The 1999 Infiniti QX4

Reviewed December 1998

Drivers are going crazy over high end sport utility vehicles like the Infiniti QX4. The vehicle is beautiful, has solid off road credentials, and drives nicely. Too bad for Infiniti that the competition is getting much better.

 The QX4 is built off of the Nissan Pathfinder platform. While this makes it very functional, it also gives it more of a truck-like ride than some of its competition. No problem for those who are true sport utility fans. But, if you like that smooth, car-like ride, and just want to be able to get through any bad weather, that’s a different story.

 You feel a bit too many bumps for a luxury vehicle, and it’s a little rougher than the Jeep Grand Cherokee or the new Lexus RX300. As buyers put more of a premium on luxury, that’s something you should take into account.

 One area where the QX4 is definitely lacking is in acceleration. There’s a lot of metal to move, and the V6 engine moves it a little too slowly. However, you don’t get any break on gas mileage. Expect to make a lot of fuel stops.

 I love the Infiniti QX4’s styling. It’s a beautiful vehicle inside and out, perhaps one of the best looking of the luxury sport utilities. It’s stylish on the outside, and a nice mix of leather and wood grain on the inside.

 The QX4 has plenty of storage room, both in the back, and in all of those compartments we’ve become used to in the passenger cabin. You can also fold down the back seat to give yourself some extra room. However, if you want to sit in that back seat, expect to be a little cramped. It’s a little tighter than a Nissan Pathfinder, a tradeoff because of the room taken up by the plush, leather seats. 

For the most part, the dashboard is well laid out, but some of the controls are hard to find in the dark, especially the adjustment for the mirrors. It’s also hard to figure out which way is which with the seat warmers. While switching into four wheel drive is very simple, it doesn’t appear that way at first. So, read up on the manual.

 The Infiniti QX4 is the type of sport utility vehicle that you would have lusted over a few years ago. But, in the past few years, the competition has improved so much that the lust quotient has gone down quite a bit.

 That’s why it only gets 2 and a half, out of five stars.