The crossover craze is an outbreak that can't be contained unlike SARS, Ebola, or MERS and the United States of America is the biggest to be hit by the pandemic where more and more people making the switch from conventional saloons to utility vehicles that are more than just vehicles, they're lifestyle checks. Specifically, people driving one would go out for garage sale hunting, trips to beauty spots, shopping, everything a crossover owner would do in their time. Infiniti brought us some of their examples in their time but one such crossover they have is a game-changer as they claimed.
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| 2019 Infiniti QX50 |
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| 2019 Infiniti QX50 |
This is the all-new Infiniti QX50. Priced at $36,550, it's one of the most reasonably priced luxury crossovers offered on American soil and Infiniti insists that this crossover is a game-changer because of what powers it. More than that later on but at the moment let's take a quick talk about the QX50. About over a decade ago, its predecessor called the EX was launched and it arrived on Japanese soil as the Nissan Skyline Crossover two years later. A normal one, because it runs on the same Skyline platform, is rear-wheel drive. Some say that this crossover is somewhat a spiritual successor to the Nissan Stagea but due to the policy shift Nissan faces, this new QX50 will not be a Skyline Crossover in the same way the new Q60 Coupe is not offered in Japan as the new Skyline Coupe. It's a shame really because judging by the looks of it...
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| 2019 Infiniti QX50 interior |
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| 2019 Infiniti QX50 interior |
The new QX50 is a concept turned reality and because it draws inspiration from the QX Inspiration Concept, that design is a warning shot for carmakers trying to tone down the concept car's design for production. That means you, Subaru, but although the design looks like it was derived from the Q50 and the Q60, it looks more like the Mazda CX-5 when you squint your eyes harder. On the inside, the dashboard really works like the Q50 and the Q60 as well because of the dual screens mounted on it; one for display and the other for control. While there's nothing so special about its handcrafted dashboard, the QX50 is surprisingly comfortable for a five-seater luxury crossover that works not just as a family car but for escorting VIPs as well. On the back, its 65.1 cubic feet of cargo space means that it has plenty of room for stuff listed from your to-do list such as trips to the laundry, to the birthday party, to the baptism, family vacation, so on, so forth, and because it comes with the motion-activated liftgate, opening the back door becomes more convenient for the Joneses.
Now, let's talk more about the engine it powers it and this is what it refers to as the world's first 268-hp 2.0-liter VC-Turbo Engine. This all-new Variable Compression Turbo engine is the first-ever publicly available variable compression ratio engine that is capable of delivering an optimal compression ratio from performance to efficiency, from 8:1 to 14:1 respectively. It's like having two engines in one and that really is a game-changer that Infiniti has done for us so well done but not yet because while the first-ever VC-Turbo engine is worth its first impression, its dynamics are worth questionable. The old model has a standard rear-wheel drive with optional AWD. This new one, because of its new platform that runs with it, is now front-wheel drive, which is a bit of an upset for drivers everything that it's starting to behave like the Acura I'm showing later on, and adding AWD just won't burn your eyebrows either.
It's no fun crossover to drive but it's worth soothing your brows all the way home and to make the journey home more interesting, Infiniti gave the new QX50 with new driver assistance technologies such as Forward Emergency Braking with pedestrian detection, Advanced Intelligent Cruise Control, Lane Departure Warning and Prevention, and Distance Control Assist. It all sounds good but unless the Jalopnik boys get a stab on it, it might be worth complaining.
It's fair to say that because the new QX50 is front-wheel drive at default, some are complaining that the days of being a Skyline Crossover of yesteryears are well and truly over, in fact, that is why this new QX50 is not available in Japan as of now. But there are more reasons to think of rather than why this luxury crossover is not offered in the Land of the Rising Sun and the dynamics it possess can be rather explained in this...
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| 2019 Acura RDX |
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| 2019 Acura RDX |
This is the all-new, third-generation Acura RDX. It starts at $37,300, it's slightly more expensive than the QX50, but this crossover has a lot of explanations to deal with apart from being a glorified Honda CR-V in 3-Series money.
Acuras of today are adopting to their Precision Crafted Performance mantra but it's the facelifted ones like the MDX, the TLX, and the RLX are getting those new faces and no matter where you're looking at, they look a bit more average because of their age. Since this RDX is all new, this is the first time an Acura underwent a full model change to don the Precision-inspired face and by the looks of it, this glorified Honda CR-V never looked so alive, although the rear view looks like it came from the Subaru Impreza, if you know what I mean.
