 | Positives: Exterior styling still looks sharp after five years, roomy and comfy in both rows, smooth ride. |
 | Negatives: Starting to show its age, annoying CVT, in-car tech looks and feels dated now, sluggish off the line, so-so efficiency, artificial steering feel. |
 | Bottom Line: The QX50 manages to look great on the outside, but the in-car tech is feeling a bit dated. The CVT and slow response of the turbo four betray the racy looks, but at least the interior is comfortable and spacious. |
Driving Experience
Don't look for the QX50's aggressive and racy looks to match the driving experience. It errs on the side of comfort versus sportiness or thrills. We lament the fake steering feel and the finicky CVT. At least the handling is good.
Ride Quality: The ride is quite comfortable over pockmarked pavement and over gaps. We wouldn't call it cushy, but the QX50's shock absorption is very good.
Acceleration: The CVT does the QX50 no favors, and it often can't make up its mind. The sprint to 60 mph takes about 6.4 seconds, but it's no joy ride getting there. It actually feels slower than it is. The supposedly revolutionary variable compression ratio turbo engine doesn't quite do the trick in terms of performance. The larger BMW X3 is quicker, and the Genesis GV70 is way more fun to take into the turns.
Braking: The QX50's brakes feel inordinately mushy for a vehicle like this. Stopping distances are about average.
Steering: The steering feels both artificial and overly light, but it does respond well to inputs. It just doesn't have any feedback or change in effort.
Handling: The suspension and chassis help keep body roll in check, and the QX50 feels adept in the turns with very little drama.
Technology
When we last drove the QX50 in 2022, the infotainment system looked and felt pretty good, but it's now starting to look and feel dated. The nav screen on top with the other functionalities in the bottom screen make for confusing operation, and the graphics just don't look all that great against the likes of BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
Infotainment System: The 8" touchscreen on the top is vivid and responds to inputs well. It handles audio and navigation. The bottom screen is mostly climate. Why they can't do nav in the instrument cluster is beyond us.
Controls: It's a bit confusing since the audio knob and buttons are below the lower screen, which is for climate. Then there's a column of climate control buttons to the right of the climate screen. We just wish there were more physical controls instead of depending on screens too much.
Styling
The exterior of the QX50 Sport is quite handsome, especially with the black trim and the great head and taillights. The creases and folds look great on the tight dimensions. The interior looks great, too, but it has some catching up to do against most of the competition.
Front: The grille's dark chrome frame and the black mesh look great, along with small foglight elements and attractive headlights.
Rear: The QX50 does a great job making a rear fascia look good. The taillights taper inward nicely to a rather fresh arched metallic strip. We also love the thin vertical reflectors and the interesting rear glass shape that's large and interesting.
Profile: The side view of the QX50 shows off the best interpretation of its z-shaped rear pillar, as well as great body contours and nice dark chrome wheels. Too bad the window surround isn't dark chrome, too.
Cabin: Materials quality is pretty good, and the layout is nicely done. We quite like the two-tone leather seats, the brushed metal trim, and the carbon fiber bits. We especially love the shape of the steering wheel hub and spokes.
Comfort
The QX50 might not look big from the outside, but it offers great room for its size. Four adults can travel comfortably and also toss in enough gear for a weekend trip without worry.
Front Seats: The Semi-Aniline leather seats are soft and supply, and they're supportive and well cushioned.
Rear Seats: Real adults can sit back here without difficulty, and the second-row seat contouring is very good. Even the middle position isn't bad for a little while.
NVH (noise/vibration/harshness): The engine can sound a bit noisy at times mostly because of the CVT that seems overworked. Otherwise, the cabin is quiet, and there's very little intrusive noise.
Visibility: Visibility is pretty good out the front and sides. Only the thick D-pillars get in the way.
Climate: The climate system worked well in winter, firing up good heat and responsive heated seats in our tester.
Safety
The QX50 did quite well in 2022 crash tests, although the overall score could've been better. It got hampered by other testing areas outside the crash criteria. The safety tech provided standard and as optional equipment is excellent.
IIHS Rating: Although it didn't earn top scores, it did very well in crash tests with "good" in all areas. It only suffered an "acceptable" and "marginal" due to headlights.
NHTSA Rating: The feds gave the QX50 five stars in crash tests.
Standard Tech: Our Sport test vehicle came with a great set of features: Predictive Forward Collision Warning, Forward Emergency Braking w/ Pedestrian Detection, Blind Spot Warning, Blind Spot Intervention, Lane Departure Warning, Lane Departure Prevention, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Rear Automatic Braking, Rear Automatic Braking, and High Beam Assist.
Optional Tech: Although the ProAssist Package is listed in the options, it's actually included in the Essential trim and provides Distance Control Assist, Intelligent Cruise Control, Blind Spot Intervention, and Lane Departure Prevention.
Storage/Cargo
We were surprised by the amount of cargo space in the tidy QX50. It actually does better than most of its competitors when it comes to swallowing grocery bags and luggage. Small item storage in the cabin is also quite good.
Storage Space: A convenient sliding compartment in the center console hides small storage and cupholders. The armrest is also well-sized.
Cargo Room: There's a voluminous 31 cubes behind row two and 65 cubes with the seats folded flat. That's bigger than the BMW X3, Audi Q5, and the Lexus NX. The cargo area is also wide and very flat, making for easy loading.
Fuel Economy
The variable compression ratio engine doesn't really do the QX50 any favors because it doesn't seem to maximize output and provide efficiency the way it was touted. Our results are less than the EPA figures. We drove on freeways and local roads about equally.
Observed: 22.3 mpg.
Distance Driven: 138 miles.
Audio
The QX50 Sport gets a Bose premium audio system with 12 speakers as standard equipment. It sounds very good, and there's no distortion that we noticed at higher volumes. It definitely has more bass and fullness than the stock 6-speaker system.
