Infiniti’s been on a charge to revitalize itself with a number of noteworthy projects, including the new QX65, a successor to the Q50 sport sedan with the manual goodness everyone says they want, and even potentially a high-performance QX80. But, in strict rational terms, their most important product is the mid-size QX60 SUV, it’s been paying the bills consistently for years, and it’s been updated for 2026.
What’s new for the QX60?
The QX60 gets new wheels, new colorways, a sharper-edged grille and a more aggressive fascia to accentuate it, and new Android powered infotainment software - all of which are on display on this new Sport trim level. The QX60 remains unchanged mechanically, as it was imbued with a new engine last year.
Wrap-up:
The subtly facelifted QX60 with its new Sport trim is a sweet spot for value and style, even if it's not all that "sporty"
Exterior Impressions
Speaking anecdotally, making a “normal” car “sportier” and “more athletic” almost always means “worse” and “more tacky.” Infiniti has been wise to exercise restraint on this facelifted QX60, not messing with success.
The new grille and front fascia bring the QX60 more in line with the range-topping QX80, and this QX60 Sport’s chin spoiler adds a tiny dose of machismo without overdoing it. Along the same lines, dark chrome trim, a blacked out grille, and black 20-inch wheels all add a tasteful dose of visual oomph to the already handsome QX60.
It’s a successful facelift because, like well done plastic surgery, it’s not immediately obvious they actually did anything, but it’s noticeably better looking.
Interior Accomodations
This two-tone Dusk Blue interior is delicious, and it’s exclusive to the Sport trim level. The sensuously sculpted seats are trimmed in Nissan’s new TailorFit leatherette, and they do a very convincing impersonation of the real stuff. Grey stitching, metallic accents, and black ash wood trim all work together to add contrast to the dark tones, and it all comes together beautifully.
Wins:
Two-tone blue and black color scheme is sublime, robust feature set, comfy, handsome
Maybe I’m just a sucker for blue leather, but this, to my eye, is immediately more visually impressive than just about anything else in this price range. I love this.
Going beyond visuals, it’s more or less all standard fare for the QX60. Materials and switchgear feel excellent, I appreciate that they offer physical controls in the form of a rotary dial (not dissimilar to Mazda’s Human Machine Interface), the Zero-Gravity seats are supremely comfortable, and there’s a good amount of room for people and cargo - save for the third row, which is nice to have in a pinch, but I suspect it’ll spend most of its life folded away.
Infotainment and Driving Technology
The highlight on the technology side is the new software operating behind the 12-inch centre touch display. It’s the same as we’ve seen on the new Nissan Kicks and Rogue, with a subtly tweaked visual skin for Infiniti. It’s powered by Android Automotive, and as such, has Google-powered Assistant, maps, navigation, and voice recognition as standard. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are also standard equipment if you prefer to let your phone do the work.
The interface looks similar to Nissan/Infiniti’s old UI, and generally feels familiar, but is considerably snappier and much more slick in its operation. Some functions are a little harder to find - I couldn’t figure out how to stop the “helpful” auto-adjusting seat to save my life - but it generally works quite well and is easy to live with, with better configurability and less redundancy than before.
I was a little surprised to see high-resolution surround view parking cameras on this trim; it's a nice value add. Infiniti’s suite of driver assists, like adaptive cruise control and lane tracing have always been terrific, and nothing (noticeable) has changed on that front. Sound comes in the form of a 16-speaker Klipsch system.
Powertrain
Power comes from a 2.0-Litre, turbocharged four-cylinder, with Nissan/Infiniti’s variable compression technology to improve performance and efficiency. It produces 268 horsepower and 286 foot-pounds of torque, which are fairly impressive numbers for a small engine, but underwhelming in this class and price bracket.
Despite punching beyond its size class, it doesn’t feel overworked or ill-mannered, and is generally pretty quiet. Give it a moment to gather its breath, and it’s even fairly quick, too, with healthy mid-range power for confident acceleration. It’s managed by a 9-speed automatic routing power to all four wheels via an on-demand all wheel drive system, and like the engine, it’s relatively seamless if you give it a second to figure out how to best utilize the engine.
Wrap-up:
The Platinum Plus package replaces the old Limited; otherwise Ford hasn’t fixed what wasn’t broken
While it performs well in a test environment, real world observed fuel economy is only okay at 11.8 L/100km. It’s not bad for its size, and it’s better than a Lexus TX 350, but it’s not an improvement over the smoother, better sounding, more characterful 3.5L V6 that this four-cylinder engine recently replaced. If you haven’t driven one, you don’t know what they took from us, and will find this perfectly adequate.
Ride and Handling
The Sport in this QX60’s name doesn’t really translate to the driving experience, but I don’t care, and I doubt anyone else will (buy a Mazda CX-90 or Acura MDX if you do). It’s calm and composed, with good body control and impressive ride quality, keeping you well isolated. There is perhaps a smidge more wind and road noise than I’d want from a luxury vehicle, but it’s quiet enough, and it's a nice place to be.
It drives well, the steering has a decent degree of feel for what it is, the brakes are well gauged, and it can hustle if you’re in the mood, but the QX60’s primary mission is comfort, and it does that well.
Money
The QX60 Sport is aggressively priced, carrying a robust feature set and really impressive interior at under seventy grand, with our model’s Grand Blue paint adding $750 and bringing the total to $70,645. In and amongst other luxury vehicles in the increasingly crowded three-row SUV segment, this updated QX60 Sport is a slam dunk, falling in a sweet spot, being a little smaller and more athletic than a comparable Lexus TX 350, and to my eyes at least, more appealing than an Acura MDX and it's busy interior.
I would have a hard time choosing one of these over a loaded Mazda CX-90 Signature, though. To the Infiniti's credit, it's quieter, roomier, more comfortable, has better executed tech, and that blue interior is doing a lot of heavy lifting.
Wrap it up
While everyone is hyped about a manual performance sedan and a GT-R powered truck, the QX60 remains Infiniti’s most important product, and with its carefully chosen tweaks to the new 2026 Infiniti QX60 Sport, it doesn’t mess with success. Did I mentioned I love that blue interior?
- 
