Let’s start with the interior. As is both Infiniti and parent company Nissan’s wont, it’s a well-fastened affair replete with quality materials, nice lighting and a set of intuitive controls that don’t require much more than a cursory glance to identify. The leather/wood steering wheel and some of the wood trim found elsewhere in the cabin does seem a little old school, however. It’s a little at-odds with both the exterior styling (which may be a good thing, depending on your perspective) and the rounded, flared surfaces found throughout the interior. I wonder how it would look with some nice aluminum accents instead? Pretty good, I’ll bet.

The seats are an absolute highlight; no, they aren’t of the “Zero-Gravity” variety found on some Nissans, but they’re incredibly comfortable, cushy, supportive and can be heated and cooled, a standard feature. The second row seats, meanwhile, are heated.

The third row seats aren’t, but darned if this isn’t one of the best non-minivan applications of third-row seating that I’ve seen. The middle row flips forwards easily, allowing, well, easy access to the third row. The seats themselves meanwhile, are nearly as cushioned as the first two rows; that’s not something that can be said for much of the QX’s competition. These are seats that are meant to be used, and the fact that there remains 470L of cargo space when they’re up serves as yet another indication of the QX’s third-row worthiness.

If you want to forego the second-row captain’s chairs found on our tester, then a bench seat is available at the same price, providing seating for eight as opposed to seven.

From the interior comfort an access, we move to the tech on offer.

Considering the QX80’s girth, you’d think that Infiniti/Nissan’s AroundView monitoring system is an absolute must, but you’d only be half right. The QX80 is surprisingly easy to maneuver through tight spaces. I found it even easier to park than the QX60 but those strange lines do make it a little tough to know where the thing begins and ends. That’s where AroundView comes in; I’m especially a fan of the top-down camera angle that really lets you place the car within centimetres of your intended resting place. You’ll want to be aware of the QX80’s 1,925 mm overall height when entering parking garages, however.

Other standard tech that helps make the drive that much more comfortable are a power tilt/telescope steering wheel, tri-zone automatic climate control, heated steering wheel, remote engine start and power liftgate and moonroof. In addition to their heated seats, second-row passengers get a DVD entertainment system and wireless headphones as standard, while the whole cabin gets the benefit of the fantastic 15-speaker Bose audio system with XM satellite radio. An eight-inch touch-screen display is your portal to all of this, as well as the standard navigation system with real-time traffic monitoring.

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