Infiniti done enough to not only modernize the new QX80, but make it memorable?

You certainly can't accuse the 2025 QX80 of lacking road presence. Like the old SUV it's big, and it makes little attempt to hide that fact. From the bulging front edge of the hood, which only emphasizes the upright fascia, to the monolithic sides, and the stubby rear, Infiniti leans into the scale and then drapes a selection of more considered detailing around it.

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The grille — huge but somehow still delicate, with its filigree strakes and glowing logo — and narrow headlamp clusters set up a segmented theme which the QX80 continues all the way back to the tailgate. There, the distinctive trunk-spanning light bar is echoed by chrome finish trim along the bumper's upper edge: in the right lighting, that casts glittering reflections across the bodywork, like moonlight on a swimming pool. Though it's subjective, the glaring misstep to my eyes are the vents on the front fenders, which lack the subtlety of the pop-out door handles.

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Somewhat hilariously, 20-inch alloy wheels are the smallest Infiniti offers on the new QX80. They're the shameful giveaway that you opted for the cheapest Pure trim (from $82,450 plus $1,995 destination); Luxe, Sensory, and Autograph trims (from $89,550, $100,645, and $110,595 respectively; all before destination) get 22-inch machine-finished rims. They fit the Infiniti's arches nicely (even with ample sidewall), as well as underscore just how big a vehicle we're talking about, here.

It's inside, though, where Infiniti's handiwork delivers maximum payoff. The old QX80 showed its age most dramatically in the cabin, with lackluster infotainment, dated switchgear, and a general sense that — though clad in leather and punctuated with wood trim — it was following a vision of luxury established somewhere in the 2000s. For the 2025 model year, things get a lot more tech-savvy.

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It's still a seven-seater as standard, with all but the flagship Autograph trim offering a swap for the two middle row chairs for a split bench. That takes it to eight seats total. All trims get heated first and second rows, and a heated steering wheel; the Luxe adds ventilation to those rows; Sensory adds massage to the first row; and Autograph includes massage in the first and second rows, and adds heating to the third row.

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Leather is standard from Luxe up, in the first and second rows, with semi-aniline hide in the Sensory. The QX80 Autograph spreads its lovely dot-quilted semi-aniline leather across all three rows. Tri-zone climate control is standard across the board, as are eight USB ports spread around the cabin, two 12V outlets, and — in the Sensory and Autograph trims — a 120V AC outlet.

Infiniti's dashboard has ample screen real-estate, without succumbing to the full pillar-to-pillar excess we've seen elsewhere recently. There's a pair of matching 12.3-inch panels up top, one for the driver and the other a touchscreen for navigation and multimedia; it's running the latest Nissan/Infiniti UI, built atop Google's software with Google Maps and the Google Assistant for voice control. 

Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard, and rather than devote center console space to a rotary controller, you can toggle the navigation controls on the steering wheel to adjust either the left or right screens.

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A 9-inch touchscreen is canted up in the center console (with a small but useful cubby beneath it) to handle climate control and drive mode settings. It has haptic feedback, for those who miss the feel of real buttons. A row of physical keys for the transmission, plus a welcome dedicated shortcut to the camera view (this is, remember, a big SUV, and Infiniti wisely makes a fast-loading 360-degree camera along with front/rear parking sensors standard) run underneath this third display.

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Inexplicably, for a model that starts in the low-$80k range, Infiniti only includes its flagship ProPilot Assist 2.1 hands-free driver-assistance on the most expensive trim. On pre-mapped stretches of highway, it can handle speed and lane-keeping without the driver actually touching the wheel, relying on an attention-monitoring camera. It can also change lanes on-demand (though requiring the driver's hands be back on the wheel for the duration of the maneuver). It's a capable system, but all other QX80 trims only get the older, lesser-featured (and hands-on) ProPilot Assist 1.1.

A wireless charger and the front USB ports are under one armrest lid, while another hides the cupholders. The QX50 Autograph gets a cooled bin just behind that, and a cabin-facing camera which can also record photos and videos, just in case you want to try to make your family TikTok famous. Sensory trim and up get an upgraded Klipsch audio system, including front headrest speakers that both deliver individual sound as well as making you look like you're wearing an Ancient Egyptian king's headdress.

