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I headed back to my college homecoming a few weeks back — not something most alumni do, but I attended a small school in the Midwest and exactly a decade has passed since graduation. It seemed fitting that I pop back and stroll the campus, visit my old haunts, hang with old friends…and try to seem more impressive than I actually am. That’s what reunion-type events are for, right? I picked up the Infiniti Q70L after a quick flight from New York and was immediately impressed by three things: this car feels pleasantly light, this car is completely intuitive and this car is (figuratively) as fast as a frat boy streaking across the football field during The Big Game.
The top-end engine in the Q70 is a 5.6-liter V8 that cranks out a modest 416 horsepower that feels more like 500. Thanks to all-wheel drive, that power (and equally significant torque) is put down with ease. Switch the car into Sport mode and it tenses in all the right ways: throttle feels great, in the sense that it’s almost too lively. I like that. Steering is direct and predictable, and for a long, relatively staid car it’s actually a lot of fun to drive. Passengers might not think so, of course, since the cabin is designed as a premium experience; specifically, it lacks grippy, bolstered seats.
As we walked to the car after the last event of the weekend, my Senior year roommate, James, jumped in the Q70L’s backseat, with its extra five inches of legroom compared to the base model Q70. I think he made a Grey Poupon joke, too, a testament to what this car is: both fun for the driver and extremely comfortable for the driver’s friends and family. If you want the luxury or practicality of an extended wheelbase car, want to drag race local hooligans during your commute or just want to show off back at school, this is a great option.
