Infiniti Of Columbus

February 27, 2008

I hate snow. But I do have one good thing to say about it: It provides some really good inclement conditions for testing a vehicle. And luckily,

during the week we got hit with a double snowstorm, I was driving a four-wheel drive Infiniti QX56.

What a perfect vehicle for the situation.

My dad was in town from Florida for a business trip (poor guy), so I drove out to Deerfield to pick him up in the middle of the first snowstorm.

I wanted to bring him back to the city to show off my new condo. He wanted to cancel because of the weather. When I explained that the

Big Blue Behemoth I was driving this week could drive through anything, he was slightly skeptical but agreed to the trek. Once he saw the

Big Blue Behemoth, his skepticism disappeared.

The QX56 is, hands down, the best vehicle I've ever driven in the snow. By the time I was driving my dad back to Deerfield, we had at least

3 if not 4 inches of snow. It was blowing, and snowplows had only just begun to clear the highways. People were driving no more than 25 to

35 mph. It took about an hour and a half to get to Deerfield because there was a lot of crawling traffic in all lanes. The traffic back into the

city, however, was pretty much clear. So, even though the conditions were just as treacherous, I felt perfectly confident driving at a faster

clip. I averaged 45 to 50 mph with no slippage and made it home in a half an hour. I probably could have gone faster, but I'm not a big fan of

pushing it.

Of course, this capability comes with a price. A very big price. The two-wheel drive (2WD) model starts at $53,265, and the four-wheel drive

(4WD) model has a base price of $56,365. This does include deluxe accommodations with leather seating, Burr-Brown audio system,

navigation system, rear backup camera, steering wheel audio controls, analog dash clock and upscale amber gauge lights, but it doesn't

include the whistles and bells. Not that there are many whistles and bells to be had since the QX56 is already so well equipped. If you got

every other available option from the Technology Package ($1,150) to the rear cargo net ($30), you'd only tack on another $3,610. … Which

isn't that much in the grand scheme of a $50K vehicle.

There are so many features I like on the QX56 that I don't even know where to begin. Oh, wait, yes I do: The heated steering wheel. This is

standard on the 4WD model and warmed up quickly, allowing me to remove my bulky gloves and get a good grip on the wheel to climb over

alley snow mounds.

A new optional feature that is starting to pop up in test vehicles is quickly topping my must-have list: XM NavTraffic. Without turning on the

radio, you have an immediate view on the navigation map of what the traffic situation is on the highways. It'll tell you about incidents and

accidents, which can let you judge if it will be worth taking an alternate route. I've only come across this feature on about three cars so far,

and I love it. In a place like Chicago, I think it would be well worth any subscription fee (and there is one) to have this information literally at

your fingertips.

Another favorite standard feature: The rear backup camera. This is no mere miniscule camera with a distorted view out the back to check

for tiny obstacles; this is a true tool for those who must drive in tight spaces. The display screen has green, yellow and red guidelines that

show your proximity to whatever you are backing up to, and I found this invaluable as I had to parallel park the QX56 every day.

While I was incredibly glad to be driving Big Blue when we got blasted with the second snowstorm of the test week, I do have to admit it's

not a vehicle I personally could live with on a daily basis. I don't have kids, so the 61.2 cubic-feet of cargo volume is completely lost on me.

Plus, with a height of 78.7 inches, the QX56 did not fit in the small city garage at my old apartment - the roof rails made it too tall. And

though it fit in my parking space at the new condo, the other people parking in my lot had to do some skillful maneuvering to get around the

extremely large SUV. Not to mention the fact that it takes some skillful maneuvering on the part of the driver to get the QX56 through tight

spaces like city parking lots, alleys and garages.

The front view out of the QX56 was quite nice, as I was able to adjust the seat height for my petite frame. But, looking over the corners of

the vehicle - no matter how tall you sit - is a problem in tight spaces. While the side windows are a bit narrow, the large side mirrors and

back window go a long way toward minimizing blind spots. My first day in the QX56 was a bit tentative, but after I got used to the sheer size

of the vehicle, I found myself whipping the SUV around like it was a much smaller vehicle.

Though there's absolutely no way you can mistake Big Blue for a sedan, one of the best things about the QX56 is that you can almost fool

yourself into believing that you're driving a vehicle the size of a sedan during hard acceleration. This vehicle offers no compromises with its

320 horsepower, 5.6-liter V-8 engine. Over and over, I was stunned at how smooth and immediate the acceleration was. In a vehicle that is

206.9 inches long and weighs almost 6,000 pounds, I expected some lag or hesitation. But there was nothing. Even my dad, as a

passenger, commented on the smooth ride and easy acceleration.

OK, there is one compromise with this engine and this vehicle, and that's fuel economy. The QX56 has city/highway EPA estimates of 12/17

mpg for the 4WD model and 12/18 for the 2WD model. Let's face it, though, unless you're going to buy the all-new Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid,

you're not going to find a vehicle of this size that does any better.

I don't know if we'll ever have another winter like this one since the current deluge of white fluffy stuff has marked this winter as one of the top 5 snowiest. But. If we do and you have the dough, the QX56 is the vehicle you want to spend it in.