2004 INFINITI QX56 5.6L V8 5AT RWD (315 HP)

Vehicle Overview

Infiniti entered the competition on the full-size SUV segment with the QX56 by following the same recipe used by Lincoln and Cadillac.

When the premium carmaker introduced the QX4 back in 1997, the SUV was criticized for being too small for a premium SUV. With the QX56, that didn’t happen. Nissan already produced a strong chassis used for the Titan and used it for its full-size SUV Armada. Then, it used the same base for the QX56.

When Masato Takahashi penned the vehicle, it made it with a big, easy-to-recognize front fascia. The car’s headlights didn’t fill all the height between the bumper and the hood’s edge. He positioned them lower. Between them, mounted on the front vertical part of the hood, he installed a chromed grille with four horizontal slats and the company’s logo in the middle. From its sides, the QX56 featured a unique C-pillar design, with the door handle masked inside. At the back, Infiniti made the liftgate with an independently opening rear windscreen.

Inside, the QX56 featured a seven-seat interior with a 2-2-3 layout. At the front, the tall and wide dashboard featured a center stack for the audio and climate control system, with the navigation display moved on the upper side. The instrument cluster was rounded and hosted a four-dial setup, with the speedometer and tachometer in the middle, flanked by the coolant temperature and fuel level gauges. Unlike other carmakers, Infiniti didn’t offer different trim levels; it installed everything right from the start, so no one complained about it. The leather-clad interior and the wood veneers were standard, and so was the backup camera too.

Under the hood, the carmaker installed the 5.6-liter V-8 unit paired with a five-speed automatic gearbox. The only option for the car was between the rear-wheel-drive or the all-wheel-drive system.