Infiniti QX50 Autograph AWD delivers performance and style: Luxury crossover’s technology breakthrough delivers power and great mileage

There are lots of words to describe the Infiniti QX50 Autograph AWD: sleek, smooth, sensational, sexy, smart, strong, stylish, sassy, safe and sharp — and those are just the “s”. We could go through the whole alphabet describing this fantastic vehicle.

To say we are a fan of this vehicle is an understatement. This luxury all-wheel drive crossover has it all from performance, to comfort and style. It has the sophisticated technology that one would expect from Infiniti, both under the hood and inside.

For instance, it has a 2.0-litre turbo four, which is the first production engine with variable compression ratio. I wasn’t sure what that was but essentially it takes a turbo-four cylinder engine and, by altering how far the pistons rise within the cylinders, makes it seem like a V-6-like power and, at the same time, offers best-in-its-class fuel economy.  So you get top performance and eco-friendly efficiency. We’re told this is a big deal, and we won’t argue. What we do know is that there is plenty of pep with 268 horsepower and 280 lf-ft torque. For those aiming for the highway, it goes from zero to 60 miles per hour in 6.4 seconds. It gets 25 miles per gallon overall, again pretty darn good.

The crossover’s design resembles more of a sedan with sleek lines and forward silhouette and masculine accents. We loved the metal outlining the windows. But the inside was sublime (yes, back to the “s”.) The cabin is brings together amazing ergonomics with an interior design that instantly makes you comfortable and know you are in a luxury vehicle. We loved the wood accents (yes, real wood), the cool tailored stitching (reminded us of a Chanel bag) and the suede accents. Both the back and fronts seats are plenty roomy with 29.6 inches available for front seat legroom and 38.7 inches in the back.The back seat was just as amazing with reclining second-row seats, premium matters and comfort-focused support. It has 31 cubic feet behind the

As a driver, there were several things that made driving sublime. Sign us up for the standard Blind Sport Warning that tells you when a car is in your blind spot and taking it to the next level, the Blind Spot Intervention puts you back in the center of your land when you start wandering over.

Although some critics don’t like the dual-screen setup where the screen features an 8-inch display on top and 7-inch below. Not us. We loved both and the pictures were crystal clear. The upper part shows the rear- and surround-view cameras as well as the navigation and the lower screen handles settings, handsfree calling and SiriusXM alerts because, let’s face it, you need updates on stock prices.

Speaking of monitoring, the Rear Automatic Braking monitors the area right behind the car for stationary objects that you might now see, and if you aren’t stopping, the brakes will kick in and either avoid a rear collision or lessen the impact. Either way, it’s a win. And, for those who may not be paying attention, there’s the Forward Emergency Braking with pedestrian detection, which is like the Rear Automatic Braking software but in the front. Again, it’s win!

There’s plenty more for this car and for a total cost of $62,000, the only other thing we need to say is “Sold!”.

— Mary Welch