Shvilkovsky
Member
- Car
- 2014 QX70S 30d AWD
- Name
- Sandro
Recently I've found myself thinking that even with all the money in the world, style-wise there's hardly a sporty crossover out there that I'd be happy to buy in replacement of my QX70. But, as the car becomes ever dated and Infiniti has abandoned the path of exciting performance, I've begrudgingly put together this list of acceptable candidates.
1. Maserati Levante Trofeo
This one's probably the closest in concept. It's dirt-cheap second-hand due to freakish levels of depreciation, woefully outdated for its production years, and built around a crazy engine. 590hp and 750nm torque? Yes, please!
Its design I do quite like and find comparable to the FX/QX70. Though it still does look a bit "fatter" and small-wheeled to me. Maybe because it has body-colour wheel arches and that sloping down nose?
Main concern with this beast is its reliability and repair costs. I mean, a Ferrari twin-turbo V8 surrounded by a bunch of Jeep parts? Sounds like a terrifying gamble, honestly. And there's hardly enough of them out there for any meaningful reliability data.
2. Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio
Similar in every sense to the Maserati, but I personally rank it lower. It has a hint of that "raised ass" to its body lines that I absolutely hate in BMW and Mercedes coupe crossovers. The cabin also looks a bit more bulbous than I'd like. And not sure I like those absolutely gigantic headlights.
But the engine and performance are again very appealing. 520hp and 600nm.
3. Aston Martin DBX 707
A serious improvement from the original DBX, I believe this is the one I like the most as a hypothetical replacement for the QX70. But, needless to say, this is a vehicle in an entirely different league. Exorbitantly expensive to buy and, I would imagine, to own. But its the only car I would genuinely be happy with in terms of looks after the QX70. That's a high compliment, I believe!
4. Ferrari Purosangue
Ok, we're delving even deeper in the realm of "if price didn't matter" here. I guess I just want to stress how incredible the QX70 looks that only such supercars come close in matching it in my opinion.
I do love how this Ferrari looks. But I have my doubts regarding its practicality. It's barely a crossover.
5. Mazda CX-4
I want to start with saying that I think the CX-4 looks absolutely amazing! The only reason it's so far down in the list, is because it's not really a performance vehicle. So far a 192hp version is the best they offer. If they ever put into it the straight-6 engine from the CX-9, I'm sold! Although, it's also admittedly smaller and less luxurious than the QX70. But it's also substantially cheaper.
6. Genesis GV70
The Genesis, I feel, looks way better than the Bentley Bentayga it emulates. I quite like it, in fact. However, its also not nearly as performance-orientated as I'd like. 375hp and 530nm is basically in the same field as the V8 QX70, and the Genesis achieves these figures with a far less exciting turbocharged 3.5L l6 motor. Moreover, Hyundai is most likely taking this lineup the EV route in the future. All in all, the GV70 is probably the most reasonable substitute for the QX70, but in that reasonability lies its downfall for me.
7. Twin-turbo QX70
Sadly, a fantasy, but I just wanted to include this here as I'd buy one in a heartbeat! Whether turbocharging the native VK37/50 or fitting the twin-turbo VR38 from the GT-R, I imagine it would easily bring the QX70 on par with the Trofeo and Quadrifoglio. It absolutely sucks that Maserati and Alfa have managed to put out these high-performance versions, while Infiniti has firmly shifted into "reasonable" cars.
I still hope that somewhere someday someone will have just enough disposable income to undertake the project of custom modding the QX70 with turbochargers.
Throw in a few more cosmetic updates like proper DLR headlights and a decent infotainment system, and the QX70 can live on for another decade.
(Dis)honourable mentions
BMW X4 - as mentioned above, I hate its lifted rear body lines. It looks way too much like they just took a BMW sedan and simply added a bunch of bland space under it.
Mercedes GLE - same as above, really. I also think it looks more luxury than sporty.
Audio Q7 / Porsche Cayenne Coupe / Lambo URUS - for obvious VAG reasons, these three cars look very similar to me, which is already reason enough not to want one. But I also don't like their general stocky, heavy-set design.
Bentley Bentayga / Genesis GV80 - these two cars (especially the Bentley) feel more luxury than sporty to me.
Range Rover Sport / Velar - boxy trucks, nuff said.
Acura / Lexus - while Acura is definitely more exciting under the skin, both these brands I feel fail to distance themselves enough visually from Honda and Toyota respectively.
