Infiniti's Newest SUV Sounds Like A Luxury Nissan Rogue

Things aren't looking great for Nissan's luxury arm, Infiniti. The majority of the brand's 2025 lineup is manufactured outside the U.S., and as a result, Infiniti has been deeply affected by the tariffs implemented by the current government. To complicate things further, two of its models, the QX50 and QX55, were already confirmed to be discontinued after the 2025 model year, even before the current tariffs were implemented. 

Infiniti needs new models to keep buyers coming to its showrooms, and it needs them fast. Rather than design a new, competitive model from the ground up, it has reportedly chosen to borrow one of Nissan's most successful models and give it an upscale makeover.

The Nissan Rogue sold over four times more units in the U.S. in 2024 than Infiniti's entire lineup combined, so it seems like a good starting point for a new Infiniti model. According to Automotive News, Nissan bosses first hinted at plans for the Rogue-based Infiniti, which is reportedly being internally referred to as i33C, at a supplier meeting back in April 2025. 

The initial report said the car was expected to utilize Nissan's e-Power hybrid technology, a detail that's recently been confirmed by Car and Driver. The latter outlet also reports that the Rogue-based Infiniti is likely to wear the QX50 name after the current generation, pictured above, is retired. It's slated to arrive as a 2027 model year car sometime in 2026.

If Infiniti's Rogue-based SUV could attract even a tenth of the sales that the regular Rogue does, it could make a big difference to the brand's overall annual sales numbers. However, it would need to ensure that those sales didn't cannibalize demand from the Rogue itself. 

Automotive News reports that Nissan has considered making an Infiniti-badged version of the Rogue for at least five years, but has always decided against it due to concerns that it might draw buyers away from the Rogue's Platinum trim. An Infiniti SUV based on the Rogue would therefore need to be significantly different in both its cabin and its styling, and feel like enough of an upgrade over the Rogue to justify its additional asking price.

Infiniti has previously struggled in this regard; when reviewing the 2025 Infiniti QX60, we thought the SUV didn't do enough to feel distinctive from its cheaper Nissan-badged counterpart, the Pathfinder. The revised 2026 QX60, pictured, was a little more distinctive, with a significantly upgraded interior, but we thought it still lagged behind its class-leading rivals, in part thanks to its underwhelming powertrain. 

Nissan reportedly plans to put the same e-Power hybrid in both the 2027 Rogue and its Infiniti sibling, which doesn't exactly inspire confidence that the Infiniti will manage to feel like a significant improvement on the road compared to the Nissan. For now, Infiniti hasn't confirmed whether or not it will also launch a more performance-oriented, range-topping trim, but it'll certainly need to do more than just reskin the Rogue if it wants to draw buyers away from its Japanese and European competition.