Test Drove Infinity G35 Today
09-08-2004, 04:15 PM
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Test Drove Infinity G35 Today
I had to test drive the G35 since it is considered "competition" for the RX-8 (seats four, sporty, good looking etc).
Inital impression: although it has good power, and decent handling especially for a car its weight, there was something missing. I just didn't feel as connected to the car as I did with the 8.
The G35 didn't have nearly as much body roll as I thought it would (its over 3500 lbs after all), but I definitely noticed that it appeared to have fairly significant understeer. And this is despite the fact that the car is more weighted to the rear than the front. I could definitely feel the front tires pushing ahead in fairly hard cornering. Obviously this is where its weight was showing.
Interior was pretty nice, especially the seats, but the dash wasn't really what I expected in a "luxury" car like this. The gauges are pretty ho-hum, but get the job done.
Rear seats had decent leg room, but virtually zero head room! I am only 5' 10", and there is no way I could sit back there for more than a few minutes without being very uncomfortable. I had to slouch down in order to avoid hitting my head on the rear glass! The back seats are basically useless for anyone taller than about 5' 6" or 7".
The six speed tranny was very "notchy" and reminded me a lot of my 3rd gen RX-7's notchy tranny. It wasn't nearly as smooth as the 8's. Throws were pretty short though, which was nice.
The engine makes plenty of power. The car certainly seemed fast enough, if not quite on the "exhilarating" side. I did enjoy its exhaust note.
I really like the exterior styling of the G35 a lot. Very clean, simple, sexy lines. Classic coupe lines, that will probably never go out of style. Some may think it is too simple and somewhat "bland", but I wouldn't be one of them. Very high marks from me on the exterior styling.
But it comes down to the "fun factor" for me. And the 8 is more fun to drive, even if it is slower. Although the G35 didn't seem to have much body roll in the corners despite it's weight, you could still feel the weight in the form of understeer. You simply can't throw the G35 around like you can with the 8. The notchy gearbox isn't as good as the 8's either. I also like the steering feel with the 8 much more than the G35.
The G35 is a good "luxury" car, that is also "sporty". I wouldn't mind owning one at all. If you want a car that is more "upper scale" but with some sporty performance, get the G35. It's a classy, great looking car with pretty good performance. But if you want a car that is more fun to drive, lighter on its feet, with a great gearbox and 9000 rpm redline, and makes you feel as though you are one with the car, get the RX-8!
As a final note, I would say that a comparably equipped G35 will cost around $4000 or more than an RX-8.
Inital impression: although it has good power, and decent handling especially for a car its weight, there was something missing. I just didn't feel as connected to the car as I did with the 8.
The G35 didn't have nearly as much body roll as I thought it would (its over 3500 lbs after all), but I definitely noticed that it appeared to have fairly significant understeer. And this is despite the fact that the car is more weighted to the rear than the front. I could definitely feel the front tires pushing ahead in fairly hard cornering. Obviously this is where its weight was showing.
Interior was pretty nice, especially the seats, but the dash wasn't really what I expected in a "luxury" car like this. The gauges are pretty ho-hum, but get the job done.
Rear seats had decent leg room, but virtually zero head room! I am only 5' 10", and there is no way I could sit back there for more than a few minutes without being very uncomfortable. I had to slouch down in order to avoid hitting my head on the rear glass! The back seats are basically useless for anyone taller than about 5' 6" or 7".
The six speed tranny was very "notchy" and reminded me a lot of my 3rd gen RX-7's notchy tranny. It wasn't nearly as smooth as the 8's. Throws were pretty short though, which was nice.
The engine makes plenty of power. The car certainly seemed fast enough, if not quite on the "exhilarating" side. I did enjoy its exhaust note.
I really like the exterior styling of the G35 a lot. Very clean, simple, sexy lines. Classic coupe lines, that will probably never go out of style. Some may think it is too simple and somewhat "bland", but I wouldn't be one of them. Very high marks from me on the exterior styling.
But it comes down to the "fun factor" for me. And the 8 is more fun to drive, even if it is slower. Although the G35 didn't seem to have much body roll in the corners despite it's weight, you could still feel the weight in the form of understeer. You simply can't throw the G35 around like you can with the 8. The notchy gearbox isn't as good as the 8's either. I also like the steering feel with the 8 much more than the G35.
The G35 is a good "luxury" car, that is also "sporty". I wouldn't mind owning one at all. If you want a car that is more "upper scale" but with some sporty performance, get the G35. It's a classy, great looking car with pretty good performance. But if you want a car that is more fun to drive, lighter on its feet, with a great gearbox and 9000 rpm redline, and makes you feel as though you are one with the car, get the RX-8!
As a final note, I would say that a comparably equipped G35 will cost around $4000 or more than an RX-8.
