I believe that the premium SUV I have driven the most times in recent years was the Infiniti QX80, the gargantuan three-row machine based on the equally huge Nissan Armada. Despite all of its gloss and heavy metallic presence, QX80 had also gone virtually unchanged for a long, long time.

Thus, the appearance of a genuinely all-new 2025 QX80 that is actually larger, faster and more expensive is perhaps a blessing for folks seeking a family friendly ultra-mega-SUV that is not a BMW X7, a Mercedes GLS or one of several variants of Escalade or Yukon Denali.

The hyperbole regarding QX80 all turned out to be quite true, though I had to limit my drives to a couple of days over the holidays, on blizzard-free Front Range roads, when flu hit me hard. The time I did spend confirmed that the physical, stylistic and technological changes have helped craft a more competitive three-row monster.

Monster might be correct, as QX80’s new dark and imposing grille, its blackened windows and pillars – giving it a floating roof effect like a double-sized Range Rover – and its new lighting setup (daytimers, rear brakelamps and knee-level LEDs) and automatic pop-out door handles all give it quite a sinister appearance.

And while the standard model now stickers at nearly $86,000, I got the entire laundry list of options with a brutally well-equipped Autograph edition, priced at an awfully large $115,000.

To help justify that pricing, proportions have indeed increased everywhere, not that the previous QX80 was in anyway undersized or underpowered. Total vehicle length is now 211 inches with a 121-inch wheelbase, it’s more than 83 inches wide and almost 80 inches high, with even more lift available with the air suspension and enormous 22-inch wheels – at max, it looks like you have almost a foot of articulation space above those wheels, or the entire vehicle can squat to the ground to better load passengers. 

They’ve also reconfigured things so that there’s a bit more cargo room with either the second- or third-row seats electronically flattened. They’ve added an odd shelf system to maximize on behind-third-row utility, but don’t leave full bags of groceries on top, unless you have to.

The QX80 is now a turbocharged beast, with 450 horsepower from a twin-turbo 3.5 liter V6. That’s up 50 hp from the old (very old) V8 and also means 516 lb-ft of torque, a huge increase from the previous engine. 

You can indeed fly in this machine, with suspiciously capable handling despite mass, physics, 22-inch tires and all the rest. The added boost also means QX80 can haul up to 8,500 pounds of trailer. And, amazingly, gets better mileage than the 2024, though 19 mpg highway is what it is.

The Autograph edition emphasizes a range of tech treatments that appear in slightly more diluted form on the equally new Nissan Murano and the updated Armada, both of which we’ll address later in January.

Here, the showcase bits include the car business’s first Klipsch audio system, a 24-speaker, 1,200-watt setup that includes metallic speakers inside the headrests. Metallica’s “And Justice For All” has given me tinnitus for a week. Mission accomplished.

Instrument panel and center touchscreen, seemingly a block away from the front row of seats, are twin 14.3-inch displays, with Google built in, or just slightly undersized broadcasting of Apple CarPlay maps.

The screen also does quadruple duty as it offers a half-dozen parking and maneuvering views, including a see-through-the-hood under-vehicle display, and also offers both recordable in-cabin and external dashcam views. Seeing yourself on the inward-facing view is very strange indeed.

Infiniti has chosen to add yet another, smaller touchscreen below to control temperatures and adjust vehicle height and drive modes, with still another touchscreen in the second row to offer those passengers seat, massage and shade control. Oh, and a cooler box in the center console.

There’s also apparently a new infrared-based system to measure passenger temperatures in those rear seats and hyper-cool or warm up your guests, who are so far away it’s like they’re in a different time zone. The second-row captain’s chair seats electronically leap forward to allow access to a small but reasonably roomy third row bench.

The whole deal is super-perforated semi-aniline leather and suede everywhere in Autograph trim, plus distinctive metal-infused open pore wood. Physical controls are limited – the audio knob is a long, long reach – and transmission controls are an underwhelming series of gloss black buttons.

Autograph also gets the much-updated ProPilot Assist 2.1 system, which competes with Ford’s BlueCruise and GM’s Super Cruise systems for nearly legitimate hands-free driving. I’m still far too terrified of Colorado motorists and weather to use any of them for more than a few minutes, but Infiniti’s is reasonably capable of maintaining distance and taking curves, except when it isn’t. There’s a whole lot of vehicle here to be left to its own devices, in my opinion.  

Andy Stonehouse’s column “Mountain Wheels” publishes Saturdays in the Summit Daily News. Stonehouse has worked as an editor and writer in Colorado since 1998, focusing on automotive coverage since 2004. He lives in Golden. Contact him at summitmountainwheels@gmail.com.