Very Nearly Beats BMW At Its Own Game, For Thousands Less
Written: Nov 05 '04 (Updated Nov 08 '04)
Product Rating:
Pros: Sports-car muscle from V6 engine, comfortable interior, generally confident demeanor with no glaring flaws.
Cons: Grabby brakes, unfocused styling, stiff-shifting six-speed, chassis not as well-balanced as some rivals.
The Bottom Line: The G35 is an impressive all-rounder. It's very quick, and while some rivals are more adept in specific areas, the G35 offers a uniquely broad mixture of capabilities.
In my opinion, the $30,000 sports-sedan class is home to some of the best cars on the market. These vehicles are expected to offer a wide-ranging blend of performance, handling, and comfort, while still playing the value card--they're expensive enough to be showpieces for an automaker's expertise, but affordable enough to require some clever use of resources. It's a demanding combination, and the resulting products speak volumes about each company's priorities. The G35, Infiniti's entry into this hotly-contested segment, has been very well-received since its release last year. In fact, many automotive publications have proclaimed it the best car in its class. Is it really that good? To find out, I drove one myself.
I test-drove an Infiniti G35 automatic some time ago, but a hectic class schedule meant I never got around to reviewing it. Then, about a month ago, I attended a driving event where I got to compare the BMW 325i, Volvo S60 2.5T, and Subaru Legacy 2.5 GT on an autocross course. After reviewing those cars, I thought it would be a good time to finally review the G35 and round out my $30,000 sports-sedan perspective. So, to re-familiarize myself with the car, I went to the local Infiniti dealer and drove a manual-transmission sedan. My test drive lasted about half an hour and covered city streets, a winding frontage road, and the freeway.
Performance
Of all the capable engines in the 30K sports sedan segment, the Infiniti's 3.5-liter V6 is my favorite. Free of the peakiness, turbo lag, or meager output of several competitors, the G35's motor just digs in and hauls--in any situation, at any engine speed. It's one of the most satisfying engines I've ever tested.
This engine is also one of the G35's most distinguishing characteristics--it defines the car's personality much more than its ride, handling, or styling. Simply put, this car feels fast, every time you squeeze the throttle. Even if you're just cruising around town, the G35 responds quickly and authoritatively to throttle inputs. This is largely due to the G35's surplus of low-end grunt--off the line, it's one of the quickest cars in its class.
And when it comes time to summon full power on a freeway on-ramp, the G35 doesn't disappoint. Rev the V6 into the midrange, and the torque just keeps coming--this engine shoves you hard against the seat, and doesn't let up until you shift. From 2000rpms to the redline, there is simply not a flat spot to be found in the powerband. Car and Driver says a manually-shifted G35 will do 0-60 in 6.3 seconds--impressive stuff--and my test drive gave me no reason to doubt those figures.
The G35 also does quite well on the refinement front, but it's not up to BMW levels yet. Although the engine is very well-muffled, it doesn't have the creamy smoothness of the 3-Series' inline-six. It transmits a few more vibrations into the cabin, particularly at higher revs, and its baritone snarl is overlaid with a slight gnashing whine. From one perspective, this makes the G35's powertrain more involving when you're pushing it. But I imagine most buyers will simply find the G35's engine a bit lacking in slickness when compared to its European rivals.
Shifter/Clutch
The G35's shifter is an interesting anomaly in the entry-level sport-luxury class. Most cars in this segment strive for a light, slick action to cover both ends of the sport/luxury spectrum--keeping enthusiasts involved without demanding too much effort. The G35's shifter, in comparison, feels like it was lifted right out of the musclebound Nissan 350Z coupe, mostly because it was.
This transmission is not for drivers who like to shift with their fingertips. The G35's chunky little shifter is stiff and hefty in operation, requiring unusually high effort from the driver's right arm. It's also a little balky, requiring a deliberate hand to guide it through its notchy path. Would it be sacrilege to compare this Infiniti's shifter to that of a year-old Mustang?
