I have previously been looking on BMW 3 and 5-series cars as a future choice for transportation. Then I heard that the Nissan Skyline would be introduced to the US market as an Infiniti G35 with a 3.5-liter V6...

Recently, there’s been a lot of buzz in automotive publications like “Car and Driver” and “MotorTrend”, including comparisons with BMW 330 and Cadillac CTS, which the G35 won.

It was definitely time for a test drive. So I test drove the silver G35 with black leather interior over the weekend. But let me first tell you what I want in a car and what the G35 delivers and where it falls short.

Requirements:
1. Safety. Although many car manufacturers try to convince you that their cars are “safe”, the crash test show that number of airbags and the level of sophistication of the technical jargon used do not directly translate into real safety. The G35 was crash-tested in Japan as Nissan Skyline and got high marks.

The G35 features front, side and head air bags as well as belt pretentioners and force limiters. In addition to this, the brakes are very strong and handling aided by Vehicle Stability Control is excellent.

2. Design. The G35 is unconventional in terms of design inside and out. I think I am getting used to its exterior styling, but the interior looks a bit cheap.

3. Performance. The 3.5-liter engine with 260 hp and 260 lb-ft of torque is easily the most powerful in its class and for the money. The braking is excellent, with stops from 60 or 70 mph rivaling cars like Ferrari and Porsche. Handling is also excellent (see below).

4. Price. Both Luxury (cloth interior) and Luxury Leather models are very aggressively priced and have base MSRPs under $30K nicely equipped.

5. Size. The G35 is larger than its competition (based on price) like BMW 330, Audi A4, etc.

6. Rear-wheel drive for better acceleration, handling and weight distribution.

7. Warranty and Reliability. The Infinity cars are known for their reliability and G35 has 48-month/60,000-mile full warranty with roadside assistance and 72-month/70,000-mile powertrain warranty.

8. Service. Infinity is also known for good service, free loaner car when your car is in service. Plus, they have no-pressure sales practices.

The list goes on… Basically, for $29,000 (Luxury Leather) you can get a mid-size rear-wheel drive car with 3.5-liter V6 engine rated at 260 hp, 5-speed automatic transmission, interesting styling and zero-lift (in front) aerodynamics and low drag coefficient.

It will have 17” alloy wheels, 215mm V-rated tires and top speed of around 145 mph. Various car magazines evaluated the 0-60 time at around 6.2 seconds and quarter-mile below 15 seconds.

You can find more interesting specs elsewhere, below I will concentrate on my impressions.

Test Drive

First of all, I would like to express my delight with Infinity dealerships (at least the ones I have been to). When I got there, there was no pressure to buy a car (the way you get treated when you set you foot on the showroom floor of, say, Ford dealership).

The dealer (Michael) showed me some of the features of the car. Again, he didn’t show me all of the features, just the basic ones (unlike a guy at the Honda dealership we went to, who spent a lot of time showing us a locking gas filler door and such).

Then we drove the car. There is a 15-mph 90-degree curve in the neighborhood, through which I was easily be able to go at 40 mph. I could feel the Vehicle Stability Control system working to keep me on course – there is a slight perceivable vibration when the system brakes wheels individually.

The brakes are very effective, although they are a little “touchy” – the intensive deceleration starts immediately after you put your foot on the brake pedal. The acceleration is quick, although not as quick as the BMW 540 I drove a while ago. But the BMW 540 starts at $55K…

There is not much body roll in turns, acceleration or braking. And remember – this is the car, which had no optional Sport Package… The turning radius is quite impressive for the car of this size.

By the way, the A/C is very powerful and it got really cold inside the car fast. The climate control temperature can be adjusted separately for each of the front passengers if you have Premium Package.

Interior

The car’s interior is available in Graphite (black) or Willow and features some aluminum-look accents. The base model comes with Willow cloth only, the Leather model can be bought with either Graphite or Willow (I think that Graphite looks much better).

The interior is non-conventional, starting with the gauge cluster that moves with the steering wheel when you adjust its tilt and including, but not limited to, two small glove boxes one above another.

The in-dash 6-CD changer is standard equipment as is the auto climate control and power front seats. There are controls on the steering wheel for the audio system on the Leather model.