That about sums up my deliberations on this topic. In reality I'm nowhere near financially set to consider any of the more attractive options above, but I still find the mental perusing entertaining. Would love to hear what some other FX/QX70 fans think and maybe even suggestions for cars I've not considered. There's probably some options in the "wagon" market segment, since the line between these and crossover SUVs has grown paper thin.
1. Maserati Levante Trofeo
This one's probably the closest in concept. It's dirt-cheap second-hand due to freakish levels of depreciation, woefully outdated for its production years, and built around a crazy engine. 590hp and 750nm torque? Yes, please!
Its design I do quite like and find comparable to the FX/QX70. Though it still does look a bit "fatter" and small-wheeled to me. Maybe because it has body-colour wheel arches and that sloping down nose?
Main concern with this beast is its reliability and repair costs. I mean, a Ferrari twin-turbo V8 surrounded by a bunch of Jeep parts? Sounds like a terrifying gamble, honestly. And there's hardly enough of them out there for any meaningful reliability data.
2. Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio
Similar in every sense to the Maserati, but I personally rank it lower. It has a hint of that "raised ass" to its body lines that I absolutely hate in BMW and Mercedes coupe crossovers. The cabin also looks a bit more bulbous than I'd like. And not sure I like those absolutely gigantic headlights.
But the engine and performance are again very appealing. 520hp and 600nm.
3. Aston Martin DBX 707
A serious improvement from the original DBX, I believe this is the one I like the most as a hypothetical replacement for the QX70. But, needless to say, this is a vehicle in an entirely different league. Exorbitantly expensive to buy and, I would imagine, to own. But its the only car I would genuinely be happy with in terms of looks after the QX70. That's a high compliment, I believe!
4. Ferrari Purosangue
Ok, we're delving even deeper in the realm of "if price didn't matter" here. I guess I just want to stress how incredible the QX70 looks that only such supercars come close in matching it in my opinion.
I do love how this Ferrari looks. But I have my doubts regarding its practicality. It's barely a crossover.
5. Mazda CX-4
I want to start with saying that I think the CX-4 looks absolutely amazing! The only reason it's so far down in the list, is because it's not really a performance vehicle. So far a 192hp version is the best they offer. If they ever put into it the straight-6 engine from the CX-9, I'm sold! Although, it's also admittedly smaller and less luxurious than the QX70. But it's also substantially cheaper.
6. Genesis GV70
The Genesis, I feel, looks way better than the Bentley Bentayga it emulates. I quite like it, in fact. However, its also not nearly as performance-orientated as I'd like. 375hp and 530nm is basically in the same field as the V8 QX70, and the Genesis achieves these figures with a far less exciting turbocharged 3.5L l6 motor. Moreover, Hyundai is most likely taking this lineup the EV route in the future. All in all, the GV70 is probably the most reasonable substitute for the QX70, but in that reasonability lies its downfall for me.
7. Twin-turbo QX70
Sadly, a fantasy, but I just wanted to include this here as I'd buy one in a heartbeat! Whether turbocharging the native VK37/50 or fitting the twin-turbo VR38 from the GT-R, I imagine it would easily bring the QX70 on par with the Trofeo and Quadrifoglio. It absolutely sucks that Maserati and Alfa have managed to put out these high-performance versions, while Infiniti has firmly shifted into "reasonable" cars.
I still hope that somewhere someday someone will have just enough disposable income to undertake the project of custom modding the QX70 with turbochargers.
Throw in a few more cosmetic updates like proper DLR headlights and a decent infotainment system, and the QX70 can live on for another decade.
(Dis)honourable mentions
BMW X4 - as mentioned above, I hate its lifted rear body lines. It looks way too much like they just took a BMW sedan and simply added a bunch of bland space under it.
Mercedes GLE - same as above, really. I also think it looks more luxury than sporty.
Audio Q7 / Porsche Cayenne Coupe / Lambo URUS - for obvious VAG reasons, these three cars look very similar to me, which is already reason enough not to want one. But I also don't like their general stocky, heavy-set design.
Bentley Bentayga / Genesis GV80 - these two cars (especially the Bentley) feel more luxury than sporty to me.
Range Rover Sport / Velar - boxy trucks, nuff said.
Acura / Lexus - while Acura is definitely more exciting under the skin, both these brands I feel fail to distance themselves enough visually from Honda and Toyota respectively.
That about sums up my deliberations on this topic. In reality I'm nowhere near financially set to consider any of the more attractive options above, but I still find the mental perusing entertaining. Would love to hear what some other FX/QX70 fans think and maybe even suggestions for cars I've not considered. There's probably some options in the "wagon" market segment, since the line between these and crossover SUVs has grown paper thin.
