Photo: Infiniti
Just like that, the QX80 went from being the ugliest Infiniti model to one of the best looking. What's amazing is that the designers achieved this using a cosmetic refresh. That's right; the 2018 model is not all-new.
This marks the second facelift for the QX80 after the mild one in 2014. The easiest way to tell that it's a facelift is to look at the sides and compare them to the Nissan Armada (Patrol). The doors, glass and even the roof are the same.
Designers left the sides perfectly blank and instead focused on the front end. As we've already seen on the Monograph concept of the 2017 New York Auto Show, the headlights are being moved, and not just a little.
Pacing them 100mm higher was probably the most significant engineering hurdle of this entire project. A flat line defines the hood and connects to a new grille, very upright and similar in design to the Q60 Coupe.
Below it, we find that the lower intake has been made to appear wider thanks to chrome strip. But the area around the fog lights and those fender vents are much less fussy.
The interior is pretty much the same as it was before. However, they did install black carpets and lower plastics for contrast. Available in new brown and beige leathers, the seats and dash are finished off with a quilted stitching pattern. Larger rear screens and a revised cup holder are among the other features.
Both the standard 20-inch wheels and the 22-inch ones we see in these photos from Dubai are all-new for the 2018 model year. There's also a redesign going on at the back, where new taillights and a less bulbous trunk give the QX80 a mature yet understated appearance.
No mechanical changes mean that the QX80 still packs a 5.6-liter V8 producing 400-hp and 413 lb-ft (560 Nm) of torque. It is attached to a seven-speed automatic transmission which can be paired with 4x2 or 4x4.
After debuting in the Middle East, the updated QX80 is already in production at the Kyushu factory in Japan. It should arrive in U.S. dealerships by the end of the year, giving us a chance to decide if all the "ugly" is gone.
Designers left the sides perfectly blank and instead focused on the front end. As we've already seen on the Monograph concept of the 2017 New York Auto Show, the headlights are being moved, and not just a little.
Pacing them 100mm higher was probably the most significant engineering hurdle of this entire project. A flat line defines the hood and connects to a new grille, very upright and similar in design to the Q60 Coupe.
Below it, we find that the lower intake has been made to appear wider thanks to chrome strip. But the area around the fog lights and those fender vents are much less fussy.
The interior is pretty much the same as it was before. However, they did install black carpets and lower plastics for contrast. Available in new brown and beige leathers, the seats and dash are finished off with a quilted stitching pattern. Larger rear screens and a revised cup holder are among the other features.
Both the standard 20-inch wheels and the 22-inch ones we see in these photos from Dubai are all-new for the 2018 model year. There's also a redesign going on at the back, where new taillights and a less bulbous trunk give the QX80 a mature yet understated appearance.
No mechanical changes mean that the QX80 still packs a 5.6-liter V8 producing 400-hp and 413 lb-ft (560 Nm) of torque. It is attached to a seven-speed automatic transmission which can be paired with 4x2 or 4x4.
After debuting in the Middle East, the updated QX80 is already in production at the Kyushu factory in Japan. It should arrive in U.S. dealerships by the end of the year, giving us a chance to decide if all the "ugly" is gone.
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