09-08-2004, 06:14 PM
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Originally Posted by Rob Tomlin
I just didn't feel as connected to the car as I did with the 8.
the dash wasn't really what I expected in a "luxury" car like this.
The six speed tranny was very "notchy"
The car certainly seemed fast enough, if not quite on the "exhilarating" side.
Some may think it is too simple and somewhat "bland"
And the 8 is more fun to drive, even if it is slower.
09-08-2004, 07:28 PM
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By the way, I have a correction to make in my original post.
I was surprised by the understeer because I thought the car was weighted 47/53 to the rear. I don't know what I was thinking. It is weighted 53/47 to the front, which makes the understeer understandable (though obviously not acceptable).
Ironically, Infinity has a big blurb on their website trying to explain why a 53/47 weight distribution is "ideal". I don't think so. My test drive and the understeer simply don't bear this out.
I was surprised by the understeer because I thought the car was weighted 47/53 to the rear. I don't know what I was thinking. It is weighted 53/47 to the front, which makes the understeer understandable (though obviously not acceptable).
Ironically, Infinity has a big blurb on their website trying to explain why a 53/47 weight distribution is "ideal". I don't think so. My test drive and the understeer simply don't bear this out.
09-08-2004, 10:45 PM
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Originally Posted by scorp76
You must have been realllllly bored to even waste your time.
09-08-2004, 11:04 PM
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I wouldn't even say it's a luxury car. I was really surprised at how cheap the interior of the car was. I really did not like the fact that the seat controls are on the top/side of the seat off to the right. The shifter is not good. This was a car I was definitely thinking about (came in #2) because of the perception that Infiniti was "luxurious." I found that not to be the case. I think the RX8 is on par with the Infiniti interior if not better.
09-09-2004, 12:31 AM
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Originally Posted by Rob Tomlin
I had to test drive the G35 since it is considered "competition" for the RX-8 (seats four, sporty, good looking etc).
Inital impression: although it has good power, and decent handling especially for a car its weight, there was something missing. I just didn't feel as connected to the car as I did with the 8.
The G35 didn't have nearly as much body roll as I thought it would (its over 3500 lbs after all), but I definitely noticed that it appeared to have fairly significant understeer. And this is despite the fact that the car is more weighted to the rear than the front. I could definitely feel the front tires pushing ahead in fairly hard cornering. Obviously this is where its weight was showing.
Interior was pretty nice, especially the seats, but the dash wasn't really what I expected in a "luxury" car like this. The gauges are pretty ho-hum, but get the job done.
Rear seats had decent leg room, but virtually zero head room! I am only 5' 10", and there is no way I could sit back there for more than a few minutes without being very uncomfortable. I had to slouch down in order to avoid hitting my head on the rear glass! The back seats are basically useless for anyone taller than about 5' 6" or 7".
The six speed tranny was very "notchy" and reminded me a lot of my 3rd gen RX-7's notchy tranny. It wasn't nearly as smooth as the 8's. Throws were pretty short though, which was nice.
The engine makes plenty of power. The car certainly seemed fast enough, if not quite on the "exhilarating" side. I did enjoy its exhaust note.
I really like the exterior styling of the G35 a lot. Very clean, simple, sexy lines. Classic coupe lines, that will probably never go out of style. Some may think it is too simple and somewhat "bland", but I wouldn't be one of them. Very high marks from me on the exterior styling.
But it comes down to the "fun factor" for me. And the 8 is more fun to drive, even if it is slower. Although the G35 didn't seem to have much body roll in the corners despite it's weight, you could still feel the weight in the form of understeer. You simply can't throw the G35 around like you can with the 8. The notchy gearbox isn't as good as the 8's either. I also like the steering feel with the 8 much more than the G35.
The G35 is a good "luxury" car, that is also "sporty". I wouldn't mind owning one at all. If you want a car that is more "upper scale" but with some sporty performance, get the G35. It's a classy, great looking car with pretty good performance. But if you want a car that is more fun to drive, lighter on its feet, with a great gearbox and 9000 rpm redline, and makes you feel as though you are one with the car, get the RX-8!
As a final note, I would say that a comparably equipped G35 will cost around $4000 or more than an RX-8.
Inital impression: although it has good power, and decent handling especially for a car its weight, there was something missing. I just didn't feel as connected to the car as I did with the 8.
The G35 didn't have nearly as much body roll as I thought it would (its over 3500 lbs after all), but I definitely noticed that it appeared to have fairly significant understeer. And this is despite the fact that the car is more weighted to the rear than the front. I could definitely feel the front tires pushing ahead in fairly hard cornering. Obviously this is where its weight was showing.
Interior was pretty nice, especially the seats, but the dash wasn't really what I expected in a "luxury" car like this. The gauges are pretty ho-hum, but get the job done.
