Infiniti Soaks Its Own Test Drivers to Prove the QX60's Cupholders Work
Nissan engineers scan real bottles, build dozens of mock-ups, and lap a proving ground with water-filled tumblers — because cupholders now move J.D. Power quality scores.
The Infiniti QX60 seats up to seven people and gives them 12 places to put a drink. The mismatch is deliberate: Infiniti has pulled back the curtain on how the three-row SUV's cupholders are developed, and the process involves digital bottle scans, an Arizona proving ground, and test drivers who occasionally end up wearing the results.
The QX60 carries eight cupholders — two in the front center console, two in the second row, and four in the third — plus four bottle holders in the door pockets. The brief was set at the start of development, according to Chris Fischer, senior manager of Vehicle Performance Development at Nissan Technical Center North America.
"A 32-ounce reusable water bottle, it's got to fit there," Fischer said.
His team starts with digital scans of real containers during computer-aided design, then builds dozens of physical mock-ups covering everything from a 7.5-ounce mini soda can to a 40-ounce tumbler, along with mugs that have oversized handles. To check spill risk, engineers fill the containers three-quarters full of water and drive them at speed around the company's Arizona proving grounds. When a holder fails, the driver gets soaked.
Two production details came out of that testing. A "dog-bone" layout lowers the wall between paired cupholders so bulky mug handles have somewhere to go, and spring-loaded fingers grip narrow cans that would otherwise tip over.
The third row got particular attention because passengers back there have no door pockets. The second cupholder on each side is sized to double as a phone slot — Infiniti says an iPhone 17 Pro Max stands upright in it — and a USB-C port sits next to the right-hand holder for charging.
Cupholders are moving quality scores
There's a reason automakers are suddenly talking about this. The J.D. Power 2026 Initial Quality Study, published in June, found new-vehicle quality improved from 192 to 175 problems per 100 vehicles year over year — and named cupholders the single biggest contributor to that gain, crediting better placement and the ability to swallow more container sizes. A year earlier, the same study had flagged cupholders as a growing complaint, as owners traded soda cans for reusable bottles of every shape.
The count race is real, too. Toyota advertises 13 cup and bottle holders and seven USB-C ports in the Grand Highlander, a direct rival to three-row family haulers like the QX60.
The QX60 itself was redesigned for the 2026 model year, and the 2027 version starts at $51,980 plus a $1,545 destination charge. Drink storage won't headline any spec sheet, but as the J.D. Power numbers show, it's one of the few areas where buyers notice the difference in the first 90 days.
