2025 Infiniti QX80 Autograph Road Test and Review

2025 Infiniti QX80 Autograph ・ Photo by Ron Sessions

Big and imposing, the 2025 Infiniti QX80 is the flagship of the brand’s four-SUV lineup. It’s roomy, powerful, and loaded with luxury features and appointments. This year, an all-new design of the full-size SUV encapsulates a large, cascading blackout grille sporting a prominent, illuminated Infiniti logo, a squinty array of 18 LED running lamps in the top corners, and mid-mounted LED projector-beam headlamps. The broad-shouldered QX80 retains its fender-mounted portholes, now diagonally shaped, and gains flush door handles. At the rear, the new design includes a full-width tail lamp treatment featuring hundreds of LEDs and a wraparound glass design hiding the rearmost roof pillars.

QX80 pricing edges upward this year, running from $84,445 to $112,590, including the $1,995 destination charge. There are four QX80 trims, with the base Pure and mid-level Luxe available with a choice of rear- or four-wheel drive, and the loaded Sensory and range-topping Autograph offered exclusively with four-wheel drive. All feature standard seven-passenger seating with a pair of second-row captain’s chairs, but buyers desiring the capability to carry eight passengers can opt for a second-row 40/20/40 split-folding second-row bench. 

Full-size premium competitors include the BMW X7, Cadillac Escalade, Land Rover Range Rover, Lexus LX, Lincoln Navigator, Jeep Grand Wagoneer, and Mercedes-Benz GLS.

Big but Not Jumbo

The 2025 QX80 grows an inch longer than its 2024 counterpart. At 211.2 inches stem to stern, it’s about as long as a standard-wheelbase Cadillac Escalade or Lincoln Navigator, but more than a foot shorter than an Escalade ESV, Navigator L, or the Jeep Grand Wagoneer L. If you’re worried about having to move the kids' bikes into a storage shed to make room for the QX80 in your garage, check out the more abbreviated BMW X7, Lexus LX, or Mercedes-Benz GLS.

Despite the fact that the new QX80 isn’t the largest full-size SUV in town, it still offers plenty of cargo space. Cargo size increases this year to 22 cubic feet behind the third-row seats, 59 cubic feet with the third row folded, and 101 cubic feet with both the second- and third-row seats folded flat.

2025 Infiniti QX80 Autograph ・ Photo by Ron Sessions

Dashing Cabin with Dual Wide-Screen Displays

The new QX80 features a mix of traditional physical controls and touchscreen ones. The driver selects gears via console-mounted pushbuttons. Upscale touches include convenience items such as a standard power tilt and telescopic, heated leather-wrapped flat-bottom steering wheel, wireless phone charger, customizable 64-color ambient lighting, and a panoramic moonroof with power sunshade. Just about every surface the front occupants touch on the dash, doors, or console are either padded or soft-touch.

In front of the driver are two big 14.3-inch landscape-format displays butted end to end, not unlike the dash displays in many Mercedes-Benz models. The left one functions as a multi-mode driver display, while the right one functions as a touchscreen for perusing infotainment, navigation, phone, and settings.

Above the center console is a third display. This 9-inch touchscreen provides access to the automatic climate control system, plus seat heating and cooling, front and rear window defrosters, as well as drive modes. It features haptic feedback that buzzes in response to inputs.

Despite the bottom touchscreen taking up space at the front of the console, storage in the front is more than adequate. There are covered bins for dual cup holders, a wireless phone charger, and a deeper cubby under the center armrest that can double as an air-conditioned cooler for drinks and sandwiches in Autograph models. Also, there’s an open tray for a purse or tablet under the console, a decent-size glovebox, and plenty of storage in the door pockets. 

