► Medium-weight SUV on the way
► Features variable-compression engine
► Debut in 2018, to rival BMW X3 and co.
This is the QX50, a new mid-sized SUV from Nissan’s premium arm Infiniti.
Planned for release in 2018, it’ll rival the likes of the Audi Q5, BMW X3 and Lexus NX.
It looks familiar…
Spied testing in southern Europe, this prototype’s lines (or what we can see of them beneath the camouflage) don’t appear to have strayed far from the QX50 concept car shown at the Detroit auto show in January 2017, itself a more production-ready take on 2016’s QX Sport Inspiration concept.
Any interesting features I should know about?
Expect semi-autonomous tech under Infiniti’s ‘ProPILOT’ label, likely to include an automatic braking and pulling away function in stop-start motorway traffic.
The 2.0-litre turbocharged VC-Turbo petrol engine shown off together with the QX50 concept in Detroit may feature in the production car, with a variable compression ratio to improve efficiency – click here to read more about the VC-Turbo.
We’ll see the Infiniti QX50 revealed in full before the end of 2017, reaching showrooms the following year.