INFINITI has a new hybrid on the way. The M35h, due in the spring, is said to be the only vehicle to offer more than 350 horsepower along with a 30 mile per gallon economy rating on the highway. That’s an admirable achievement, and I’m sure that plenty of Infiniti buyers will take note of the new hybrid as they stroll past it on their way to buy a new 400-horsepower, 5,850-pound QX56 4WD. As the sales charts prove, the death of the S.U.V. has been much exaggerated.

The previous QX was based on the Nissan Titan pickup and was built in Canton, Miss. The redesigned 2011 QX56 is produced in Kyushu, Japan, and is based on the Nissan Patrol  the longtime international competitor of Infiniti’s parent company to the Toyota Land Cruiser. On other continents, you see Nissan Patrols used as desert police vehicles and warlord limousines. And, with apologies to the Titan, a rebadged despot-mobile is way more credible than a rebodied pickup. Stick some flags on the front fenders and you’re halfway to running your own banana republic. Or, in the case of Americans’ actual S.U.V. assignments, running to Banana Republic.

The QX doesn’t rewrite the giant-S.U.V. formula. But, as the only new player on the field, it does have all the latest gear. Its 5.6-liter V-8 engine, now fitted with direct fuel injection and variable valve timing and lift, makes 413 pound-feet of torque in addition to its 400 horses. That’s roughly the same power as the Cadillac Escalade, but the Infiniti’s fuel economy rating  14 m.p.g. in town and 20 on the open road  beats the Caddy’s by a couple of m.p.g. (The Escalade Hybrid, though, handily trumps them both.)