BY ALAN VONDERHAAR
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Nissan QX4 | ZOOM |

Few people really NEED a sport-utility vehicle of any kind, but if anybody NEEDS a luxury sport-utility, the money might better be spent on therapy.

Who needed an Infiniti-labeled sport-ute? The dealers, that's who. With all those millions invested in lovely one-brand showrooms, they hated playing Tantalus, with those grapes -- affluent sport-ute buyers -- just out of reach over at the down-market Nissan stores. When they poneyed up the dough for those franchises, they thought those up-and-coming YUPs and Boomers would be buying fancy coupes and sedans, not trucks, for heaven's sake. Tired of watching the world pass them by, they pressured the parent company to give them a piece of the pie du jour.

The high end of this market isn't THAT big, so Nissan took its newly-remade Pathfinder and sent it out to the gilding shop.

And a fine job they did, endowing the Pathfinder platfom with a distinctive grille and front bumper that clearly differentiate the luxo-truck from its plebeian cousin. The alloy wheels are 16-inchers, carrying a desirably greater amount of rubber than the Pathfinder's 15s. The look is elegant and powerful, the realization impeccable. Overall fit and finish are impressively good.

The QX4 is loaded with the amenities expected in the luxury CAR class, to say nothing of trucks. The only options are a power moonroof, heated front seats and a limited-slip rear differential. The inside comes done up in leather, standard, with power adjustable perches for both driver and co-pilot. There's plenty of what Nissan slyly alludes to as "wood-tone" trim, reclining rear seatbacks with 60/40 fold-down availability, an overhead console with outside temperature and compass displays, and a visor-embedded HomeLink transmitter, which can "learn" to replace up to three remote controllers for garage doors, security gates and the like.

The QX4 is further differentiated from its kissing cousin by having a specific "All-Mode 4WD" system. The Pathfinder has a relatively primitive shift-on-the-fly system, which just wouldn't do for someone with carefully sculpted long fingernails.

With All-Mode 4WD, there's a rotary switch on the dash with three settings: 2WD, Auto and Lock. The 2WD setting equals rear-wheel drive, of course, while Auto translates to rear-drive, with help from the front axle as needed. A variable clutch in the center of the drivetrain sends varying amounts of power forward according to road and throttle conditions. The transfer case could be left in this mode all the time, although for ordinary cruising on high-friction surfaces it would just hurt gas mileage to some extent.

The Lock position of the knob provides a solid linkage between front and rear axles, for heavy going through snow or in off-road situations, if you can imagine doing such a thing in a Dior suit. There's even a stump-puller low range, mechanically actuated, for extremely rough circumstances or, more likely, for enhanced compression braking when creeping down slick streets.

The gear selections are noted on the console-mounted shifter, but not amid the basic four instruments, as they should be. The status of the transfer case, however, is signaled by an LED diagram next to the speedometer.

The QX4's biggest failing is that it shares its powerplant with the Pathfinder. Not only does it carry a few hundred pounds more weight, its price tag would seem to connote a higher level of performance than it can deliver. You want to spend nearly 40 grand and have almost every other serious sport-utility leaving you in the dust?

I could not break the 12-second barrier in sprints to 60 mph, no matter how earnestly I went about it in the various drivetrain modes. And forced to work so hard, the struggling engine was raspy and intrusive, quite out of character for a vehicle otherwise so refined.

Even on the highway, with the engine turning about 3,000 rpm at 65 mph, engine drone was annoying. There was also rather more suspension and tire noise than a luxury car buyer would expect. With a class-typical drag coefficient of a miserable 0.48, the QX4 moves a lot of air, too.

The sedan-to-ute transitioning driver would find little to fault with the ride, however. It was smooth and isolated road shocks well enough, and maintained its dignity over moderately distressed surfaces. It's very different from the Pathfinder's feel -- I've lauded it for its crisp, direct, sporty orientation. The QX4 is for the driver who does not wish to know too much about the world below.

Handling was good for the class, with roll well controlled by stabilizer bars fore and aft. The front struts and rear five-link underpinnings kept the wheels well-planted in all reasonable maneuvers. The seats were sufficiently hard enough and well bolstered to make all-day drives something one would look forward to -- unless one drew a short straw and got a second-class ticket. The rear seats were a trifle tough to slide into, and once there, a six-footer would feel headroom-deprived.

With the rear seats up, there's 38 cubic feet of cargo volume, more than twice as much as you'll find in a typical big-car trunk. Drops the seats and you have 85 cubic feet to cram.

The standard entertainment system is a gem -- a six-speaker Bose unit, exceptional in presence and clarity and not wanting in power. AM, FM, cassette and CD input devices are furnished. I don't much like smallish, concentric treble/bass and balance/fade knobs, but they tend to be set and forget with a Bose system.

Dual airbags are standard, as is four-wheel antilock braking. The rear brakes are drums. While discs would make a good talking point, the drums are well-suited to this application. I got into the ABS on wet streets and found it relatively quiet. It pulsed fast enough to let very little pedal thumping occur. Stops were acceptably short.

I thought the optional two-stage heated seats were a little wimpy -- European marques offer more settings and a lot more calroric output.

I like the interior-lightening effect of a glass moonroof, but the sliding sunshade drove me nuts. It would not stay in its rearward, stowed position on even moderate grades.

Base price on the QX4 is $35,550. The sample I tested was maxxed out with the "premium sport package," which includes power tilt and slide moonroof, heated front seats and limited-slip rear differential. Worth having, I'd judge, even at $1,650 for the lot.

Total, with freight and luxury tax, was $37,830. Payments on such a vehicle would be $767, assuming 20% down, 10% interest and 48 installments. Leasing could lower the monthly bite.

Whether the QX4 package per se is a smart buy is debatable -- it seems to me that this luxury-ute thing may be a passing fancy.

Alan Vonderhaar welcomes email: alanv@bigfoot.com