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 XT6 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 XT6 doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.
The QX60 Autograph 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 XT6 doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.
With its standard Automatic Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Detection, the Infiniti QX60 is better at preventing collisions with pedestrians than the Cadillac XT6, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:
|
QX60 |
XT6 |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
|
Crossing Child - DAY |
|
25 MPH |
AVOIDED |
-23 MPH |
|
Crossing Adult - NIGHT |
|
12 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-7 MPH |
12 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-4 MPH |
25 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-24 MPH |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-1 MPH |
|
Parallel Adult - NIGHT |
|
25 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-24 MPH |
37 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-13 MPH |
37 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-10 MPH |
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 XT6 doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the QX60 and the XT6 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Infiniti QX60 is safer than the Cadillac XT6:
|
QX60 |
XT6 |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
84 |
98 |
Hip Force |
244 lbs. |
255 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
88 |
180 |
Spine Acceleration |
33 G’s |
41 G’s |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
234 |
292 |
Spine Acceleration |
37 G’s |
39 G’s |
Hip Force |
466 lbs. |
666 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Infiniti QX60 is much safer than the XT6:
|
QX60 |
XT6 |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
POOR |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Neck Tension |
268 lbs. |
357 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
22 lbs. |
45 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Shoulder Deflection |
.63 in |
.75 in |
Shoulder Force |
156 lbs. |
223 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
.94 in |
1.1 in |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
65 |
170 |
Neck Tension |
89 lbs. |
156 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
67 lbs. |
178 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
POOR |
Shoulder Deflection |
.55 in |
1.61 in |
Shoulder Force |
178 lbs. |
424 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
.75 in |
2.2 in |
Torso Deflection Rate |
4 MPH |
13 MPH |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Pelvis Force |
580 lbs. |
692 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
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 XT6 is not a “Top Safety Pick” for 2024.