Infiniti reportedly planning a QX65 to take on the Lexus RX

A year ago, Infiniti previewed four future models it planned during its journey to electrification. Back then, those were the Q80, which we have; the QXe battery-electric crossover and its sedan equivalent, the Qe; and the QX65 a midsize crossover coupe. We expect this to be a rakish version of the current three-row QX60 — the company's best seller in the U.S. — akin to Audi's Sportback crossovers and BMW's X4 and X6. Infiniti told us the QX65 would channel the segment-defining sportiness of its FX crossovers from years ago, promising a "stylish two-row alternative in the cluttered midsize crossover segment" on debut in 2026. Automotive News now tells us the QX65 is going to be Infiniti's challenger to the Lexus RX. This is an unexpected development as far as we're concerned, even more so when AN characterizes the goal as, "Infiniti hopes the new model will be a sales engine."  

Infiniti's already done a rakish version of the QX60: It was called the QX70, sold from from 2013 to 2017. Before that, it was the very FX that was once the kind of stylish and sporty icon Infiniti wants to resurrect. We'd wager most millennial enthusiasts still remember the callsign FX. We'd wager almost none of them could tell you what a QX70 looks like even though it was just a renamed FX37. The QX70 didn't do well in the U.S. thanks to problems that predated its arrival, such as aging design, the tighter packaging that comes with sportiness, and a lack of real innovation.

There's no reason not to try again. But going after the RX? That's like when automakers say they're going after the Porsche 911 or the Mazda Miata. Only once in since 2012 has Lexus sold less than 100,000 RXs in the U.S. About the only thing that dents its armor is a global calamity; going back to 2005, only the four years after The Global Recession and the third year of the pandemic cut RX sales to five figures, and even then, only two of those years dipped below 90,000 units. More importantly, we suspect that if there are RX shoppers looking for a sporty alternative, that group of shoppers is not large enough to make anything — in AN's words — "a sales engine." Typically, that's what the QX60 would be for, not the QX60's coupe-ified sibling. Even the Acura MDX, a strong seller in the RX and QX60 competitive set, does just a little more than half the RX's annual sales in the U.S., a volume that's about double the QX60's annual sales at the moment.

A dealer who's apparently seen the design told AN the QX65 has "an aggressive design that won't appeal to the soccer mom." We look forward to Infiniti's official take and the real QX65.

Outside of that, AutoForecast Solutions says the QX50 and QX55 won't get successors when their current generations exit production in 2026. Instead, there are rumors of a hybrid version of the Nissan Rogue that would enter the lineup below the departing QX50. If this were to come true, 2027 could see an Infiniti lineup with a new entry-level hybrid crossover, the four-cylinder QX60 and QX65, the QX80, and two battery-electric vehicles in the production Qe crossover and sedan.