Comfortable seats with leather seating surfaces are standard on both models. Plastic trim designed to look like birds-eye-maple brightens the center console, dash and door panels. Like Infiniti sedans, the QX4 has a classic-faced, analog clock. The airplane-like overhead console features a drop-down receptacle to hold sunglasses. Tall drivers need to be careful to avoiding bumping heads.

The QX4 is a bit roomier up front than the Jeep Grand Cherokee and nearly as roomy as the Land Rover Discovery Series II. Front seat headroom for QX4 is 39.5 inches, compared with 39.7 inches in the Jeep Grand Cherokee, and 40.4 inches in the Land Rover Discovery Series II. Front seat leg room is 41.7 inches in the QX4, 41.4 inches in the Grand Cherokee and 42.3 inches in the Discovery.

The optional navigation system finds the nearest service station or hotel. Its bird's-eye view display takes the standard paper map-type plan view and lays it down in the screen, presenting the route almost three-dimensionally from the perspective of a bird flying over it. Drawing from the database, the display shows depictions of hotels, hospitals, and structures along the route.

Rear-seat passengers don't fare quite as well as they do in the Jeep or Land Rover. Rear headroom in the QX4 measures 37.5 inches, while the Grand Cherokee delivers 39.5 inches, and the Discovery provides 40.1 inches. Rear-seat passengers don't enjoy a lot of foot space, but they do get reclining seatbacks.

Front-seat passengers are protected not only by supplemental side-impact airbags but also by so-called active head restraints, engineered to thrust upward and forward to cushion occupants' heads in the event of a violent rear-ender. Rear outboard-seat occupants enjoy three-point belts and head restraints. But occupants of the rear center seat get a lap belt only and no head restraint.

Cargo capacity with the rear seat folded up is better than that of the Jeep or Land Rover: 85 cubic feet in the QX4, 72.3 cubic feet in the Grand Cherokee, 63.3 cubic feet in the Discovery. Storage bins are located in the cargo area.

The running boards are more hassle than convenience. For most people, the QX4 doesn't sit high enough to need them, so their primary function devolves to depositing road grime on occupants pants' legs/hosiery.