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My mother always tells me it’s what’s on the inside that counts.

She might feel differently about the 2021 Infiniti QX55.

The 2021 Infiniti QX55 is a chic crossover SUV based on the more practical, less sexy, less expensive QX50. More expensive and less practical with the same compromised powertrain isn’t a compelling proposition. German rivals have filled this crossover coupe segment that Infiniti’s now joining late. Mom always says one should always arrive early or on time and heaven sakes, deliver the goods.

I spent a week running the kids around town, picking up groceries, and hauling the family up to northern Minnesota to find where the 2021 Infiniti QX55 hits and misses.

2022 Infiniti QX55

2022 Infiniti QX55

2022 Infiniti QX55

Hit: It’s really pretty

The best part about the QX55 is its gorgeous exterior design. The roofline has Infiniti FX vibes, the LED taillights have 45 individual LEDs in each cluster, and the subtle curves of the hood add dimension both from the driver’s viewpoint and for those looking at it on the road. This is easily the best-looking coupe-like crossover SUV and makes the Audi Q5 Sportback and BMW X4 look dowdy.

2022 Infiniti QX55

Miss: Too many variables

The QX55 is powered by the same 2.0-liter turbo-4 found in the QX50. The impressive bit about this engine is the variable compression technology that helps it churn out 268 hp and 280 lb-ft of torque to all four wheels. The issue is the turbocharged engine and its variable compression are hooked to a continuously variable transmission. This powertrain doesn’t work together cohesively. The V-6-like power creates a surging sensation while the CVT tries to shift its non-existent gears. The members of my family that experience motion sickness weren’t pleased in the QX55 despite my best efforts to keep the power delivery smooth from stop sign to stop light.

2022 Infiniti QX55

Hit: At home on the highway

While the QX55’s powertrain isn’t ideal for driving smoothly around town it levels out and drops into the background on the highway. The suspension is well sorted despite not featuring active dampers. The passive dampers deliver a firm, yet controlled ride with some lean around clover leafs that’s never too harsh even over highway seams, and this is while riding on 20-inch wheels and run-flat tires.

2022 Infiniti QX55

Hit and Miss: Rear seat is a mixed bag

The rear seat isn’t a penalty box thanks to seat backs that recline for road trips. Despite the presence of three seat belts, three adults won’t fit across the bench comfortably. The seats slide fore and aft, allowing as much as 38.7 inches of leg room, which is great. But the seat bottom is a little too short and toe room is limited by the front seat frame. Head room is adequate for six-footers despite the roofline, but anyone taller is going to feel the roof.

2022 Infiniti QX55

Hit and Miss: Dueling infotainment screens

The QX55 infotainment system could be mistaken for something that’s from 2014. The 8.0-inch touchscreen mounted above a 7.0-inch touchscreen look very similar to what debuted in the Q50 sedan in 2014, but they have been updated. The two-screen design is nice in concept, as Apple CarPlay can be used on the upper screen while the satellite radio presets and controls are displayed on the lower screen. But the top screen has a different resolution and finish than the glossy bottom screen, which can look pixelated when not using Apple CarPlay. Worse, the bottom screen’s interface, like other Nissan and Infiniti products, isn’t very useful without the built-in navigation system.

2022 Infiniti QX55

2022 Infiniti QX55

2022 Infiniti QX55

Hit: Lack of shiny black plastic

In a time where automakers like Mercedes-Benz seem to believe shiny black plastic equates to luxury, it’s nice to see Infiniti use very little of it. There isn’t even a hint of the fingerprint-magnet finish on the center console. While there’s a smidge of the shiny black stuff used as the trim around the lower 7.0-inch touchscreen, it’s not a regular touchpoint, so it stays looking clean. The center console’s wrapped in leather and the plastic parts are covered in a matte finish that’s soft to the touch.

The 2021 Infiniti QX55 costs $47,525 while my top-spec Sensory model had a sticker price of $58,770. Aside from the exterior design it doesn’t feel worth the price with the same mess of a powertrain found in the less expensive and more practical QX50, but there were niceties such as a Bose 16-speaker audio system, Infiniti’s ProPilot Assist driver assist system, and a subpar navigation system. The exterior looks better than the German competition, but the substance is lacking. Mom was right, don’t judge based on looks alone.

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2021 Infiniti QX55 Sensory

Base price: $47,525
Price as tested: $58,770
EPA fuel economy: 22/28/25 mpg
The hits: Chic design, rear seat legroom, reclining rear seat, dual screens for infotainment
The misses: Complicated powertrain isn’t smooth, infotainment interface, rear seat bottom and toe room

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The Lexus LS didn’t need to look sportier or become more luxurious. All it needed was a better infotainment system and less weezy powertrain.

