map

Road tests are starting to come in and this car is looking like a real winner. Many citing that it gives the BMW a hard run for it's money. And this is only the sedan! The coupe is expected to have a nice power bump. Infini boards speculate that the new engine is currently detuned for first year cars, as that is something Nissan has done in the past. It would also explain why the new engine is barely edging the old one in HP even with the substantial improvements they've made. Even so, 0-60 is low to mid 5s and in the quarter they've seen high 13s.

The interior is a huge boost compared to the old. No more ugly guages, actually i think they look quite good now. The center stack still looks a little low rent to me in the aluminum trim, but the optional rosewood looks very nice(no rosewood on sport models unfortunatly ). Either way it is better than the old set up (but they still haven't ditched that wreched clock). One cool thing is that the LCD is standard, even if you don't have nav it is used for HVAC and audio controls. NAV is HD based with real time traffic and a spare 10Gb to throw your MP3s on.

Suposedly the ride on the sport suspention is very hard. That's probably the most negative comment i've seen in multiple reports. I believe C&D described the gearbox as "world class", but that's from memory. Should be a great improvement on the last G35.

The links:
Edmunds road test with video review
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=116681

Autoweek -
http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dl...VEHICLEREVIEWS

Car and Driver - (this is thier overview page. The writeup from thier latest issue is very favorable, but not online currently)
http://www.caranddriver.com/cartrims...g35_sedan.html

x-ped

Its crazy, the g35 sadans are rated at 5.2 sec for 0-60 and the new bmw 335i hits 60 in 4.9. Thats just as fast as the fd. I wouldn't be surprized if the new 350z and "G37" are in the mid to high 4's.

playdoh43

the 2007 sedan is making 306hp SEA NET, the coupe is expected to get quite a bump. when G35 first game out, the sedan was 260hp while the coupe was making 280. unfortunately the new sedan engine still dosnt have DFI, or it should make more power at better fuel economy. hopefully they incoporate that into the coupe engine in 08
im waiting for the GT-R or M3

map

I assume DFI is direct injection. Interesting that they didn't include this, considering they reworked so much they may as well have. Or as you said they may have made it an easy add-in for the mid-life power boost coming later.

One thing that i hope they addressed is the engine note.

Digital_Damage

That would be the only other car I would pick up.

SayNoToPistons

iTrader: (8)

updated VQ35 ftw.

sunilseru

I will buy the Z if it lost 300lbs and got the new VQ35HR at the 306HP. Extra power would be nice, but less weight would be nicer...

IRLGuy

I like the G35 and I'll most likely be buying an '07 (for the wife) when I get back from Iraq. In a recent comparison (Road and Track or Car and Driver, can't remember which one) the G35 beat the BMW 330 in most comparisons but they still chose the BMW as preferred, even though it was about $6,000 more. I love BMWs but think the auto magazines are too biased towards the BMW.

Tirminyl

Very sweet. I like the improvements they made!

sunilseru

I read that one too. I think it was car and driver. the auto mags might be a little biased but they did say that the BMW did its thing more gracefully. they say that the BMW offers a better driving experience. I would love to get some firsthand experience

r0tor

iTrader: (1)

i want to see the coupe version

JeRKy 8 Owner

I am not sure where these comments about the 07 G35 reaching 60 in 5.2 seconds came from, but at any rate, this car now starts at $38,850 which is over $7,000 more than the 06 G35 sedan started at, and over $5,000 more than 06 G35 coupe currently starts at.

I really don't see what justifies the huge price increase for this sedan, but I guess I'm not going to be surprised now when the next G35 Coupe starts in the low 40s.

map

There is no price increase. For one thing, prices aren't out yet. For another, the only place i've seen the 38 you quote is Edmunds, and i believe that was an MSRP as tested, not base. Nissan has stated that pricing will be in line with last generation.

Acceleration numbers are from published road tests, i just forget which one right now. I think C&D because they were one of the mags with the manual.

edit - It was C&D at 5.2. Scans here: http://g35driver.com/forums/showthread.php?t=114298

r0tor

iTrader: (1)

autoweek had an estimated $32,800 base price

JeRKy 8 Owner

In that case, it's a nice deal.

ZooTender

Right now, I hate my RX-8 and am driving my mom's G35 and wondering WHY didn't I buy it instead. Oh yeah, I'm driving the G35 cuz my 8's in a ******dealership. Me PISSED? OH YES!!!!! Right this minute I'd gladly trade my 8 for the G35, I just wish it looked like the 8 and handled like the 8. But is it faster and more dependable. And to think I talked my mom into buying the 35 before I bought the 8.

Ranting because I'm REALLY MAD right now at the dealership!!!!

m477

The new VQ sounds like a real gem, although I really don't care for the styling or the ~3,500lb curb weight of the G.

What Nissan really needs to do is bring back the Silvia and put this engine in it. The 2.5L version would probably be sufficient. Imagine 2700-2800lbs, RWD, ~220hp, and price around same as MX-5....

dillsrotary

I can not agree with you more on this, the market is begging for a cheap light rwd coupe, and a silvia would fit the mold and sell like hot cakes.

BlueSky

^^^kabura?

Rhawb

Yeah, the Kabura would fit those specs quite nicely. What I want to see is for them to bring the lightweight Silvia back and throw the whole 3.5L (that's still the displacement, right?) VQ into the thing. That'd be stupid powerful and possibly even fun to drive if they balanced it right. Too bad they'll never do it, but deaming is always nice.

Moostafa29

I really love this new G. Does anyone know the weight compared to the older model?

BlueSky

Guys the only reason that the G35 is soo comparably cheap is because it shares platforms with almost the entire Infiniti lineup. And that's also why it weighs soo much. If they were to make a lightened chassis specialy designed for the G35 the car would cost easily as much as it's BMW counterpart.

map

It's about +50 lbs.

saturn

I would definitely take this over any BMW. It's like Clarkson said "BMW -- when you want to tell the world 'I have no imagination'".

But it's still a sedan and still pretty boring. Might have some get up and go, but it's just uninspiring. A definite bullseye for people in that market, but I hope to never be that interested in luxury that I'd sacrifice creativity and buy this car.

m477

http://www.350z-tech.com/zwiki/VQ35HR

There are two versions of the new VQ, a 2.5L and a 3.5L. The 2.5L would be just right for a new Silvia if they decided to make one. The 3.5 would be too much engine for the car -- they would have to beef up everything else to handle it, so it would end up too expensive and/or heavy. There actually is such a thing as too much power when you're trying to keep a car inexpensive, simple, and light.

Unfortunately, they're probably not going to do it because it wouldn't involve platform sharing. The ideal solution IMO would be to update the S platform (S16) and use it for both a new Silvia and the new Z. That way we could have both a cheap, 2.5L 4-seater Silvia coupe, and a 2-seater 3.5L 350Z, both well under 3000lbs. And the bean counters would get to preserve their sacred platform sharing.