Infiniti Believes the 2025 QX80 Will Be 20% More Efficient
Recently on an episode of The AutoGuide Show brought to you by eBay Motors, we chatted with special guest Craig Keeys, group Vice President, Infiniti Americas. Our discussion focused primarily on the all-new 2025 Infiniti QX80, which has undergone a major redesign.
The biggest change is the replacement of the outgoing V8 engine with a new 3.5-liter turbocharged V6. Making 450 horsepower and 516 pound feet of torque, the new engine is significantly more robust than the 5.6-liter V8 it replaces.
Will Customers Adopt the New Engine?
As Keeyes puts it “The turbo engine, the V6, going away from the V8, should actually provide a solid benefit to our consumers.” He continues, “When I think about the power that we’ll ultimately pull from the V6, it’s pretty impressive.” All of that said, even with the extra dollop of power, it might still be hard getting existing consumers to convert.
There’s a strong fan-base for the sound, power, and aura that surrounds a V8 engine. For most traditional full-size luxury SUV buyers, this is one of the key benefits to owning a larger, posh, people-hauler-workhorse. But besides power, there is another benefit.
This Should Help
“We are pulling more efficiency out of engines.” Keeyes mentioned, “We don’t have the EPA estimates yet. But we believe we’ll see a 20% improvement in efficiency going from the V8 to the V6.”
That’s not an insignificant increase in efficiency. The current 2024 Infiniti QX80 has official fuel economy ratings of 14 mpg city and 20 mpg highway for rear-wheel drive (RWD) models. With four-wheel drive (4WD), the numbers drop to 13 mpg city and 19 mpg highway.
With a 20% improvement, that should be around 16.8 mpg city and 24.0 mpg highway for RWD models, or 15.6 mpg city and 22.8 mpg highway for 4WD versions.
The QX80 will be shown to the public for the first time later this week at the New York International Auto Show.
A 20+ year industry veteran, Mike rejoins the AutoGuide team as the Managing Editor. He started his career at a young age working at dealerships, car rentals, and used car advertisers. He then found his true passion, automotive writing. After contributing to multiple websites for several years, he spent the next six years working at the head office of an automotive OEM, before returning back to the field he loves. He is a member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC), and Midwest Automotive Media Association (MAMA). He's the recipient of a feature writing of the year award and multiple video of the year awards.
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