2025 Infiniti QX80 Autograph ・ Photo by Ron Sessions

Going Big on Infotainment

The QX80's landscape-format 14.3-inch center touchscreen handles infotainment, navigation, phone connectivity, vehicle settings, and other duties. There’s a rotary volume knob along with a pair of up/down tuning buttons under the touchscreen adjacent to the lower dash vents, but most functions are accomplished by screen taps, voice control, or buttons on the steering wheel spokes. Standard Google Built-in brings Google Maps that can display incredible detail with houses and topographical features as if taken from an overhead drone. Plus, the system offers a continuously updated point-of-interest Google Assistant search that’s activated with the “Hey, Google” wakeup phrase or the dedicated voice-control button on the steering wheel. The Google Play Store for apps and widgets, as well as other Google services, are also on board. The QX80 has eight fast-charge Type-C USB ports spread throughout the cabin. Wireless Android Auto and wireless Apple CarPlay cellphone mirroring are standard.

2025 Infiniti QX80 Autograph ・ Photo by Ron Sessions

Pass the Popcorn-worthy Klipsch Audio

So what does the new QX80 have in common with your local movie theater? It’s a Klipsch sound system developed in conjunction with Panasonic, albeit a much smaller one. There’s a 14-speaker, 600-watt Klipsch system included on Pure and Luxe trims, and an immersive, blockbuster-worthy 24-speaker, 1,200-watt Klipsch Reference Premium one with 3D surround sound and headrest-mounted speakers in the front seats of Sensory and Autograph trims.

The Premium system offers what Infiniti calls Individual Audio. More than a parlor trick, it can, for example, route the audio for things such as a phone call or navigation directions to the driver’s headrest speaker while passengers listen to their music uninterrupted. Or, among other functions, it can send music or other content exclusively to the driver’s speaker while keeping the rest of the cabin quiet for sleeping passengers.

2025 Infiniti QX80 Autograph ・ Photo by Ron Sessions

Reserved Seating

Although all versions of the 2025 QX80 include generously sized and supportive heated and power-operated front bucket seats, each successively more expensive trim layers in richer features and surfaces. These handsome chairs in the range-topping Autograph trim take the Infiniti SUV flagship to elevated levels of luxury, with buttery-soft aniline perforated leather surfaces that are quilted (like the bathroom tissue) for extra comfort, plus climate-controlled seat ventilation, and first-ever QX80 massaging and power-adjustable bolsters. Maybe a long, relaxing drive in the QX80 is what your sore back needs.

Access to the front seats is a bit of a step up, but fixed running boards on all QX80 models make that task easier. Also, the adjustable air suspension underpinning all but the base Pure trim allows for adjusting ground clearance and, by extension, step-in height. It can lower the QX80 nearly 3 inches when parked to facilitate entry and exit.

2025 Infiniti QX80 Autograph ・ Photo by Ron Sessions

Second Row, not Second Class

Heated individual second-row captain’s chairs are standard in all QX80 models, although a three-passenger 40/20/40 split bench, also heated, is optional on Pure, Luxe, and Sensory trims. Both configurations add seat ventilation (climate control) and are electrically adjustable for fore-aft and seatback recline and folding on all but the base Pure model.

Moving up to the Autograph model nets quilted semi-aniline leather seat coverings. Via a separate touchscreen atop the center console of Autograph models, second-row passengers can access climate-control, seatback massage, power lumbar adjustment, and other rear-seat control functions. Second-row denizens in Sensory and Autograph trims enjoy further pampering from a feature Infiniti calls Biometric Cooling that can direct cool air from overhead vents if it senses they are getting too warm. 

One feature that families may miss in the QX80, however, is a rear-seat entertainment system for gaming and movie watching. It’s not offered, even as an option.

2025 Infiniti QX80 Autograph ・ Photo by Ron Sessions

Premium Third Row

Third-row space is almost as generous as that for the second row. The power split-folding and reclining 60/40 bench seat can handle three passengers, but only two comfortably. In the top Autograph trim, this seat is heated and covered with aniline leather. Access to the third row is accommodated by a tilt-and-slide mechanism on the second row that’s power-operated on all but the base Pure. My 6-foot, 2-inch frame fit back there without heroic measures.

There are three headrests for third-row occupants but when not needed for passenger safety, these can be retracted nearly flush with the tops of the seatbacks to improve visibility to the rear, which is helpful due to the thick rear roof pillars.

