Infiniti QX50 review: a genuinely clever engine in a competent crossover
3.9/5MotorsSouq Editorial Team
The QX50 is the compact luxury crossover to buy if cabin quality and a genuinely novel engine matter more to you than outright sportiness. All-wheel drive is not essential in Bahrain's climate, but it is a reassuring extra during the rare flash-flood downpour, and running costs undercut the German alternatives by a comfortable margin.
Pros
- VC-Turbo engine delivers strong low-end response and real fuel efficiency
- Cabin quality and refinement punch above the compact-crossover price point
- Genuinely usable cargo space for the class
- All-wheel drive as standard gives a safety margin in rare heavy rain
Cons
- CVT drones under hard acceleration and blunts any sporty intent
- Variable-compression mechanism is complex and costly to repair out of warranty
- Few Bahrain workshops have deep experience with the VC-Turbo yet
- Infotainment inherits some of the same dated elements as the Q50
Infiniti's VC-Turbo engine is a real piece of engineering: a mechanical linkage continuously adjusts the compression ratio between roughly 8:1 under load and 14:1 for cruising efficiency, chasing the responsiveness of a big-displacement engine and the economy of a small one in the same unit. On the road it shows up as strong low-rev pull with none of the flat spot a smaller turbo four usually has.
Cabin quality above its class
Step inside and the QX50 feels like it should cost more than it does. Quilted leather, a glass panoramic roof, and genuinely quiet cruising refinement put it closer to a compact Lexus than to a mainstream crossover, a fair fight against the X3 and GLC on presentation, at a noticeably lower price used.
The CVT is the one component that does not match the ambition of the rest of the car. It manages the VC-Turbo's power smoothly enough in normal driving, but it drones under hard acceleration in the way CVTs do, and it will not satisfy a driver looking for a sporty feel.
Servicing in Bahrain is a genuine consideration: the VC-Turbo's variable-compression mechanism is mechanically complex, with more sensors and actuators than a conventional engine, and repairs outside warranty at an independent shop are neither cheap nor common; most workshops here have simply not seen many of them yet. Buy one that is still under, or close to, its factory warranty.