Infiniti QX80 facelift unveiled in Dubai – refreshed flagship SUV coming to Malaysia in 2018

The veil covering the facelifted Infiniti QX80 has finally been lifted, revealing the company’s latest take on its ‘Powerful Elegance’ design language. As previously reported, the bulk of this facelift exercise is in the aesthetic front, with the full-sized SUV now featuring a much sleeker fascia. If anything, it’s certainly better looking than ever before.

To spare you a game of spot-the-nots, the front-end drops the old curvaceous swoop on the bonnet, going instead for a much cleaner look. The new LED headlamps (mounted higher up for a less Quasimodo look) and larger grille pack a more imposing punch, while the lower front bumper appears less busy now with the installation of slimmer fog lamps.

The side air vents are redesigned as well, appearing much less gaudy than the tri-holed version of its predecessor. It rides on 20-inch wheels as standard, which are upgradable to 22-inch items if desired. Round the back, the tail lamps get new graphics, and the centre section gets dominated by a chrome strip spanning the tailgate’s width. The rear bumper is also lightly redesigned.

The cabin on the other hand remains largely unchanged from before, but new to it are dark wood trimmings and a choicer cut of hide. Though it may not sound like much, the resulting effect they create is a significant improvement in the area of perceived quality, especially with the tan leather upholstery. Other updates include black carpeting, improved NVH and larger rear-seat infotainment displays.

Mechanically, it retains the same naturally-aspirated 5.6 litre V8 lump which outputs 405 hp at 5,800 rpm and 560 Nm of torque at 4,000 rpm. It’s paired with a seven-speed auto, sending drive to all four wheels. The SUV is good for a 0-100 km/h sprint of 6.8 seconds and tops out at 210 km/h, while its combined fuel consumption is rated at a massive 14.5 litres per 100 km based on the NEDC cycle.

The QX80 is produced at Infiniti’s Kyushu facility in Japan and will go on sale in select markets starting from the end of this year – Malaysia will be one of these, the SUV set to arrive here in 2018. The pre-facelift QX80 carries a price tag of RM798k before insurance, and comes with a seven-year/unlimited mileage warranty.

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