Overview

Two significantly similar cars, no doubt about that. Still, each one has something different to offer. Having both cars powered by petrol engines and utilizing the 5-door suv body style within the same 'SUV' segment, the only major difference here really is their wheel drive configuration (front for the Lexus and 4 x 4 in the case of the Infiniti). The first one has a Toyota-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 188hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 6-cylinder, 24-valves 328hp engine designed by Nissan.

Safety

The fact that the Infiniti got tested by the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), while the other contender didn't, puts it sky-high safety-wise, in my eyes at least. Moving further on, let's take a closer look at some additional safety-related facts. Both vehicles belong to the suv segment, which is generally a very good thing safety-wise, but that fact doesn't break the tie between the two cars. On the other hand, taking kerb weight as an important factor into account, QX70 offers a marginal difference of 9% more metal.

Reliability

I don't like generalizing things when it comes to reliability, although it does seem that Lexus does have a slight advantage, all the models observed together. These are the results of an independent reasearch, while our visitors describe reliability of Lexus with an average rating of 4.9, and models under the Infiniti badge with 4.6 out of 5. Unfortunatelly, I don't have enough insight that would allow me to comment in more details on the specific models level. We should definitely mention that owners of cars with the same powertrain as Lexus RX rank it on average as 3.0 out of 5, exactly the same as the other one.

Performance & Fuel economy

Infiniti is way more agile, reaching 100km/h in 4.2 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 233 kilometers per hour, 33km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy an obvious choice would be Lexus RX, averaging around 9.8 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (29 mpg), in combined cycle. That's 23% difference compared to QX70!

Verdict

Lexus appears just a bit more reliable, although the difference is truly marginal. The most important thing when deciding between any two vehicles should always be safety, both passive and active. In my opinion, everything taken into account, QX70 beats the other contender by far, making it the best choice without even considering other things. It all continues in the same direction, with Infiniti outracing its opponent in any situation possible, making it better choice for boy racers. It does come at a cost though, and that's the fuel consumption... All together, there's not much more to say, in this case I wouldn't even consider anything but Infiniti. In any case that's my personal view, built upon all the data available to me. What should decide here though is the way you feel about the two vehicles, and I hope you'll find my guidelines useful in the process. I suggest you spend two more minutes in order to find out which car, based on your needs and budget, would be picked by the virtual adviser™, out of 12.000+ vehicles we currently have in our database.