The new QX80 gets a striking glow-up, but getting one will definitely cost you.

Let’s face facts — even though it had a tried and true V8 under its hood, the old Infiniti QX80 was extremely long in the tooth. Now, the automaker finally addressed the issue in a way that this 2025 model can really take on heavyweights in the full-size luxury SUV market like the Cadillac Escalade, Lincoln Navigator and Lexus LX 600, to name just a few. While we’ve had a good idea what this new model would look like for awhile now thanks to the QX Monograph Concept (and it didn’t change much in the transition to a production version), this week’s New York Auto Show is the first opportunity to have to see the complete picture.

The 2025 Infiniti QX80 brings completely new design language to the table, from its new grille to thin, segmented LED lighting elements front and rear, a smoother side profile with flush door handles, and some distinctive character lines along the shoulders, roof and hood to give it some more presence. Those running lights and rear taillights have another trick too, in that they play a welcome sequence anytime you walk up to the QX80, which is an appropriately luxurious touch.

It’s not just the outside that impresses with the 2025 Infiniti QX80.

The inside also gets a significant overhaul, including dual 14.3-inch displays that absolutely dominate the forward view in the cabin. There’s also a lower 9.0-inch screen farther down the center stack that incorporates all the HVAC controls into a touchscreen interface (for better or worse, if you prefer physical buttons). Interestingly, the QX80 has a segment-first “biometric cooling” feature that uses infrared sensors in the headliner to detect passengers’ body temperature, and cool them down if necessary.

Beyond the infotainment screens, Infiniti’s designers swathed the rest of the IP in elegant touches, including a host of leather and lines that draw your eye toward the illuminated “Infiniti” lettering on the passenger dashboard. In each door panel, you can get wood trim elements for that extra posh touch. And if you’re curious about the quilted leather seats, which have been a hallmark of top-end Infiniti models in the past, that is still here on this new 2025 QX80.

More automakers are shifting to a Google-based operating system, and the new QX80 is no exception. The upshot of that is you get applications like Google Maps, the Google Assistant and the Google Play store front and center, without having to resort to Android Auto or Apple CarPlay (though the new QX80 obviously supports both). As far as connectivity goes, the new 2025 Infiniti QX80 has eight USB-C ports placed throughout the cabin. The gauge cluster is entirely digital on the left-hand screen, of course, while a head-up display is finally available as well.

One of the biggest interior features Infiniti talked up over the past several months is the Klipsch sound system. Audiophiles will no doubt be delighted to hear that the base version still gets a 600-watt, 14-speaker system as standard fare. If you’re looking for more punch, though, Infiniti also offers double the power (1,200 watts) and 24 speakers. the “Reference Premiere” system, as its called, gets titanium tweeters and ceiling-mounted speakers, as well as even more speakers in the front headrests.

Each 2025 Infiniti QX80 model comes standard with second-row captain’s chairs, allowing owners to seat seven people. You can switch it out for a bench seat and make it an eight-seater if you want on most trims. The top-end Autograph trim adds to the luxury even further by way of massaging front seats and captain’s chairs, though even the third row gets heated seats if you can spare the cash for the top model (more on pricing below).

More safety tech

The 2025 Infiniti QX80 also gets a bevy of new safety equipment, not least of which is the ProPilot Assist 2.1 system. That allows some hands-on highway driving, similar to GM’s Super Cruise and Ford/Lincoln’s BlueCruise, under certain highway driving conditions. It is still an eyes-on, hands-off system, so ProPilot Assist will still warn you and eventually disengage the system if you don’t keep your eyes on the road, even when you take your hands off the wheel.

This new model also gets a full array of safety features, as you’d expect for this price tag. Automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring and a comprehensively updated camera system. The “Front Wide View” actually uses both 14.3-inch displays to set up a wide 170-degree view to the sides of the vehicle, allowing drivers to see past parked cars or around corners in tight spaces, like parking garages.

What about under the hood?

While the 5.6-liter Endurance V8 is gone, this 211.2-inch SUV still needs a healthy amount of power to make progress. To that end, this new QX80 actually makes more with less. A twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6 replaces the old naturally aspirated mill, putting out 450 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of torque (to 400 hp and 413 lb-ft before).

Power makes its way to either the rear or all four wheels through the automaker’s latest 9-speed automatic transmission. Official EPA numbers aren’t available yet, but we’re expecting at least a slight improvement over the old SUV’s 15 mpg combined. That isn’t exactly a major hurdle to clear, so fingers crossed it will at least manage to get into the high teens.

The 2025 Infiniti QX80 is, at it’s core, still a body-on-frame SUV. This time around, though, the automaker claims it improved the frame’s lateral stiffness by 57%. With the stiffer chassis and adaptive dampers (on all trims other than the base version), this new-generation QX80 should handle less like the Happy Hippo name we bestowed on the outgoing model. Available air suspension further allows drivers to lower the car by up to 2.8 inches for easier ingress and egress, or raise it by up to 2.4 inches when you need extra ground clearance.

While Infiniti notes the 9-speed offers a 40% wider gear ratio range, the new QX80 still gets an 8,500-pound towing capacity, same as before.

How much will the new QX80 cost?

There’s so much new here, you probably think the 2025 Infiniti QX80 gets a sharp price hike over the outgoing model. And you’d be right: Base pricing increases by at least $8,300 from the base 2024 version.

The new QX80 still gets a familiar trim walk, starting with Pure as the base model. That kicks off the range at $84,445, including the obligatory $1,995 destination charge. Rear-wheel drive is the default here, while springing for the four-wheel drive version will cost you another $3,100.

Luxe is the next step up the ladder, and that starts at $91,545. The penultimate Sensory comes with standard 4WD, though it officially gets you into the six-figure range, at $102,640.

But wait, we’re still not done: The top-end Autograph trim is the most expensive of the bunch. It will set you back $112,590 to start, which puts it in the same range as the top-spec Escalades and Navigators of the world (crazy V-Series models notwithstanding). The Autograph is a new flagship trim for the QX80 — we’ve seen it previously on the midsize QX60 SUV — with a feature set suggesting Infiniti’s largest offering is more than ready to take on the fierce competition.

We’ll have more coverage coming up soon, so stay tuned to TFLtruck for that and TFLnow for Andre’s on-the-ground look at the QX80 from the 2024 New York Auto Show!