With a 3.3-liter V6 that makes 166 horsepower, the QX4's engine certainly isn't what you'd call wimpy. Yet that's exactly how it feels when you've got the pedal to the floor, and that's how it will stay until 1999 or 2000, when both the QX4 and the Pathfinder will get a much-needed power boost. This engine can't even catapult my husband and I down the boulevard to dinner without a struggle. They claim the truck has a 5,000 lb. towing capacity, too. Despite the disappointing engine, the QX4 does offer all the other bells and whistles you'd expect at this price point.
Drivers can also select their own driving mode if they choose.
Inside, the QX4 styling is as flawlessly put together as the outside. Infiniti didn't cut corners when it came to outfitting their first SUV with a premium stereo, either. Plus, the CDs skipped twice in as many days while driving on smooth pavement. We thought the stereo should have been placed above the climate control panel and were disappointed that the Infiniti didn't offer dual climate controls. After pulling back the interior sunroof flap one day, we detected an unusually putrid smell emanating from above, but never could place it.