First Look: The 2026 Infiniti QX80 Sport Is Moody, Blue
Infiniti’s jumbo three-row SUV gets its first ever Sport trim level, complete with blackened trim outside and blue leather inside.
Infiniti would be tickled pink if they could divert someone headed in to buy a Cadillac Escalade to take a long look at their own full-size three-row luxury SUV, the 2026 Infiniti QX80. For a little while now Cadillac has offered its venerable ’Slade in buyers’ choice of luxury or sport setups, with a couple options for each. Well, last year Infiniti thoroughly revamped the QX80, more extensively differentiating it from the Nissan Armada it’s based on. But the available trim levels—Pure, Luxe, and Autograph—more or less aligned with the Escalade’s Luxury, Premium, and Platinum packages. Well, for 2026 Infiniti throws down a gauntlet with the QX80 Sport.
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Dark and Brooding
Borrowing from the Escalade’s (and everyone else’s) Sport playbook, the 2026 Infiniti QX80 Sport (it’s badged QX80 S 4WD) gets darkened exterior trim, mirror caps, lower bumper trim, roof rails, and emblems. The new grille is also darkened, the better to highlight the light-up Infiniti logo at its center, as are the front bumper and unique 22-inch wheels.
Case of the Blues
The only “color” available on the 2026 Infiniti QX80 Sport is Grand Blue, which should pair beautifully with the sole interior color option: Dusk Blue, with graphite on the pillars and headlining. Naturally, it’s all semi-aniline leather with diamond perforations for a Bentley vibe. Of course, if blue isn’t your jam, non-color options include Mineral Black, Radiant White, and Dynamic Metal. Two-toning a black roof is optional for non-black QX80 S models.
Mostly Loaded
The QX80 S 4WD seems to be aiming for the upper end of the Escalade Sport lineup with its equipment loading, which borrows many features from the Autograph range topper, including its 24-speaker Klipsch audio system, fully climate-controlled front and second-row seats, massaging front thrones, open-pore ash wood trim, and biometric cooling (sensors determine when a particularly hot or cold passenger has climbed aboard and intensify airflow to bring them to ambient temperature more quickly). Sadly, hands-free ProPilot Assist 2.1 is not included.
How Much and How Soon?
The QX80 S 4WD will start at $104,140, undercutting the base Escalade Sport by $1,955 (and the Sport Platinum by $21,455). The whole 2026 lineup will begin shipping to dealers in late summer of 2025, with the base Pure model opening at $85,940 and the Luxe at $93,040 (to get 4WD on either, add $3,100). Sport and Autograph models get 4WD standard, and the Autograph starts at $113,690. We wish Infiniti lots of luck in its Escalade-conquesting quest, although we have a hunch folks who test-drive both will struggle to resist the sonorous siren’s call of that 6.2-liter Caddy V-8.
I started critiquing cars at age 5 by bumming rides home from church in other parishioners’ new cars. At 16 I started running parts for an Oldsmobile dealership and got hooked on the car biz. Engineering seemed the best way to make a living in it, so with two mechanical engineering degrees I joined Chrysler to work on the Neon, LH cars, and 2nd-gen minivans. Then a friend mentioned an opening for a technical editor at another car magazine, and I did the car-biz equivalent of running off to join the circus. I loved that job too until the phone rang again with what turned out to be an even better opportunity with Motor Trend. It’s nearly impossible to imagine an even better job, but I still answer the phone…
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