I have to add that I drove a 2003.5 G35 as a loaner and was disappointed in its CD changer's speed of operation. Since I now own a 2004 model, I can vouch that the speed of operation of the CD changer improved greatly in the 2004 model.

The steering is sensitive and communicative. The gearshift lever can be moved to the separate gate to the right for manual shifting (why not to the left?).

The remote control (keyfob) has a button that allows you remotely open the windows on a hot day (front windows only if you don't have the Premium Package, all of them if you do). The Infiniti signature analog clock in the middle of the dash adds an elegant and original touch.

What’s Not So Cool

Above I described what is very cool and somewhat cool about the G35. Now, it is time for not-so-cool stuff.

First of all, I find that the Willow interior looks much worse than Graphite. Because of this, I cannot even consider the base model (Luxury) – it can only be had with Willow cloth. I wish there was an option to get Graphite cloth – leather interiors in Southern California get hot quickly, plus I would like to save some animals.

Interior can be improved. A lot has been said by others about the power seat controls, that are close to cup holders and not intuitive to use. I found them to be a non-issue in terms of location – I virtually never drink anything in my car while driving, so there is not much chance of anything being spilled on the controls. And I don’t find them to affect my butt either, the way some people do. However, they could have been better arranged so that the control would be more intuitive.
The instrument cluster has a display for the current gear ratio, but I find the lighting to be not easy on one’s eyes – I would rather prefer black background and yellow symbols. But instead there is yellow background and black (gray?) symbols. Not cool. Also, the yello lighting of the instruments reflects into the upper portion of the windshield, which is annoying at night.

Then, you have to get some options to be able to get others. From Infiniti web site, it seems that you have to get Premium Package to be able to get pretty much anything. Navigation system is not available without Premium Package, etc. This is not cool.

Also, you seem to be able to get Xenon headlights as a separate option on CarsDirect.com, but if you try to configure the car on Infiniti web site, it complains, saying you need Premium Package... I asked Michael and he said that Xenons can be had separately, but I am not sure if he is right.

The sound system could be improved too. The CD changer is a bit slow in operation. The speakers don't sound good - there is a lack of midrange as well as lower bass and upper treble. You have to set "Bass" to -2/-3 dB and "Treble" to -4/-5 dB to make the midrange heard. The negative settings are contrary to popular belief and common sense.

The Bose "premium sound" option costs about $900 and makes sound worse by adding a "super woofer" on the rear shelf, which is just a speaker with its own amplifier (in the trunk). The "super woofer" boosts upper bass, which makes the lack of lower to mid bass as well as lack of midrange and upper treble even more pronounced.

I suggest that you bring your favorite CDs and try to listen to them in both Bose and non-Bose models and make your own decision. I must admit that some people like the sound that way - overboosted upper bass and mid/lower-treble with lack of midrange, lower bass and upper treble. In fact, it is the best way to make crappy speakers sound a bit better. Which is what Bose does - they use cheap paper cones and then doctor the frequency response curves to try to convince people who don't know any better that "Bose" equals, indeed, "premium" sound.

Next is the transmission. The manual transmission is not offered yet, but should be available early next year. Hopefully the manual-equipped cars will be cheaper than automatics.

The back seats don’t fold – there is only a ski pass-through. The twin glove boxes only make sense when you get navigation system, in which case the upper glove box is taken by electronics.

My Experience

I actually ended up buying the 2004 G35 and as of 04/2009 have had it for 5.5 years and 48K miles. Virtually the same (with small modifications), it proved to be reliable and still a fun to drive.

Below are some of my impressions from having owned the 2004 model. Those are the areas that should be the same for the 2003 models as well.

Brakes

Some car magazines complained about overly sensitive brake pedal. I don't find it to be overly sensitive, unlike the Porsche Cayenne I drove recently. The brakes are easy to modulate and they provide impressive stopping power.

I have heard form other owners about the brake pads and rotors lasting, in some cases, only 15K miles. Infiniti responded in November of 2003 by offering free brake service (pads and rotors) for 3 years/36,000 miles. Which is good, because my brake pads (both front and rear) were replaced at 15K service having only 25% left.

The pads that were used for replacement seem to be different from the ones originally installed and lasted almost 30K. So they last almost twice longer, but the pedal became more "squishy" and the brakes were generally less "grabby" at the beginning of the pedal travel. The pedal travel is longer, it is less sensitive and inspires less confidence. In stop/go traffic, it is also a little more fatiguing than the old brake pads.