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Those in the second row get a touchscreen to handle climate control and seat settings. Passengers back there spoke highly — then decided not to continue speaking at all — about the QX80 Autograph's massage options, though I found all three pattern options to be a little loud in operation from the driver's seat. No complaints about space, however, even in the third row, where my 5-foot 8-inch form fit just fine.

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With all three rows up, you get 22 cu-ft of cargo space. Not dire by any means — double, in fact, what a Lexus LX fits behind its third row — but a reminder that there are still space compromises involved in even a big vehicle when seven or eight seats are required. Buttons in the trunk selectively raise and lower the rear two rows, as well as adjust ride height for air suspension equipped trims. 

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All but Pure trim get air springs with adaptive Dynamic Digital Suspension, that can raise the SUV to 10-inches of maximum ground clearance, drop it lower for (slightly) better aerodynamics, or lower still for easier entry/exit. With all the seats down, there's a 101 cu-ft to play with.

The hood may still be big, but underneath it's all-change for the 2025 QX50. That means bidding farewell to the old SUV's naturally-aspirated V8 and seven-speed auto, with a twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6 and nine-speed automatic taking their place. 2WD is standard on Pure and Luxe with 4WD an option; Sensory and Autograph get 4WD as standard.

Though smaller in capacity and with fewer cylinders, this new twin-turbo engine is perkier and more potent overall. Horsepower climbs from 400 hp to 450 hp, while torque is up from 413 lb-ft to 516 lb-ft. The extra gearbox ratios improve refinement at highway speed, the new transmission slurring subtly even in Sport mode. Tiny plastic paddles behind the steering wheel allow you to take control yourself, but it's hard to imagine most QX80 owners feeling the need to do so.

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If the old QX80 accelerated like a roused rhino, casual from a standing start but with a growing sense of urgency, this new drivetrain gives it a shot of adrenaline. It now surges forward eagerly, belying the sizable curb weight (and all that power helps with a considerable 8,500 pound tow rating, too) with lashings of torque all the way up to and beyond highway speeds.

Then you arrive at the first corner, and reality catches up. This is a big SUV, and a tall one, and heavy, tuned for a comfortable ride and of course body-on-frame. All that conspires to predictably relaxed driving dynamics that don't exactly encourage carrying much speed into the turns.

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The good news is that the QX80's brakes are definitely up to the task, and that twin-turbo enthusiasm means powering back up to cruising pace is basically effortless. You just have to wait until you're back on a straight line, first. Infiniti's unibody rivals in the luxury set ride smoother, hunker down less under acceleration, and generally handle with more refinement, but then you give up on some of the capability that helps set the QX80 apart.

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Filled up, the QX80 boasted in excess of 500 miles of range. That's more down to the sizable 23+ gallon gas tank than great economy, mind. 4WD versions of the SUV are rated for 15 mpg in the city, 19 mpg on the highway, and 17 mpg combined (the 2WD versions add a point to each). That's better than the old V8, but only by a very little, and my own mixed driving landed at 16 mpg.

On the one hand, you could hand-wave away the 2025 QX80's enthusiastic thirst with the hardly-untrue argument that luxury SUVs are always going to be expensive to run. At the same time, though, there's a baked-in profligacy here that Infiniti could've tackled, as it also gave its three-row flagship the style and cabin upgrade it so desperately needed.

Mercedes' similarly-lavish GLS, for instance, does at least flirt with some electrification on its six-cylinder gas engine. While nobody will mistake it for green transportation, the big 'Benz's 21 mpg combined figure looks positively aspirational compared to the Infiniti's numbers. Those holding out hope for a fully-electric QX80, meanwhile, should probably find themselves a long book to read and settle in for a wait.

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Nonetheless, there is no denying just how great an improvement the 2025 Infiniti QX80 represents. Strikingly handsome outside, flexibly cavernous inside, and finally getting the technology and creature-comfort updates necessary to make it competitive again. While those who prioritize driving dynamics will want to look elsewhere still, anybody who expects a little truck-like capacity from their three-row SUV will discover Infiniti has modernized without losing what made the QX80 distinct.