Compare the2025 Infiniti QX60VS 2024 Cadillac Escalade

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and second-row seat shoulder belts of the Infiniti QX60 have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Cadillac Escalade doesn’t offer pretensioners for its second-row seat belts.

The Infiniti QX60 has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Escalade doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The QX60 has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. Only the Escalade Premium/Platinum/Sport offers a blind spot warning system.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the QX60 has standard Rear Cross Traffic Alert, helping the driver avoid collisions. Only the Escalade Premium/Platinum/Sport offers Rear Cross Traffic Alert.

The QX60 Luxe/Sensory/Autograph’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Escalade doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

For better protection of the passenger compartment, the QX60 uses safety cell construction with a three-dimensional high-strength frame that surrounds the passenger compartment. It provides extra impact protection and a sturdy mounting location for door hardware and side impact beams. The Escalade uses a body-on-frame design, which has no frame members above the floor of the vehicle.

Both the QX60 and the Escalade have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, front seat center airbag, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Infiniti QX60 is safer than the Cadillac Escalade:

	QX60	Escalade
	Passenger
STARS	4 Stars	4 Stars
Chest Compression	.6 inches	.6 inches
Neck Injury Risk	45.1%	47%
Neck Stress	216 lbs.	272 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	236/309 lbs.	333/811 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Infiniti QX60 is safer than the Cadillac Escalade:

	QX60	Escalade
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	14 inches	14 inches
HIC	234	239
Spine Acceleration	37 G’s	38 G’s
Hip Force	466 lbs.	764 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The Infiniti QX60 achieved a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for the 2024 model year. This recognition was based on its impressive performance in the small overlap frontal crash test, updated side impact crash test, headlight evaluations, and pedestrian crash prevention testing. The Escalade has not yet been evaluated by the IIHS for 2024.

Warranty

The QX60 comes with a full 4-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Escalade’s 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty expires 10,000 miles sooner.

The QX60’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the Escalade’s (7 vs. 6 years).

Infiniti pays for scheduled maintenance on the QX60 for 3 years and 45000 miles. Infiniti will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Cadillac only pays for the first scheduled maintenance visit on the Escalade.

Reliability

For smoother operation, better efficiency and fewer moving parts, the QX60 has an overhead cam design, rather than the old pushrod design of the engine in the Escalade.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Infiniti vehicles are better in initial quality than Cadillac vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Infiniti above average in initial quality. With 27 more problems per 100 vehicles, Cadillac is rated below average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Infiniti vehicles are more reliable than Cadillac vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Infiniti 3 places higher in reliability than Cadillac.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the QX60 gets better mileage than the Escalade:

			MPG
QX60
	FWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/28 hwy
	AWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/27 hwy
Escalade
	RWD	3.0 turbo 6-cyl. Diesel	21 city/27 hwy
		6.2 OHV V8	14 city/19 hwy
	AWD	3.0 turbo 6-cyl. Diesel	20 city/26 hwy
		6.2 OHV V8	14 city/18 hwy

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the QX60’s standard front brake rotors are larger than those on the Escalade:

	QX60	Escalade
Front Rotors	13.8 inches	13.5 inches

The QX60 stops shorter than the Escalade:

	QX60	Escalade
70 to 0 MPH	171 feet	174 feet	Car and Driver

Suspension and Handling

The QX60 Autograph AWD handles at .85 G’s, while the Escalade Sport Platinum 4WD pulls only .67 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The QX60 Sensory AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 2.1 seconds quicker than the Escalade Sport 4WD (28 seconds @ .6 average G’s vs. 30.1 seconds @ .53 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the QX60’s turning circle is 1 foot tighter than the Escalade’s (38.7 feet vs. 39.7 feet).

Chassis

The Infiniti QX60 may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 1100 to 1250 pounds less than the Cadillac Escalade.

The QX60 is 1 foot, 1.7 inches shorter than the Escalade, making the QX60 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The QX60 is 7 inches shorter in height than the Escalade, making the QX60 much easier to wash and garage and drive (lower center of gravity).

Unibody construction lowers the QX60’s center of gravity significantly without reducing ground clearance. This contributes to better on the road handling and better off-road performance and stability. In addition, unibody construction makes the chassis stiffer, improving handling and reducing squeaks and rattles. The Escalade doesn’t use unibody construction, but a body-on-frame design.

Passenger Space

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the QX60’s middle and third row seats recline. The Escalade’s third row seats don’t recline.

Ergonomics

Unlike the driver-only memory system in the Escalade, the QX60 Sensory/Autograph has a passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat, steering wheel position (with optional power wheel adjuster), outside mirror angle, climate settings and radio stations and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the QX60 to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Escalade doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

Economic Advantages

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Infiniti QX60 will be $31346 to $41754 less than for the Cadillac Escalade.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends the Infiniti QX60, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Cadillac Escalade isn't recommended.

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