CarBrandLogos archive · Infiniti · 2004

InfinitiQX56 / QX80

Nissan's largest body-on-frame SUV, first as an Armada, then as a Patrol.

Photo: Mr.choppers · CC BY-SA 3.0

The story

A defining chapter in Infiniti history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Infiniti QX56 / QX80, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

The QX56 arrived in 2004 as a rebodied Nissan Armada, built alongside it in Canton, Mississippi, with a 5.6-litre V8, body-on-frame construction and seating for eight. It was aimed at the Cadillac Escalade and Lincoln Navigator, and it did the job competently without much distinction beyond size.

Infiniti QX56 · IFCAR · Public domain

Design and engineering

The second generation in 2010 changed the source. Instead of the North American Armada, it was based on the Y62 Nissan Patrol built in Japan, which brought independent rear suspension, a hydraulic body motion control system that reduced roll without harsh springs, and a level of long-distance refinement the previous truck lacked. The renaming to QX80 followed in 2013.

Infiniti QX56 02 · TTTNIS · CC BY 2.0

In production

That lineage explains where it sells. In the Middle East and Central Asia the Patrol is an institution, and the badged version trades on it directly; in the United States it appeals to families who want a Land Cruiser-scale vehicle from a brand that discounts. It is heavy, thirsty and slow to change, which in this segment has never been much of an objection.

2011 Infiniti QX56 -- 04-08-2011 · IFCAR · Public domain

At a glance