Compare the2018 GMC AcadiaVS 2017 Infiniti QX50

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Fuel Economy and Range
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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The Acadia Denali’s optional pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The QX50 doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

For enhanced safety, the GMC Acadia’s middle seat shoulder belts have child comfort guides to move the belt to properly fit children. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages children to buckle up. The Infiniti QX50 doesn’t offer comfort guides on its middle seat belts.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Acadia are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The QX50 doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Acadia has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The QX50 doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tests front crash prevention systems. With a score of 6 points, IIHS rates the Forward Automatic Braking optional in the Acadia as “Superior.” The QX50 scores only 2 points and is rated only “Advanced.”

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Acadia SLE/SLT’s optional Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The QX50 doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.

To help make backing safer, the Acadia (except SL)’s optional cross-path warning system uses wide-angle radar in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. The QX50 doesn’t offer a cross-path warning system.

The Acadia has standard OnStar®, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to get turn-by-turn driving directions, remotely unlock your doors if you lock your keys in, help track down your vehicle if it’s stolen or send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The QX50 doesn’t offer a GPS response system, only a navigation computer with no live response for emergencies, so if you’re involved in an accident and you’re incapacitated help may not come as quickly.

Both the Acadia and the QX50 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available all wheel drive, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems and around view monitors.

For its top level performance in all IIHS frontal, side, rear impact and roof-crush tests, and with its optional front crash prevention system, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Acadia the rating of “Top Pick” for 2017, a rating granted to only 110 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The QX50 has not been fully tested, yet.

Warranty

GMC pays for scheduled maintenance on the Acadia for 2 years and 24,000 miles. GMC will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance (up to 2 oil changes). Infiniti doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the QX50.

There are over 8 times as many GMC dealers as there are Infiniti dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Acadia’s warranty.

Reliability

To reliably power the ignition and other systems and to recharge the battery, the Acadia has a standard 150-amp alternator (170-amp - Acadia V6). The QX50’s 130-amp alternator isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2017 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that GMC vehicles are better in initial quality than Infiniti vehicles. J.D. Power ranks GMC 16th in initial quality. With 8 more problems per 100 vehicles, Infiniti is ranked 23rd.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2016 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that GMC vehicles are more reliable than Infiniti vehicles. J.D. Power ranks GMC fifth in reliability, above the industry average. With 16 more problems per 100 vehicles, Infiniti is ranked 13th.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Acadia gets better fuel mileage than the QX50:

		Acadia	QX50
2WD	4 cyl./Auto	21 city/26 hwy	n/a
	V6/Auto	18 city/25 hwy	17 city/24 hwy
4WD	4 cyl./Auto	21 city/25 hwy	n/a
	V6/Auto	17 city/25 hwy	17 city/24 hwy

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the Acadia 4 cyl.’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. (Start/Stop isn’t accounted in present EPA fuel mileage tests.) The QX50 doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the GMC Acadia uses regular unleaded gasoline. The QX50 requires premium, which can cost 20 to 55 cents more per gallon.

The Acadia AWD’s standard fuel tank has 1.7 gallons more fuel capacity than the QX50 (21.7 vs. 20 gallons).

The Acadia has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The QX50 doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Acadia has larger standard tires than the QX50 (235/65R18 vs. 225/55R18).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Acadia offers optional 20-inch wheels. The QX50’s largest wheels are only 19-inches.

The GMC Acadia’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Infiniti QX50 only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

The Acadia has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The QX50 doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

Suspension and Handling

The Acadia offers an available driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads or off-road. The QX50’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Acadia is 4.1 inches wider in the front and 3.5 inches wider in the rear than on the QX50.

For greater off-road capability the Acadia has a greater minimum ground clearance than the QX50 (7.2 vs. 6.5 inches), allowing the Acadia to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Acadia All Terrain’s minimum ground clearance is 1.3 inches higher than on the QX50 (7.8 vs. 6.5 inches).

Chassis

The front grille of the Acadia FWD 4 cyl. uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The QX50 doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Acadia uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The QX50 doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

Passenger Space

The Acadia has standard seating for 7 passengers; the QX50 can only carry 5.

The Acadia has 47 cubic feet more passenger volume than the QX50 (143.8 vs. 96.8).

The Acadia has 1.6 inches more front headroom, 2.8 inches more front hip room, 4.6 inches more front shoulder room, 1.9 inches more rear headroom, 4.4 inches more rear legroom, 3.9 inches more rear hip room and 3.7 inches more rear shoulder room than the QX50.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Acadia’s middle row seats recline. The QX50’s rear seats don’t recline.

Cargo Capacity

The Acadia’s cargo area provides more volume than the QX50.

	Acadia	QX50
Third Seat Folded	41.7 cubic feet	n/a
Third Seat Removed	n/a	18.6 cubic feet
Second Seat Folded	79 cubic feet	49.7 cubic feet

The Acadia’s cargo area is larger than the QX50’s in almost every dimension:

	Acadia	QX50
Length to seat (3rd/2nd/1st)	18.5”/48”/83”	n.a./30”/64”
Max Width	50”	54”
Min Width	42.5”	39.3”
Height	33”	25”

To make loading and unloading groceries and cargo easier, especially for short adults, the Acadia (except SL) offers an optional power cargo door, which opens and closes automatically by pressing a button, or on the Acadia Denali, by just kicking your foot under the back bumper, completely leaving your hands free. The QX50 doesn’t offer a power cargo door.

Ergonomics

The Acadia offers a remote vehicle starting system, so the vehicle can be started from inside the driver's house. This allows the driver to comfortably warm up the engine before going out to the vehicle. The climate system will also automatically heat or cool the interior. The QX50 doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

The power windows standard on both the Acadia and the QX50 have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Acadia is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The QX50 prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

The Acadia’s optional front and rear power windows all lower with one touch of the switches. The QX50’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to lower them fully.

While driving with high beams on, sensitive light sensors available for the Acadia (except SL/SLE) detect other vehicles which could be blinded and automatically switch to low beams. The QX50 doesn’t offer automatic dimming high beams.

The Acadia SLT/Denali has standard automatic dimming rear and side view mirrors which automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The QX50 offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

Both the Acadia and the QX50 offer available heated front seats. The Acadia also offers optional heated second row seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the QX50.

Standard air-conditioned seats in the Acadia Denali keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The QX50 doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

On extremely cold Winter days, the Acadia Denali’s standard heated steering wheel provides comfort, allowing the driver to steer safely and comfortably before the vehicle heater warms up. The QX50 doesn’t offer a heated steering wheel.

Standard IntelliLink for the Acadia allows the driver and passengers access to select programs on their smartphones, including reading text messages aloud, playing internet radio stations and other connected activities without taking their eyes off the road or their hands from the wheel. The QX50 doesn’t offer factory integrated smartphone program access.

The Acadia SLT/Denali has a 115-volt a/c outlet on the center console, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The QX50 doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

Economic Advantages

The Acadia will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the Acadia will retain 46.28% to 52.71% of its original price after five years, while the QX50 only retains 43.66% to 44.67%.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Acadia is less expensive to operate than the QX50 because typical repairs cost much less on the Acadia than the QX50, including $226 less for a water pump, $66 less for an alternator, $45 less for a starter, $49 less for fuel injection, $511 less for front struts, $359 less for a timing belt/chain and $417 less for a power steering pump.

Recommendations

The GMC Acadia outsold the Infiniti QX50 by over five to one during the 2016 model year.

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