There isn’t a ton of cargo space behind the third row seats when raised, but what’s there is comparable to most of the QX80's full-size SUV competitiors.

2025 Infiniti QX80 Autograph ・ Photo by Ron Sessions

V6 Twin-Turbo Power

For 2025, the QX80 gets a new biturbo 3.5-liter V6 with 450 horsepower and 516 pound feet of torque. There’s more power and torque on tap than offered by the naturally aspirated 5.6-liter V8 in last year’s version of the flagship SUV. Also new this year is a slick-shifting nine-speed automatic transmission that offers a lower first gear than last year’s seven-speed for good initial throttle response and a taller top cog for more relaxed highway cruising. But it doesn’t feel any quicker, as borne out by my stopwatch which had the 2025 QX80 confidently launching from rest to 60 mph in a little over 6 seconds. However, the new QX80 has gained several hundred pounds compared to last year’s model, and curb weight now exceeds three tons.

One benefit of the smaller engine is improved fuel economy, probably not a major concern with full-size luxury SUVs, but notable nonetheless. EPA estimates for the QX80 went from 13-14 mpg city/19-20 mpg highway/15-16 mpg combined in 2024 to 15-16 mpg city/19-20 mpg highway/17-18 mpg combined this year. That’s a 2 mpg improvement in the city and combined ratings from 2024. I saw an indicated average 19.6 mpg on the trip computer during a week that included a lot of highway driving.

Beyond the specs, the new 3.5-liter twin-turbo six feels strong, hushed, capable, and completely appropriate for the new QX80’s mission. Trailer-towing capacity is an impressive 8,500 pounds.

2025 Infinti QX80 Autograph ・ Photo by Ron Sessions

On the Road

Aside from the engine switch, the big under-the-skin change for 2025 is the new availability of air springs and electronically controlled shock absorbers. These are standard in all but the base Pure model. Aside from its cushioning capability, the air suspension can raise the QX80 more than 2 inches for better ground clearance when traversing uneven off-road terrain or deep snow. It also lowers the SUV 1.2 inches for better road hugging and aerodynamics at higher speeds.

The computer-controlled shocks vary the amount of vertical damping stiffness at each wheel in real time according to vehicle motions and the road surface. In milliseconds, the system can firm up a shock for stability and handling crispness, or back off to absorb sharp ruts or potholes. This system worked quite well both on-road and off-, although the short sidewalls of the Autograph test vehicle’s meaty 275/50R22 tires sometimes pinged loud enough over expansion joints to be heard in the cabin.

Also working quite well was the QX80 Autograph’s All-Mode 4WD which provided seamless traction in automatic mode on desert off-road trails. One neat feature in the new QX80 is Invisible Hood View which creates a display of the terrain just in front of and underneath the nose, great for spotting that big rock or sharp drop off you’d rather avoid.

2025 Infiniti QX80 Autograph ・ Photo by Ron Sessions

Verdict

Now edging upscale into Mercedes-Benz GLS and Range Rover territory, the upscale and tech-rich 2025 Infiniti QX80 offers full-size comfort and style that’s ready for your next adventure. Which one to get? I’d recommend the Luxe trim with four-wheel drive if you live where weather and traction can be an issue. The Luxe is one step up from the base Pure model, but it includes a fair amount of the special features that speak to the luxury side of things such as a smooth-riding, adjustable-height air suspension, adaptive shock absorbers, boldly styled 22-inch wheels, leather-covered, climate-controlled seats for the first and second row, massaging front seats, power sliding, reclining and folding second-row seats, a color head-up display at the bottom of the windshield, and optional ProPilot Assist 2.1 for hands-free driver assistance on some major limited-access highways and interstates.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had not yet rated the 2025 Infiniti QX80 for crashworthiness when this article was written, but NHTSA did rate the 2024 model, which netted a disappointing three out of five stars in frontal collisions.

Whatever Infiniti did for the 2025 model, however, must have addressed that shortcoming as the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety gives it Good ratings for crashworthiness in frontal and side impacts. IIHS also named the big SUV a Top Safety Pick.

2025 Infinti QX80 Autograph ・ Photo by Ron Sessions