If you're only casually interested in driving a manual, you may be happier with an automatic G35. I didn't find the autobox to be nearly as much fun, but it felt smooth and transparent enough in my past test drive, and the engine's brawny torque means performance is minimally affected. I'm not trying to scare off potential six-speed buyers--if I were buying a G35, that's the version I'd choose--but I'm a die-hard manual fan, and the G35's heavy shifter is probably ill-suited to most near-luxury sensibilities.
Steering/Handling
Up to this point, I've been making the G35 sound like a pretty visceral, involving car--but when it comes to handling feel, that impression quickly fades away. The G35 handles confidently and capably, no doubt, but the overall feel is more grown-up sedan than sports car. For all the G35's responsive reflexes, there's a thick layer of insulation that keeps it from feeling truly sporty and "alive."
The G35's steering is good enough to be satisfying, but it's not the best in this class. Its weighting is excellent--firm, with medium effort and natural-feeling resistance--and the ratio is quick, which makes it feel eager and wieldy in turns. But its responses aren't entirely linear just off-center. The G35 feels locked-in when you're traveling in a straight line, but it darts and hunts a bit--just a bit--in the gentle curves of the Interstate. The only other caveat is the lack of feedback through the wheel. Your hands grasp a thick, solid, and rather dead-feeling helm.
In normal driving, the G35 feels agile and assured, if not terribly thrilling--it executes your commands effortlessly, albeit without excitement. The suspension feels well-snubbed while retaining a luxurious feel, and tire grip is reliably abundant. Any real weaknesses? A couple--quick lane changes induce some body lean, and the brake pedal is annoyingly grabby in the first couple inches of travel. Otherwise, there's little to complain about. The G35 strides over city streets with an easy, athletic confidence--right up there with the best in class.
It's not until you really start pushing the speeds that the G35 gets involving--and at that point, it's not the kind of involvement most enthusiasts have in mind. That's because the G35's chassis isn't as deftly balanced as the BMW 3-Series', or even the Subaru Legacy GT's. Taking hard corners in an abandoned military base, I found that the G35 grips tenaciously as it nears the limit, then begins to push at the front a little, and then--whoa, geez!--slides its tail out quite abruptly. When it comes to oversteer, I like a car to give me its equivalent of a two-week notice. The G35's chassis, however, communicates very little when the big twitch is imminent. The G35 won't bite unless you're driving over 8/10ths--and you're moving very quickly at that point--but many competitors are more communicative and better-balanced in hard running.
Ride
The G35 is without question a smooth-riding car--the payoff for that fun-sapping layer of insulation I mentioned earlier. It feels slick and unflustered on city streets, soaking up imperfections and textured surfaces with no perceptible harshness. Its ride motions are also very well-controlled, with just enough firmness to erase all traces of body float. The manual-transmission G35 rode a bit more stiffly than the automatic version, but both cars strike a perceptive balance between comfort and control.
The G35's ride also benefits from hushed noise levels. The engine keeps its voice down in normal driving, and its snarl remains unintrusive even when you give it free reign. Wind noise is well-muted on the freeway, leaving only a bit of tire hiss to disturb the calm.
The G35's structure is commendably solid, but the Infiniti doesn't feel as drum-tight as some of its rivals. The BMW 3-Series and Acura TSX, for example, feel noticeably more all-of-a-piece over bumps. There's no quivering or shuddering in the G35's platform, of course--it's much more subtle than that--but I did notice some tiny secondary shakes when I hit sharp potholes and expansion joints. It's not enough to detract from the driving experience, but it may lead to a higher incidence of squeaks and rattles as the mileage racks up.
Interior
The G35's interior is a high point in terms of comfort, but a low point when it comes to style. I've generally liked the edgy, sci-fi interiors in recent products from Nissan and Infiniti, but the G35's interior seems like an uncharacteristically conservative effort. The flat, double-decker dashboard and slabby shapes look like a product of the 1980s to my eyes, and some of the detailing looks unfocused and downscale. The air vents, in particular, look like something out of a decade-old Honda Accord.