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| 2019 Acura RDX interior |
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| 2019 Acura RDX interior |
Inside, the new RDX looks like it was copy-pasted from the Lexus NX because the dashboard looks pretty much like the NX as they said. Getting clueless about that NX-esque dashboard, the question of comfort is pretty much as decent as most crossovers. It's pretty nice to live with but because it has more boot space than the new QX50, you can hardly imagine where will you put it with that extra 11.8 cubic feet of space. Perhaps fill it with some jumbo-sized plushies you won at the country fair.
The new RDX is starting to drive like the very first one because the first generation had a 2.3L K23A1 Turbo I4 engine while the previous and rather disappointing second generation had a 3.5 L V6 engine. This one has a brand new 2.0L VTEC TURBO engine with 272HP of power while mated with a 10-speed automatic, which is four more than what the previous model had and before you can say "VTEC just kicked in, yo", please consider. While the new QX50 returns with 24/ 31 City/Highway MPG of fuel economy, the new RDX will return with 22/28 City/Highway MPG. That's about less than what it needs but there is more good news to the RDX because the old model featured a rather simple AWD powertrain which is somewhat average but for this one, they brought back the SH-AWD in the new model and with the SH-AWD armed, the new RDX is starting to feel like, well, you get the idea but it's starting to liven things up even in the rain. In the journey home, the AcuraWatch safety systems ranging from Collision Mitigation Braking System, Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Keeping Assist System, and Road Departure Mitigation, as well as additional tech, are on standby and although puzzling for speedo boys, these techs will make the journey home more secure even when it's dark outside and it's raining hard.
So, while the QX50 is considered to be efficient thanks to its game-changing VC-Turbo engine, the new RDX's revival to form is starting to get the best out of the QX50. However, while some suggesting that they're not good-looking crossovers and others labeled it somewhat a minority, which is going to be troublesome, consider the alternative a wild card for the day.
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| 2019 Lincoln Nautilus |
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| 2019 Lincoln Nautilus |
This is the all-new Lincoln Nautilus and while the name sounds like a Pakistani beverage from the distant past, the Nautilus is a luxury crossover that has the ones I've mentioned above worth noticing because the starting price of $40,340 makes it the most expensive of the three. Sounds abysmal and then we go deeper into what is known to be a glorified Ford Edge with a Lincoln badge on it.
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| 2019 Lincoln Nautilus interior |
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| 2019 Lincoln Nautilus interior |
The old model, the MKX, is of course a glorified Ford Edge of some sorts but for the new Nautilus, Lincoln wants to elevate it to further heights and by observing the design, it's like the best of both worlds because as you can see, the exterior dons the Continental-style nose that served as the new face of the Lincoln Motor Company while the side view is reminiscent of today's Ford Edge and the rearview is a bit Porsche-ish. Overall, the Nautilus' design is pretty decent indeed. As for the interior, it's all the usual Lincoln interior that works pretty much like every new Lincoln I know and in the comfort zone, the Nautilus is surprisingly elegant to get yourselves cozy. Boot space, the Nautilus boasts 68.8 cubic feet so it may not be as spacious as the new RDX, it's got more room than the new QX50 and looks like the space issue is where the Nautilus sits at second place.
The standard 2.0L turbo engine with an 8-speed manual produces 245HP, which is the least powerful of the three and also the least fuel-efficient of the three with the EPA estimated fuel economy rating of 21 city/26 hwy/23 combined but what one thing the others don't have is that the Lincoln Nautilus can be fitted with a 2.7L V6 turbo engine producing 335HP of power and this is how the Nautilus will win a game of Top Trumps with that power output, although I'm not sure if the Nautilus is the clear winner per se but while the V6 turbo sounds irrelevant for some, the Nautilus finds itself struggling to keep up with its rivals in the dynamics department and while it is considered to be above average compared to them, there's a strong feeling that the Nautilus might be ignored by many just as many American carmakers getting slammed by Consumer Reports for being less reliable. Ouch.
So, there we are. To sum things up, the new QX50's VC-Turbo engine excels in being economical while the new RDX excels in the spacing issue and the new Nautilus, with its available V6 Turbo engine, is as American as it can get. Either way, these new crossovers are proof that the crossover outbreak is far from over. In fact, there are more on the way that will keep this pandemic spreading for many generations to come but in the meantime, feel free to enjoy what they offered just for you.
Photo: Infiniti, Acura, Ford Motor Company
