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Old 11-14-2008, 04:43 AM   #1
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Infiniti G35 Sports Coupe

Anyone driven a G35? I did a search on this site and only found one reference which said it had a decent back seat. I'm looking for comprehensive driving impressions.
thanks

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Old 11-14-2008, 06:14 AM   #2
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Not to be a wise #@@, but go try one! I've been doing alot of test drives lately, it's sort of fun to drive different vehicles. You don't even have to spend any time schmoozing with salesman if you don't want to. It's also the best way to find out if it suites your tastes.
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Old 11-14-2008, 06:15 AM   #3
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Nice car. Maybe a great car for the price. Comfortable and stylish around town. Feels pretty good when you push it on mountain roads compared to my Lexus (aka the couch with wheels).

Downsides- Just feels a little sterile compared to Porsche/BMW. Annoying exhaust note when you open it up.
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Old 11-14-2008, 09:50 AM   #4
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I test drove one this last weekend. I guess it just depends on what you're looking for. I'm looking for a daily driver coupe 2+2 with a decent back seat. I thought the interior on the G35 was very nice, great leather, and a good back seat for anyone 5'8" or less. The salesman actually rode in the back during my test drive. Even after 66K miles the model I drove looked totally brand new inside.

We took some twisty roads and the G35 handled beautifully, plenty of power and little body roll. I didn't have any trouble pushing it. But again I'm not looking for a sports car but a DD, so I didn't really push it like a sports car. I thought the ride was stiff without being too stiff. Acceleration and low end grunt were pretty good. I was in an automatic and it allowed you to really push the revs in the engine. Overall I thought it was a great car. Next I plan on test driving an Audi TT and Maserati Coupe GT.

I also test drove a Mazda RX-8 (again a 2+2 sporty coupe) this last weekend. I was completely disappointed. No torque, no grunt, nothing... I know these cars can really perform if you wind them out, but for daily driving under normal conditions I think the RX-8 would be pretty disappointing. Plus, even though it had lower miles than the G35, the interior was going to crap and looked well worn. I know that depends on the owner and how they care for their car, but the G35 was unquestionably much more upscale than the RX-8.

I'd like to see how the Audi TT compares and whether or not the rear seats are reasonable. With the hatch back on the TT it may be more practical. Also my better half wants an automatic and the TT comes with the option of their 250 HP V6 and supposedly amazing DSG transmission. If I have to go with an automatic there's a lot of appeal to me with the DSG based on reviews that I've read.

Kirk
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Old 11-14-2008, 09:56 AM   #5
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BTW - I'm just being lazy in not looking this up, but is there a model of the G35 (excluding the new G37) coupe that is more desirable? I thought I saw something about a "sport" model, like a G35"S". Just curious as to what I should look for if one wanted the best performing version.

Kirk
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Old 11-14-2008, 12:39 PM   #6
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My other car is a G35

I've owned one for 4 years. Great acceleration for a family type car. Handles really well. I switched tires from the original Bridgestones to Michelins for a softer ride. The Bridgestones gave the car a sportier, better handling feel in my estimation but my wife likes the softer, quiter ride. She tends to drive it more than me, since I won't let her near the Boxster. Have literally had nothing go wrong with car except it eats pads and rotors. I am not hard on brakes, but this is a downside to the model. I've read articles over the years about this issue with the G35. Don't know if the newer models have improved on this issue. Otherwise, very comfortable with really good front seats that power adjust all over the place.
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Old 11-14-2008, 02:58 PM   #7
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My wife has an 05 g35 6MT Coupe

Not bad, but there are some issues. First off, the TSB/technical stuff: She's had it in the shop three times on TSB's. The first was a creaking noise somewhere under the rear shelf. The shop had the car 3 times, and it took a visit by the regional guy to get it fixed. Second was the clutch slave cylinder. It went around 30,000 miles, and Nissan has an update for it. Third, the 3.5 350Z/G35 motors have had oil consumption issues. We took it in for the TSB on this because the directive says, "Replace Long Block engine if losses are more than 1 qt in 1000 miles" (or something very close). We were just outside of the unacceptable limit. So now, every weekend, I check the oil, and about every other weekend I add half a quart or so.
I'm not a big fan of the interior quality. She's got the light tan interior, and the left driver's seat bolster is really losing the finish on the leather. The car is only 3 years old/35,xxx miles. My 00 986S has 110,xxx and the seat bolster is in better shape.
As well, a lot of the plastic interior parts are obviously spray-laminated with a color finish. There are a couple of places where the plastic recesses, but the laminate does not, and it has a "bubble". I know this will eventually tear, and the finish will peel. Yuk!
The good?? Despite all of that, it is a nice car. It's got a distinct exhaust note, but without any resonance. It's a great GT car. You could drive it (FAST) all day long without too much fatigue. Once passengers make it into the rear seats, they are comfortable. For a car as heavy as it is, it handles, brakes, and accelerates very well. Maybe it's the car that the 928 really wanted to be.
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Old 11-14-2008, 04:16 PM   #8
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Kirk -

I looked at the TT when I was shopping for the Boxster. With the V6 and the DSG, I found the car to have a phenomenal drivetrain; where it fell short (really, really short) of the Boxster was in driving dynamics. When you drive into a corner, it drives like a front-driver. I hear the new gen ones have better weight distribution and a different torque bias (more to the rear), so the new ones may handle much better. I drove a BMW 335xi recently, and was really impressed by the "rear-drive" handling of that all wheel drive vehicle...

cheers,
Ayan
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Old 11-14-2008, 09:03 PM   #9
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G35's are great looking cars. No torque compared to the Boxster S though.
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Old 11-15-2008, 09:51 AM   #10
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In point of fact, the G35 has about 40 ft-lb more torque than my 04S. But never mind the G35. Just test drove an 02 M3 6 spd. That is a SWEET ride. Nice engine, very throaty growl, nice gear box. I didn't get to throw it into any really sick curves but it handled very well. The ride was also considerably less jarring than my lowered S, no surprise. That would make a VERY good every day driver.
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Old 11-15-2008, 05:33 PM   #11
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Meh... I test drove an '04 M3 manual earlier this year and I was honestly not that impressed. I had just expected a lot more based on all of the hype from Car and Driver. It's a good car, no question, but not god-like in performance. I think it would be a nice daily driver, but in reality is a bit boring to look at as it just about looks like every other 3 series on the road. Getting a low mileage (under 30K) example of the last generation of M3 is going to set you back more than $25K. That kind of money can buy quite a few different and decent cars. A G35 with the same mileage would only be about $18K.

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Old 11-16-2008, 04:19 AM   #12
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The G35 is essentially the same as the 350Z. I had an '06 350 Roadster and the seats were absolutely gruesome after about an hour. Some engineer had a sick idea to put the electric seat controls into the bottom seat bolster. This results in a very hard plastic box being just below a thin layer of foam and after a short while this seat will clamp on your a$# like a bear trap!

I drove a G35 sedan over a weekend to test for a daily driver, but the seats were the same junk that was in the 350Z. I wound up buying a Toyota Avalon instead.

Tony
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Old 04-13-2012, 07:34 PM   #13
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infinit parts

hi there, i just wanna ask a favor.. anyone here has any recommendations of god online store that has infiniti parts?thanks in advance.

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