Driving Impressions: 2024 Infiniti QX60 Autograph AWD

By: Mark Moskowitz MD

Infiniti has found great success with its QX60. Despite the presence of five other offerings in the Infiniti line, the QX60 has accounted for one half of its sales in the first six months of this yearl

One year ago, Driving Impressions evaluated the 2023 Infiniti QX60 after having had two separate weeks with the SUV. A thorough review deemed it a great luxury experience. The 2024 edition arrived-stunning in Deep Bordeaux with a Graphite interior. Other than that, a year has brought no changes to the mid-size AWD luxury crossover; MSRP rose a mere 1%. The review still seems valid.

What to add? Mid-autumn, we decided to explore the best driving roads nearest to west Charlotte. It was Barbara's first big trip since right hip surgery 11 days before. She had no trouble stepping up to the illuminated Infiniti threshold. She found the door opening expansive and the seat, its heater and multilevel massage features comforting.

We took any number of twists, turns and side roads through Cherryville, Dellview and Fallston. We arrived at Redbone Willy's, a lone outpost seemingly nearest to Toluca but listed as in Lawndale, population 570.

It was worth mounting the steps and passing the few eating ice cream on its porch. Inside we found a selection of vintage wear and urban cowboy (and I mean this positively) apparel to rival most stores in Vail or Aspen and seeming to have a bigger space and bigger selection. Unique offerings deeper in the store were literally hundreds of preserves and sauces and perhaps as many different types of pop. Have you heard of Sioux City, Browns or Grass soda?

We crossed NC 27 where Fallston Road becomes NC 18. Two miles later we turned onto Old NC 18 – interestingly enough 18 miles of curves and undulations and access to South Mountain State Park. Sport Mode provided an appropriate change in steering feel and bit more response as we accelerated. Surprising was an improved engine note with the use of paddle shifters and the accelerator.

We closed the day with a stop at Vale's Wood Mill Winery, situated among hundreds of rows of now bright yellow muscadine grape leaves. Ten dollars bought six different tastes and keeper logo glass filled halfway with your favorite. Samplings were not as sweet as Niagara's ice wine but close. We recommend the drier flights.

There seemed little I could add to the previous Driving Impression of the Infiniti. I decided I needed a view from the rear rows:

The Autograph edition features midsection captain's chairs clad with soft, perforated leather in a quilted pattern similar to the front. A removable console rests between occupants. The seats are heated and occupants can access lighted climate controls as well as USB A and C ports. Seat backs are multi-adjustable.

Access to and egress from the third row is facilitated by buttons on the middle seats' outsides and backs. They power a release, and the seats bend and move forward. Ample room for a 5'9' test pilot, at an age when hip surgery is likely, to get in the way back. Adjustments on a very upright third seat allow it to recline. The seats are a bit stiffer but I found with all three rows simultaneously adjusted for me, back and feet were comfortable – a statement rarely made when discussing a mid-size crossover or SUV. A 6+ foot driver might compromise that equation for those behind and as a passenger might find the sloping roof a problem in the third row.

Grates in the roof and outlets on the floor keep the climate constant in both spaces. And there are more USBs in the back, A space in the mid rear seat suggests a wireless charger similar to the front but no power there for now.

Our fifty-year-old neighborhood has wide streets with the longest straight being nearly a mile. The pavement is old and the surface best described as noisy, rough and bumpy. Barbara drove neighborhood routes while I tried four positions – four seats. The sound muffling was impressive. Music fidelity seemed uncompromised. The biggest surprise: bumps were barely perceived in the way back – it was a better ride than in the middle seats.

My third week with the QX60 reinforces Driving Impressions' first two weeks but now Barbara likes it too.

Photo credit: Mark Moskowitz MD

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