2013 New York Auto Show: Infiniti debuts hybrid QX60 crossover
You didn’t need a crystal ball to know that Infiniti was bringing a hybrid crossover to the 2013 New York Auto Show.
With parent company Nissan announcing a hybrid Pathfinder earlier on Wednesday, no one was surprised when Infiniti announced its version of the same vehicle just a few hours later. (Infiniti also told us it was doing this several weeks ago.)
The new luxury hybrid is dubbed the QX60 Hybrid. This seven-passenger crossover was originally launched as the JX, but Infiniti recently changed its nomenclature on all its products. All sedans now start with Q, while crossovers and SUVs get QX.
PHOTOS: Highlights of the 2013 New York Auto Show
The QX60 Hybrid has an inline, 2.5-liter supercharged four-cylinder engine paired to a 15 kW electric motor. The motor is powered by a lithium-ion battery that sits under the foldable third-row seat. Infiniti says its packaging means no loss of interior or cargo room.
This combination makes 250 horsepower, compared to 265 horsepower on the gas QX60 and its V-6 engine. Torque drops by five pound-feet from the gas model, to 243.
Infiniti said the QX60 will be available in either front-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive variations and will come with a Continuously Variable Transmission.
The front-wheel-drive QX60 hybrid is expected to get 26 mpg in combined driving, making it the most fuel-efficient model in its large luxury SUV segment. That’s a 24% increase over the combined rating of the gas-powered QX60. Thus, the crossover has a range of more than 500 miles.
Pricing is expected to be about $3,000 higher than the QX60’s $42,000 base price. Keeping that price premium as close to the base model’s is crucial to luring in buyers to hybrid models, according to Jack Nerad, an analyst with Kelley Blue Book.
“When push comes to shove, a lot of people see the premium price on hybrids and take a pause,” Nerad said in an interview regarding the Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid. “Any type of premium limits demand.”
Infiniti made other pricing news on Wednesday by announcing what it will cost to get into the brand’s all-new Q50 sedan, which launched at the Detroit Auto Show in January.
The base price on this compact sports sedan will be $36,450 excluding the $905 destination charge. Infiniti said that’s $900 cheaper than the base price of the G37 sedan this new model replaces. The Q50 Hybrid will start at $43,700; all-wheel-drive is an additional $1,800 on all models.
The rear-wheel-drive Q50 goes on sale this summer. When it does, it will target other sport sedans like the Cadillac ATS, BMW 3-Series, Lexus IS, and Mercedes-Benz C-Class.
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