I later replaced these pads with Hawk HPS (with 43K on the car). I heard they lasted longer, provided decent pedal feel and generated less dust. The pedal feel is somewhere in between the initial fast-wearing but grabby OEM brakes and the longer-lasting, but more "squishy" Infiniti replacements. The Hawk HPS seem to produce less dust and should last longer than OEM. And the dust they produce is lighter in color and therefore less visible on the wheels.

At 43K, the front rotors were below spec for replacement (less than 22mm left from 24 when new). They developed a ridge on the outede edge and the front brakes were pretty squeaky at slight braking, especially in colder weather. I replaced the front rotors with OEM ones.

The rear rotors are barely worn at all with no ridge. I simply replaced the pads with Hawk HPS in the rear, even though the existing pads had some life left in them. Seems the fronts take care of most braking (which is not surprising).

Transmission

The 5-speed automatic transmission shifts smoothly and does not hesitate to downshift, however its manu-matic functionality is limited. It does work well if you want to downshift, but you cannot make it upshift if you want. Floor the throttle and it will downshift anyway, even if you don't want it.

Basically, it is not even manual control of the gear itself, but the manual selection of the allowed range of the transmission operation. Slide the lever to the right while driving on the street at about 40 mph and the digit 4 illuminates on the display. It doesn't mean the car is in 4th gear, but that the transmission is allowed to shift as it pleases within 1-4 gear range.

Move the lever down and release it and the 3 illuminates. Now the transmission is limited to only 3 gears. Works well for driving in the mountains or to slow the car down driving downhill without using brakes for extended periods of time. But my Mitsubishi Galant had the same functionality sans fancy way to engage it and without bragging about it.

On the other hand, the G35's transmission works well enough in the full auto mode. Plus, the car is available with the 6-speed manual transmission. I would probably have gotten it if I haven't had to deal with crappy LA traffic. 

Maintenance

Unlike BMW, Mercedes, Volvo or Audi, which provide you with free scheduled maintenance for 3-4 years, you have to pay for your with Infiniti. BMW and Mercedes cars have flexible service system which tells you when to change the oil (on average 10,000 miles).

The G35 has 3 service schedules, with driving in ideal conditions requiring oil changes every 7,500 miles. Two other schedules - preferred (for people who are paranoid or have OCD) and severe (for all others) - require oil changes every 3,750 miles.

I am sticking with regular service schedule but going to change the oil every 3,750 miles. The manual explicitly states that Infiniti recommends mineral-based oils. I followed this recommendation up to 48K miles, even though I like synthetic Castrol and Mobil 1 oil. But now I switched to Shell Rotella T Syn 5W40.

The reason is I mostly drive in city traffic, shorrt trips of 6 miles. Not only this kind of driving bad for the oil, the VQ35DE engine is also known as being unkind to any oil. Various used oil analysis results suggest that the oil shears pretty badly in this engine, probably due to its valvetrain design with no rollers on cams. Engines of this design usually like oils with ZDDP and this one is no exception, according to UOA results posted online.

According to them, the engine reacts very favorably to German Castrol Syntec 0W30, Mobil 1 0w40 and Shell Rotella T Syn 5w40 and allows extended oil change intervals with these oils.

I bought the latter (RTS) after seeing UOA of it used in a VQ35DE engine for a year in short-distance driving for over 6,100 miles with plenty of life still left in the oil. This is in contrast to some oils that get to the end of their useful life in this engine in as little as 3,500 miles.

Another recommendation I can make after seeing disassembled Nissan oil filters that are used at Infiniti dealerships' service department is to avoid them and use a quality oil filter instead: Bosch (nodel number 3300), Wix, Purolator Pure One, K&N, Mobil 1 or Amsoil.

The maintenance costs at the dealership are pretty high. Although I paid $13 for oil changes at my dealership since I bought car here (regular price is $40), I paid $130 for 7.5K mile service, which includes only oil change, tire rotation and a couple of inspections. And the 15K service cost $185 and only after some haggling as they wanted to charge me more than $300 for nothing more than the a glorified oil change and tire rotation.

