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The 2017 Infiniti QX30 is the result of a surprising arrangement between Renault, Infiniti’s parent company, and Mercedes-Benz. Infiniti wanted a premium compact crossover in a hurry, so rather than starting from scratch, it built the new QX30 on the Mercedes GLA’s platform. George Kennedy reports that Infiniti did a good job tweaking the details to hide the QX30’s Benz DNA, at least outside, and he also enjoyed driving the QX30 a lot more than the GLA.

While the QX30 looks good and can be fun in Sport driving mode, it doesn’t offer a lot of utility or cargo space. Its 34 cubic feet with the rear seats down falls short of the Audi Q3’s 48.2 and the BMW X1’s 58.7. And while many competitors offer a hands-free or at least power liftgate, QX30 owners will have to open and close their hatches with their hands, without assistance.

The QX30’s infotainment system came from Infiniti, not Mercedes-Benz, and that’s a definite positive. The system’s voice-recognition software isn’t top-notch, but Kennedy appreciated having a real touchscreen, rather than having to use a controller on the center console. He also very much liked the surround-view system, which Infiniti does particularly well, and the Intelligent Cruise Control++ system.

Read more on CarGurus: https://cargur.us/bG7yb

This hatchback might be in denial of the fact that it's actually a wagon, but it's still plenty fun to drive.

Crossovers are the hottest segment in the automotive landscape, and compact crossovers represent the hot spot within that booming category. Infiniti had a high-riding wagon in the form of the EX35 (the current QX50), but it needed something fresh and new in a hurry. So what to do? Rather than building a whole new tiny SUV from the ground up, it borrowed from a competitor.

In an unlikely arrangement between Mercedes-Benz and Infiniti parent company Renault, the German automaker provided Infiniti with the GLA-Class platform as the basis of an all-new compact crossover: the 2017 Infiniti QX30.

Originally, the QX30 was supposed to be two separate vehicles; the Q30 hatchback and the QX30 crossover. Infiniti has revamped the names for its entire lineup, replacing the G37 with the Q50 and the M37 with the Q70. Each crossover and SUV model became a QX, followed by a number based on its size. The brass at Infiniti must have felt that two very similar cars with two different names was confusing, so it combined the two, violating its own naming convention… which is also confusing.



Presenter: George Kennedy
Producer: Andrew Zubatkin

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