As Infiniti prepares to launch the replacement for the Infiniti QX50 next year, quite likely fitted with a unique new turbocharged engine with continuously altered cylinder compression ratios, the first-generation Infiniti QX50 takes a breather for the 2018 model year.
It may not be a well-deserved break — the QX50, formerly known as the EX35 and EX37, accomplished little for the Infiniti brand in America — but it’s a long overdue pause on Infiniti’s compact crossover.
It’s an odd duck, the QX50. Essentially a fast but outdated wagon, frequently sold in rear-wheel-drive form, the QX50 is still widely available prior to its relaunch for MY2019. The Infiniti QX60 Hybrid, on the other hand, is was the fuel-efficient version of Infiniti’s most popular product. At the end of the 2017 model year, the QX60 Hybrid is dead, Motor Authority reports.
Since launching in 2007, Infiniti USA has reported nearly 77,000 EX/QX50 sales, with the best annual result coming in 2016 after the automaker extended the QX50’s wheelbase to actually allow the insertion of humans into the rear seat. Prior to the naming switch instituted by Johan de Nysschen, who’s now in charge at Cadillac, EX/QX50 sales plunged by nearly three-quarters between 2008 (its first full year) and 2012.
Through the first eight months of 2017, QX50 sales are down 6 percent, perhaps limited somewhat by the showroom presence of the Benz-based QX30 that wasn’t in Infiniti’s showrooms during the fist eight months of 2016.
The Nissan Pathfinder-related Infiniti QX60, meanwhile, is the top-selling model in Infiniti’s U.S. lineup. In 2017, despite losing 9 percent of its volume, year-over-year, the QX60 still accounts for four out of every 10 Infiniti SUV/crossover sales; one-quarter of Infiniti’s total volume.
But the hybrid version of the QX60 was already a distinctly rare machine before Infiniti’s decision to cull it from the herd before 2018. Motor Authority says it was a special-order vehicle for MY2017. HybridCars.com says only 298 copies of the QX60 Hybrid were sold in the first two-thirds of 2017. Compare that with 829 QX60 Hybrids sold in the same period of 2016, or 5,338 copies of the Lexus RX450h sold so far this year.
It will not be missed.
[Images: Infiniti]
Timothy Cain is a contributing analyst at The Truth About Cars and Autofocus.ca and the founder and former editor of GoodCarBadCar.net. Follow on Twitter @timcaincars and Instagram.
Always liked the QX50/EX37. Classy styling and that nice 3.7l.
Definitely a bit long in the tooth, though…
It is definitely old and due for replacement, but you can guarantee that the FWD-based replacement will be vastly inferior in driving dynamics and a much less interesting car overall.
Agreed. And will have a wimpy turbo engine.
Putting concerns about driving dynamics aside, though, I really like the design route Infiniti is taking. They are making some beautiful cars now. The QX80, however, is an unsightly embarrassment!
I try to keep up on all the name changes, but Infiniti’s nomanclature just makes my head hurt.
The replacement will end up with the CVC engine and a CVT, and not be as interesting or good.
But the market for RWD small hatches is quite slim, so I’m surprised it lasted this long. It’s not competitive in many ways with other small CUVs on the market.
My EX has been a great car (aside from an annoying slight steering vibration that I can’t get rid of).
The QX60 on the other hand is a piece of junk.
“Essentially a fast but outdated wagon, frequently sold in rear-wheel-drive form”
Thank God this pox will be gone soon.
You can tell it’s an old design by the underbite front bumper. Recent cars are almost flat at the front. Still a nice design after all these years.
Very surprised to hear it’s a failure, it’s by far the most common Infiniti on the road everywhere I’ve been, and I’ve probably seen less than 10 Infiniti Pathfinders ever.
I actually like the little wagon. I wonder if I can get on cheap about two years from now. The extended wheelbase helped alot.
2007…wow. Thnks fr th mmrs!
Gas mileage on the VQ37s is abysmal. I am lucky to break 20 MPG on the same commute I can get 30MPG in a Golf TSI, Mazda 3 or even an Accord 2.4. New one can’t come fast enough.
The VQ had been showing its age for a while RE: refinement and economy. My hope is the new series VR is as reliable.
I guess I’m no longer in Infiniti’s target demographic. I have bought multiple Infiniti’s new, going back as far as the J30 and the original G20. A couple G35’s and an FX45. The two cars I had my eyes on to replace my FX45 (Q70 5.6 and QX70 5.0) have both been dropped by Infiniti. The QX60 is, subjectively, the worst driving Infiniti I have ever driven, I thought the EX/QX50 was a blast, just too small for my family.
My car searches for a new car keep bringing me to BMW, but I would prefer to drive something without the badge.
The Q70 5.6 is still available in regular or LWB formats for 2018. You are mistaken.
Well, that’s encouraging. I wonder why the sales guy told me the Q70 V8 was EOL. He even showed me a website on his PC discussing the fact that the only V8 Infiniti going forward was going to be the QX80. I guess he really wanted me to buy the white one on his lot, I mean he said he really wanted to put me in it – but he only annoyed me while I was checking on airbag recalls.