Anyone drive one or have an opinion? Continuing in my quest to buy a grown-up car.
I have been looking at the G35 coupe for a couple of months. Very nice car.
I also looked at the Acura TL. Both of those cars when to second and third after I drove the Lexus IS350 last week.
Bottom line is that you can’t go wrong with the G35. Rear wheel drive, about 280 hp with an auto, even more with the stick. Design is a bit aged, but it holds it own against the TL, IS, BMW 330 etc.
Any specific reasons you liked the Lexus better? I’ve looked at both, and both look really nice. I didn’t like the Acuras as much.
I had a G35 coupe for about 6 months when they first came out. I actually signed up for the waiting list and was extremely excited about owning my first ‘grown up’ sports car. It has an amazing amount of room for a sports car, even the fake back seats were passable.
The problems started when I wanted to continue with the rest of the things I enjoy in life - mountain biking, tri’s, anything outdoors, etc… the car is just not built for those endeavors. I thought it’d be fine since my wife drove a suburban and we could trade off on the days I needed to lug stuff around, but that became too cumbersome with the kids, her activities, and coordinating schedules. So if you’re looking for the car to be your only source of transportation, I’d recommend shying clear of a coupe - unless you’re willing to put a bike rack on it, or junk it up on the inside with your sweaty tri gear. I thought about finding another ‘second’ car, but it just didn’t make sense financially, economically, and numerous other reasons.
I gave up the car and moved on to an SUV, and will never look back.
I only drove the IS350. It is like a rocket, overall it was a little more refined and better developed. I have never been a Lexus guy, always have drive Acuras/Hondas but on a whim pulled into the Lexus dealer last week. I was very impressed. I have driven the G35 5-6 times, most recently about a week before I drove the IS. The IS is worth a test drive.
The IS250 is way underpowered but more comprably priced to the G35. I would put the G35 ahead of the IS250.
I like the way the foor door IS looks compared to the 4 door G35, but the G35 coupe is one of the nicest looking cars, IMHO. The IS has a great navigation system, superior to the G35s if you are interested in that.
Very, Very similar cars, Car and Driver put the IS #2 and G35 #3 in a recent test (behind the 330i).
I bet you could get a great deal on the G35. You will pay through the nose on the IS as it is only been out for 1 or 2 weeks.
My wife and I got a G-35 sedan last Feb. What a great car. We got it for the all wheel drive (a necessity for Nebraska winters). Lexus Acura and BMW were all in the running but Ininity had a better lease package, plus Lexus did not have all wheel drive on t he IS back then. I think they are fixing that for '06 though. I drive an SUV so we take that when we are doing anything but driving around town.
My 63 year dad bought one (a coupe, which isn’t available in 4WD) last year, joking calling it his “much-belated mid-life crisis”.
Nice vehicle, good power, good fit and finish. Beautiful exhasut note, too. My only critique is that even with snow tires (which I made my dad buy), it’s miserable in the snow, and fishtales at the slightest provocation. I’m going to stack about 100 pounds of sandbags in it for him this winter.
Bought a 2005 G35X (AWD) last year and used it during Canadian winter. Great traction with AWD and did not need snow tires. Still love driving the car every chance I get…
It’s true about the car and the tri lifestyle not going perfectly together, but a buddy of mine just put a sweet roof rack on his G35 and seems to work for him.
Good luck buying a new car…
best thing about the car is the growl the engine makes.
“Growl” and the G35/350Z…LOL…um…sure…gurrr…LOL…“growl”…sure.
Other than all the nastyness of the worn tires, crappy suspension, no cargo space and the fact that in its segement it does really well as a sports car against Maxima’s and Magnums…so what!
At the end of the day if you want a “sports car” or “GT” car the G35/350Z sucks.
If you want to tune your car again that platform sucks unless you want to drop thousands into spools and you will give up your MPG and driver aspect of the car.
If you want luxury you again loose compared to the others out there…
Then again I have never been impressed with the Nissan Platform - be it in a Nissan or Infinity badge. Look east my friends…look east (stop at Germany)
Decent in-town car. Handles well and is quick enough. However, I found it quite noisy and rough riding. The interior looked a bit cheap for a 30K car, too. At this price point (unless ‘new’ is mandatory) I would suggest looking at a 2-3 year old Lexus GS430 or the new IS350.
We bought a the new 2006 M-35…My wife loves it…I dont get to drive it, so I dont know how good it is. I do get to sit in the back with the boy and watch TDF dvd’s though! On wireless headsets so I cant hear the wife talk…How good is that?
I got my g-35 as soon as they came out back in 2003. It too was my first grown up car byt I didn’t wnat a boring american sedan so sprang for this one because it was a good compromise between family and sportiness. I loved the car, it had a rocking, kick ass engine, very nice interiors (very nice leather seats), great stereo and could easily fit a stroller in the trunk. However family has grown since then so had to turn it in for something bigger. And it will kick a BMW 3 series square in the nuts in both performance, size and in my opinion looks!
It does have a growl as does the Altima, Maxima and Titan truck. I don’t know what Nissan does to the exhaust systems on their cars but they sound good for a stock, non-perfrmance engine.
And it will kick a BMW 3 series square in the nuts in both performance, size and in my opinion looks!
“performance” - depends on what you consider performance. Sure the G35 may have a slightly faster 1/4 mile time. Though the BMW will beat the G35 in a street start and on a road course. Presuming you are in a BMW 330i, not the sedan or the 325.