My other issue was the mixed quality of the interior materials. Recent Nissan interiors have been famous for their chintzy plastics as well as their trendy styling, and some of that cheapness has found its way into the G35. Although I was impressed with the rich-feeling steering wheel, quick-click switchgear, and substantial door panels, I noticed some hard, thin plastics on the dash. There was also a general sense of inconsistency--the thickness and texture of the plastics didn't always match from one panel to the next.
But that's being a bit picky, considering how much was done right in the G35's interior. The seats, for example, are quite excellent--firm and supportive, but plenty comfortable on the freeway. There's also a surplus of room for legs, heads, and elbows. The driving position feels natural at first acquaintance, and having the gauge pod adjust with the tilt steering wheel is a nice touch. The view out isn't as airy as I expected from a Japanese car--the G35's high-cowl greenhouse feels almost Germanic--but visibility was fine nonetheless.
Rear passengers are treated better in the G35 than they are in most affordable sport-luxury sedans. There's adequate legroom for six-foot passengers to sit behind six-foot drivers, and the cushion is pleasantly comfortable. I wouldn't put three adults back there for extended periods of time, but there's certainly more room in the G35's rear quarters than you'll find in a BMW 3-Series, Volvo S60, Lexus IS300, or Acura TSX.
Practicality
Compared to other sedans in the entry-level sport-luxury segment, the G35 strikes me as a pretty practical choice. It has a more accommodating rear seat than you'll find in most rivals, and a pretty good-sized trunk displacing 14.8 cubic feet. Cargo loading is made easier by a relatively wide trunk opening and a flat load floor.
The only thing missing here is a split-folding rear seat. For some reason, many cars in this segment lack this handy feature--puzzling, since it's become standard equipment even on economy cars. Is this a result of cost-cutting, a concession to structural bracing, or just plain laziness?
Reliability
The latest Consumer Reports surveys show that the G35 has racked up an impressive reliability rating, earning a score of Better Than Average. This means that, statistically, you're less likely to have mechanical trouble with the G35 than you would with a BMW 3-Series, Audi A4, or Volvo S60. And since the G35 hails from Japan, rather than Europe, the cost of parts and maintenance is considerably cheaper.
Overall
When I first drove the G35 several months ago, it struck me as a five-star standout in the entry-level sport/luxury class. Compared with the other cars in that segment that I'd driven at the time--the Acura TSX and TL, Lexus IS300, and Nissan Maxima--the G35 seemed like a supreme all-rounder that did everything well, and had no critical weaknesses.
I was still impressed this time around, but less certain of the G35's class superiority--mostly because I've driven more cars in the segment now. The new Subaru Legacy 2.5 GT delivers a similarly muscular and well-rounded driving experience for less money, and the BMW 325i delivers more corner-carving enjoyment despite its horsepower deficit. I was also a little disappointed in the G35's manual transmission--it certainly makes the car more interesting to drive, but introduces a whole new set of downsides with its stiff, high-friction feel.
In the final analysis, though, the G35 isn't knocked out of the top ranks by those aforementioned rivals--it just shares a more crowded podium now. The Infiniti's V6 is tops in its class, with addictively strong and consistent power, and the roomy interior and Japanese reliability make it a relatively sensible purchase. The G35 isn't a class leader in terms of steering, handling, and general refinement, but neither does it have any glaring flaws--it performs at least satisfactorily on every count. A realistic base price of $27,950 doesn't hurt, either, although you'll have to add a couple grand for leather and a six-speed.
If I had $30,000 to spend on a sports sedan, my money would probably go to a Subaru Legacy instead of a G35--it has far more personality and is more involving for the enthusiast. But if you're looking for an intelligent compromise between sport, luxury, and prestige--and one that just happens to have a kick-butt motor--you'd be smart to put the G35 at the top of your list.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
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