Infiniti's EX and FX crossovers are a hoot to drive, but as showroom performers, they're the Microsoft Zunes of the automotive world. Crossovers like the Lexus RX and Acura MDX trounce the duo's combined sales by tremendous margins every month in the charts. The execs at Infiniti are well aware of this, and are preparing the three-row JX to properly mount an assault on the luxury-crossover market.
Through the garbage-bag garb of this prototype, we can make out an Infiniti grille that may even beat that of the M sedan for bulginess. The roofline of the car in the photo tops off a very clear two-box shape, and, based on this single image, it will look in profile like most of the other three-row crossovers on the market. There isn't a lot you can do to disguise seating for seven.
Infiniti Badge, Nissan Roots
Unlike the rest of the current Infiniti lineup, which depends on just two rear-drive-based platforms-one for the G, M, EX, and FX, and a second for the QX-the JX will borrow a front-drive-based Nissan platform. (Our guess is the architecture from the Altima and Murano.) The bosses at Nissan and Infiniti haven't yet spoken to the degree of differentiation between the JX and any Nissan siblings, but we expect the Infiniti to be something more than simply a stretched and rebadged Murano.
As we previously reported, Nissan has filed paperwork with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office to trademark JX20, JX25, JX25h, and JX30. Which-if any-of these badges will one day adorn JX crossovers on the road is difficult to say. Infiniti's current naming convention indicates the engine displacement in liters multiplied by ten, and we have a hard time believing the company would sell a three-row crossover SUV with a 2.0-liter or 2.5-liter engine-at least in the States. What's more, Nissan doesn't even have a 3.0-liter engine in the parts bin right now, save a diesel six offered in a few Renaults. The JX will most likely receive Nissan's ubiquitous 3.5-liter VQ V-6, which produces in the neighborhood of 290 hp in most of its front-wheel-drive applications. Given Nissan's proclivity for rubber-band transmissions, a CVT may be the only transmission on offer.
That's where the speculation ends. In showing off its sketch in New York, Infiniti laid out its timeline for the JX: It will show a concept version at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in August, and follow that with a production vehicle at the L.A. auto show in November. Expect more information as those dates near.
http://www.caranddriver.com/news/spied/11q2/2013_infiniti_jx_crossover_spy_photos-future_cars
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