Improved headlight performance helps the 2019-20 Infiniti QX60 earn a TOP SAFETY PICKaward from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The midsize luxury SUV earns the award when equipped with specific, acceptable-rated headlights.
To qualify for a 2019 TOP SAFETY PICK award, a vehicle must earn good ratings in the driver-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests, as well as a good or acceptable rating in the passenger-side small overlap front test. It also needs an advanced or superior rating for front crash prevention and a good or acceptable headlight rating.
The QX60, which is based on the design of the Nissan Pathfinder, earns good ratings in five crashworthiness evaluations and an acceptable rating in the passenger-side small overlap crash test.
The SUV scores a superior rating for its standard front crash prevention system, which avoided collisions in 12 and 25 mph track tests. The system also has a warning component that meets criteria set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Infiniti made mid-year changes in 2019 to improve the QX60’s headlights. The LED headlights on vehicles built after May earn an acceptable rating when combined with high-beam assist, a system that automatically switches between high beams and low beams, depending on the presence of other vehicles. High-beam assist is available only on the QX60’s Luxe trim. The same headlights without high-beam assist earn a marginal rating.
QX60s built after August 2018 and before June 2019 — before the latest headlight modification — earn a marginal headlight rating, whether they are equipped with high-beam assist or not. All 2019 QX60s built before September 2018 have HID headlights that earn a poor rating, largely due to excessive glare.
SOURCE: IIHS