Rear seats had decent leg room, but virtually zero head room! I am only 5' 10", and there is no way I could sit back there for more than a few minutes without being very uncomfortable. I had to slouch down in order to avoid hitting my head on the rear glass! The back seats are basically useless for anyone taller than about 5' 6" or 7".
The six speed tranny was very "notchy" and reminded me a lot of my 3rd gen RX-7's notchy tranny. It wasn't nearly as smooth as the 8's. Throws were pretty short though, which was nice.
The engine makes plenty of power. The car certainly seemed fast enough, if not quite on the "exhilarating" side. I did enjoy its exhaust note.
I really like the exterior styling of the G35 a lot. Very clean, simple, sexy lines. Classic coupe lines, that will probably never go out of style. Some may think it is too simple and somewhat "bland", but I wouldn't be one of them. Very high marks from me on the exterior styling.
But it comes down to the "fun factor" for me. And the 8 is more fun to drive, even if it is slower. Although the G35 didn't seem to have much body roll in the corners despite it's weight, you could still feel the weight in the form of understeer. You simply can't throw the G35 around like you can with the 8. The notchy gearbox isn't as good as the 8's either. I also like the steering feel with the 8 much more than the G35.
The G35 is a good "luxury" car, that is also "sporty". I wouldn't mind owning one at all. If you want a car that is more "upper scale" but with some sporty performance, get the G35. It's a classy, great looking car with pretty good performance. But if you want a car that is more fun to drive, lighter on its feet, with a great gearbox and 9000 rpm redline, and makes you feel as though you are one with the car, get the RX-8!
As a final note, I would say that a comparably equipped G35 will cost around $4000 or more than an RX-8.
The OP must be talking about the G35 sedan.
09-09-2004, 02:37 AM
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Good review, I think these are two very different cars. The G35C has higher handling limit, more power, but it's also significantly heavier. Try to slalom a G35C and a RX-8, the difference is undeniable. The RX-8 can handle low speed twisties and tight AutoX courses better than the G35C, but the G35C wins at higher speed events from road courses to mountain roads. The difference in power is not the 40hp difference, but rather the significant difference in torque. Accelerating from cruising speed feels very anemic in the RX-8 unless you do a 3 gear downshift and bring it to near redline. The RX-8 doesn't need excessive amount of power, but it should be able to out-accelerate an Accord or Altima from cruising speed.
The backseat of the G35C has small headroom, which is interesting consider every other dimension is very roomy. As far as the interior goes, I don't know why people are expecting a $50k German interior in a performance coupe. Either way IMO the material fit & finish is still much better than any Mazda ever built. Not to mention the 05 G35's will have whole new interior. Lastly, price wise these two cars are not in the same class either. The market price of a nicely equipped G35C costs around $35k, a nicely equipped RX-8 costs at least $6k less.
The backseat of the G35C has small headroom, which is interesting consider every other dimension is very roomy. As far as the interior goes, I don't know why people are expecting a $50k German interior in a performance coupe. Either way IMO the material fit & finish is still much better than any Mazda ever built. Not to mention the 05 G35's will have whole new interior. Lastly, price wise these two cars are not in the same class either. The market price of a nicely equipped G35C costs around $35k, a nicely equipped RX-8 costs at least $6k less.
09-09-2004, 03:34 PM
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Originally Posted by Skyline Maniac
As far as the interior goes, I don't know why people are expecting a $50k German interior in a performance coupe.
Either way IMO the material fit & finish is still much better than any Mazda ever built.
09-09-2004, 07:14 PM
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Originally Posted by Doug McGill Jr.
LMAO!!! true, true. the g35 is a fat and slow bastard. its a LUXURY car! not a sports car! i hate it. thanks for the write up though. i was bored enough to read it. haha. jk.
If the G35 is a "slow bastard" what does that make the RX-8?
09-09-2004, 07:16 PM
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Re the interior: I thought the G35's interior was fine, but nothing special. I really hate that stupid analog clock in the middle of the dash though!
09-10-2004, 12:17 AM
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Originally Posted by Rob Tomlin
By the way, I have a correction to make in my original post.
I was surprised by the understeer because I thought the car was weighted 47/53 to the rear. I don't know what I was thinking. It is weighted 53/47 to the front, which makes the understeer understandable (though obviously not acceptable).
Ironically, Infinity has a big blurb on their website trying to explain why a 53/47 weight distribution is "ideal". I don't think so. My test drive and the understeer simply don't bear this out.
I was surprised by the understeer because I thought the car was weighted 47/53 to the rear. I don't know what I was thinking. It is weighted 53/47 to the front, which makes the understeer understandable (though obviously not acceptable).
Ironically, Infinity has a big blurb on their website trying to explain why a 53/47 weight distribution is "ideal". I don't think so. My test drive and the understeer simply don't bear this out.
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