Infiniti gets proactive by updating its QX50 crossover with the latest safety features
SINGAPORE
When our young Jonathan reviewed the Infiniti QX50 earlier this year, he was impressed with its innovative engine and spacious interior. He did however also complain about the car’s unintuitive infotainment system, and lack of driver assistance safety features.
While the clunky infotainment unfortunately remains, Infiniti has moved to address that second point of criticism with the introduction of the ‘Infiniti QX50 Sensory with Proactive’, to give its full name.

For $10,000 more over the Sensory model, this is the top-line model of the QX50 lineup, and accordingly you get a whole host of tech goodies to keep it up to speed with its more well-equipped competitors.

READ MORE: What else can you get for the same price as the QX50? Well, how about a slick Swedish machine, like the Volvo XC60?

What the Proactive variant brings to the table are features such as a reverse collision warning and intervention system, adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning with emergency braking, blind spot assist, and cross traffic alert. There’s also a head-up display, and our test car’s Dynamic Sunstone Red paintwork which is unique to the Proactive.

All cool stuff, but are they worth the extra outlay?
To be fair, in a car like the QX50, which is a pretty sizeable beast, items such as the reverse collision warning and intervention system, blind spot assist, and cross traffic alert, are indeed quite handy, since they act as an extra pair of eyes to look out for traffic and obstacles that you may not be able to spot. They’d be useful in any car, honestly, so thumbs up to those.
For the other stuff, they’re really more of luxury convenience items. We generally like adaptive cruise control systems, as they can be a real boon in the MCE tunnel, but some systems can be a bit hit-and-miss. The one in the QX50 does alright, but it doesn’t feel as slick as some of its premium rivals.

As for forward collision warning and braking, it’s also a cool safety feature to have, but it’s one which you hopefully will not get to trigger and put into action. It’s a safety net but there’s still no replacement for actually being alert and looking out on the roads.
Otherwise, the car tested here is essentially identical to the Sensory model which Jon drove earlier this year. Which means it still has that innovative 2.0-litre variable compression turbocharged four-cylinder engine, and all the goodies that comes with it.

The car still feels like a good steer, with impressive responsiveness and dollops of refinement. It also offers a decent ride-handling balance, with well-sorted suspension that makes it rather nice to drive indeed. There’s definitely a bias towards comfort, with its soft, supple ride, but that’s only to be expected of an SUV like this.
It could be argued that the added safety features on the Proactive variant should be standard on the regular models in the first place, and viewed in that light, the extra 10 grand it commands can be a bit hard to swallow. But if having the latest driver assistance features ranks high on your list of priorities, then the QX50 is another option in the market for you to consider. Now, about that infotainment system…

Infiniti QX50 Sensory with Proactive

 
Verdict: Proactive variant adds much needed safety features, at a price