It’s received one of those things and is absolutely more livable because of it.

The 2021 Lexus was given a nip and tuck, updated infotainment system, and a handful of chassis tweaks all to help stir sales.

I’m here to tell you the updates helped this Japanese flagship go from barely tolerable to worth being on the radar if one doesn’t want to blend into the sea of Mercedes-Benz S-Classes at the local golf course. You might even save $20,000 or more.

2021 Lexus LS 500 AWD

Finally, we touch

The single most important update for the LS is found inside the cabin: The 12.3-inch infotainment screen is now, finally, a touchscreen as it should’ve been. This revolutionary piece of magic glass that Toyota’s luxury division just rediscovered (Lexuses used to have touchscreens and the outdated yet fantastic GX still does) makes it so one doesn’t have to control the infotainment system via the touchpad while driving. Unfortunately the user interface wasn’t changed for the touchscreen and still requires users to rely on some of the hard “Menu” or “Back” buttons ahead of the touchpad to navigate the interface. Using Apple CarPlay is now a joy, though the system can’t split-screen like a Hyundai Telluride can, nor can it do Apple CarPlay wireless.

2021 Lexus LS 500 AWD

2021 Lexus LS 500 AWD

2021 Lexus LS 500 AWD

The new touchscreen doesn’t fit into the LS in a particularly harmonious way. The swoopy dashboard used to have the 12.3-inch screen integrated whereas the new display is slapped onto the dashboard like a large tablet. Just because the Germans do it doesn’t make it a good idea.

It’s tough to best the LS’s interior at my tester’s $110,225 price tag. With real metal trim, leather as soft as a newborn’s bottom, and a power-operated massaging and reclining rear seat with a 7.0-inch touchscreen controller, which was part of the $17,580 Executive Package, this nearly loaded LS tester just squeaks in under the Mercedes-Benz S-Class’s base price of $110,850. The details sell the LS’s interior with armrests that seem to float off the door panels and a rear deck that curves behind the seats.

2021 Lexus LS 500 AWD

2021 Lexus LS 500 AWD

From the outside it’ll take a keen eye to pick the 2021 LS out from the previous model. The headlights and front bumper were both tweaked and the taillights are now darker. While the updated headlights now share a resemblance to the fantastic LC and give the LS a sportier look, they also look less distinct without the triple Z-like light elements shooting upward like fireworks firing off into the LED headlights.

2021 Lexus LS 500 AWD

Punch without fury

Under the hood the fantastic 5.0-liter V-8 soundtrack remains absent. A twin-turbo 3.5-liter V-6 with 416 hp and 442 lb-ft of torque hooked to a 10-speed automatic transmission returns unchanged. While a hybrid is available, and rear-wheel drive is standard, my tester was equipped with all-wheel drive, a system that’s still poorly packaged and has the differential’s half shafts intruding into the driver’s footwell. The turbo V-6 makes gobs of power with Lexus stating it can run from 0-60 mph in 4.6 seconds in rear-wheel-drive form, and it feels appropriately quick for such a large sedan. The 10-speed automatic shifts like it’s cutting through warm butter, but the soundtrack from the engine is too weezy as if it belongs in a performance version of the Toyota Camry. The tune is a far cry from the sweet song BMW’s inline-6 makes or the strong bellow the old 5.0-liter V-8 made. Time for the powertrain to go on mute for the electric era or give this flagship a powertrain worth listening to.

The EPA ratings for the LS reach as high as 33 mpg highway in hybrid form, but my AWD tester was rated at 17 mpg city, 27 highway, and 21 combined. My experience fell short of that with the trip computer indicating 23.6 mpg over the course of 444 miles of highway driving. The old V-8, with its muted thrum on the highway, wasn’t much thirstier.

2021 Lexus LS 500 AWD

Lexus said the spring and damper rates were revised and the front and rear anti-roll bar diameters were changed for better body control. The adaptive air suspension received solenoids and control valves for better damping force. The result of all these changes is a soft, supple ride that continues to feel less buttoned down than the German competition. In comfort mode the big sedan floated down the road and the front end did a double bounce when pulling out of my driveway. Sport mode firmed things up and is the ideal suspension setting, but Sport+ took things a bit too far with the Dunlop SP Sport Maxx tires wapping over Midwest expansion joints on I-94.

At $77,025 the 2021 Lexus LS is a bargain flagship that only the Genesis G90 can touch. Loaded with options it flirts with the base S-Class in price and features, but it looks and feels like a proper flagship in search of a worthy powertrain. It’s time to either deliver the twin-turbo V-8 Lexus developed for the LS F or move straight to an electric powertrain here because an LS is supposed to be a smooth and quiet operator.

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