This is not counting the annual (or 15K miles, whichever comes first) in-cabin air filter replacement that dealerships normally want about $100 for. I do it myself, and now it takes about 25 minutes. Now I buy filters with activated charcoal on Amazon for $25, but you can get a "regular" (particulate) filter for less than $20.

Do It Yourself (DIY)

I do/intend to do some maintenance items myself. Replacing the in-cabin microfilter normally costs $80-100, but you can do it yourself for about $15-25 (price of the filter particulate/activated carbon). You have to remove the lower glove box, but it is doable.

I did it myself first time after about 18 months of owning the car and the filter was quite dirty. It took me a little less than an hour as the design of the glovebox requires you to remove the entire lower section with the glove box cover as well as the side kick panel.

Some items require less maintenance than in other cars. The platinum-tipped spark plugs are supposed to last 105,000 miles or 7 years, whichever comes first. The engine uses timing chain rather than timing belt, that would need replacement every 60-100 K. So no need to replace it at all. Fuel filter also does not need replacement and there is no mention of brake fluid changes.

Unfortunately, some items are a bit more difficult than they should have been. To check the oil, you have to remove and reinsert the dipstick, which has more bends and twists than the mountain drive to my hiking location of choice.

There is no tube to re-insert it into, just a hole in the engine block with a little "guide", which is useless at best. The hole itself is all but invisible, even in the daylight and requires a use of a flashlight, as it is surrounded by the intake pipe and the black engine cover. I have never seen the worse-designed dipstick.

The air filter on most cars can be replaced without tools in about 2 minutes. On this car, you have to use tools and it will take about 30-50 minutes. You have to dsconnect the MAF (mass-airflow) sensor cable, remove the front air intake scoop and disconnect the hose that conveys the air from the airbox into the air intake. At least you don't have to do it often. And the air filter is only $8-11.

Squeaks and Rattles

There were two distinct noise areas in my car. There was a squeak coming from the front ashtray area (in front of the shifter) and there was a rattle coming from the rear parcel shelf area. I took the car to my dealership several times and asked to have these taken care of. Several times they were taken care of on paper (foam pads installed in both areas, supposedly), but both were still present.

I have since taken the car to another dealership and they seemed to have fixed the astray squeak by replacing the ashtray, but couldn't reproduce the slight rattle in the back. Then I drove with my girlfriend in the back seat - she heard the rattle and was able to pinpoint the location by pressing on the rear pillar trim (C-pillar plastic trim) on the driver's side.

I told the service personnel at the dealership about this discovery and they fixed the rattle!

Even Worse

In October 2004, my windshield cracked. Entirely by itself, without any "help" and against my will. It happend overnight as the car was sitting in the parking lot. There was no extreme temperature change. The crack developed from the upper edge of the driver's side of the windshield and was about 12 inches in length when I found it in the morning. Since then, it grew about 3 inches (on a sunny day).

The service department of the dealership found no sign of impact and replaced it under warranty as a "stress crack". I sure hope this won't happen again.

Also, in the beginning of 2005 the driver-side speaker (tweeter) would stop working periodically. I never listened to music loud... Went to the dealership twice and had the tweeter replaced, but that did not help. After that, I had the stereo/head unit replaced twice. The speaker works fine now. The car had more issues in the first 18 months than my previous one (Mitsubishi Galant) had in 7 years. But then the issues stopped and the last few years were relatively trouble-free (knocking on wood).

At least the service department gives me a nice loaner car and is otherwise helpful. Due to all these problems I am became very familiar with FX35 and different 2005-2007 G35s (loaner cars).

Fuel

The manual recommends Premium 91-octane, but permits operation on Regular 87. I was using the Premium but later switched to regular with no apparent side effects. The fuel tank holds 20 gallons. I get between 20 and 21.5 MPG in about 50/50 city highway driving; 24 MPG on road trips.

Tire Upgrade

Replacing mediocre Bridgestone Turanza EL42 tires with Yokohama YK520 reduced noise and vibration and increased grip. Both improvements are significant and very welcome. In addition, after 27K miles, they still have a lot of tread left.

Conclusion

The G35 is a bargain and I did end up getting the newer 2004 G35 sedan auto. For such a low price, it is a great value in terms of features, safety and performance.
Amount Paid (US$): test drive
Condition: New
Model Year: 2003
Model and Options: G35 Luxury Leather