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Infiniti G35 vs. Acura TL

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Comments

  • danny1878danny1878 Member Posts: 339
    3>5??

    I was playing with it when I said 'high' but I meant is 'low', 'is many','3>5', lol.

    next time I will use grammar and spelling checker, lol.
  • patpat Member Posts: 10,421
    Danny - you laugh, but it might be helpful to realize that if you want folks to hear what you are saying, it's best to write your messages in a way that's not difficult to interpret. Usually when folks can't figure out what someone is saying, they don't bother to ask and just move on giving no credence to the difficult-to-decipher message.

    :)
  • rich48rich48 Member Posts: 21
    I was wondering the source of the sales figures mentioned in previous posts. I love to track sales and was using Auto Site but they haven't updated their site since Sept. Also, I am considering both the TL and the G35. I like the TL better but am concerned about it's performance in the snow as it lacks all-wheel drive. Any thoughts about the performance of the TL in winter conditions? Is it necessary to go for the G35X?
  • mjc440mjc440 Member Posts: 76
    Rich -

    I think it depends how much snow / ice you get where you live. Obviously AWD is a great option to have for snow and ice. It's alos a plus even if you in a warmer climate, as the AWD will perform better than FWD on wet roads. Also 270 HP and a 60% front-biased weight distribution is a quite workout for two front wheels whose full-time job is steering & braking.

    I, too, like the looks of the TL better than the G35, but will not get the TL since AWD is not available. Instead I'll wait for the new 250 HP Legacy.
  • cheerioboy26cheerioboy26 Member Posts: 412
    Nissan/Infiniti info. is at http://www.nissannews.com - I'm sure Honda/Acura has a similar site. I also set up a profile on Yahoo Finance and put in the tickers of the major manufacturers...that usually gets some good info at the beginning of each month.... GM, F, DCX, TM, HMC, NSANY, BMWG.de are the ones I track but there are others probably
  • mariner7mariner7 Member Posts: 509
    A good reason to include G sedan & coupe sales together is they share the same name and pretty much everything under the skin. Just as Accord sedan and coupe sales are always included together, otherwise Altima might have outsold Accord sedans in january.

    I wouldn't put much stock in TL performance in edmunds in slalom over G & 3, unless it can be confirmed by other testers. In addition to slalom, I like to see their times around a race course. It's well known 350Z can hang with, and often outperform, M3 in a race track. The G is basically a Z sedan. I doubt TL can hang with G on a track.
  • chrisbothchrisboth Member Posts: 493
    In the world of shared platforms...."whose your daddy" means something quite important to the car underneath it all.
  • mariner7mariner7 Member Posts: 509
    G or TL, which one is better looking, is subjective. But I can tell you this, among professional auto designers, Nissan/Infiniti is much admired. Honda/Acura doesn't even register.

    "While many of Bangle's designs have been controversial, most of the products of Shiro Nakamura's studios have prompted raves. Nakamura is Nissan's director of design, and according to design analyst Robert Cumberford, he's had the fastest influence on automotive design since Harley Earl created GM's first styling studio 75 years ago."

    Full article: http://thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layou- t/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1077059706363&call_page- id=982125486186&col=982125490898

    BTW, Cumberford is Automobile's design editor.
  • billyperksbillyperks Member Posts: 449
    What is there to admire about Nissan Products?

    Maybe the FX and G coupe- other than that everthing else is just mediocre.

    Not to mention the inside of their cars-I think the Koreans have surpassed them.
  • chrisbothchrisboth Member Posts: 493
    How about the altima - while still 4 years or so old is better looking than any new staid accord. The lenses in the rear have been marveled by retro-enthusiasts.

    Any one ever heard of the Z? Thats a pretty good design too IMO. And the Maxima - helluva an eyecatcher in the mid size front drive not really a sports sedan but cost as much category...at least its got some guts and makes a statement rather than say "nothing" or "i want everyone why buys cars to like me and think im pretty"!
  • bodble2bodble2 Member Posts: 4,514
    Z is attractive, no question. Altima? It was a fat bloated design, with a plain front end and ugly taillights, from day one. Maxima? I guess you could say it's "eyecatching", but you would be too, if you put your underwear over your head and walked down the street. Eyecatching does NOT automatically mean stylish.
  • jrock65jrock65 Member Posts: 1,371
    I think that the Altima and the Maxima are pretty good looking vehicles.

    The one recent Nissan design that I really don't like is the Quest, which I think looks funky, both exterior and interior.
  • bodble2bodble2 Member Posts: 4,514
    To me, the Quest and Maxima share the same styling theme, especially the front end.
  • merc1merc1 Member Posts: 6,081
    Generally Nissan does make better looking products than Honda, but that isn't saying much.

    The Infiniti G35 Coupe is Nissan's biggest styling achievement. I can't think of one Honda/Acura product on the same page, style wise. Maybe the S2000, possibly.

    M
  • lmacmillmacmil Member Posts: 1,758
    I think the Acura TL and TSX are very nice looking cars. Clearly show the Honda influence but I think they will wear better than the G35, which I also like. Honda/Acura subscribes to the "do not offend" school of styling whereas Nissan/Infiniti are more of the "think outside the box" school.
  • mariner7mariner7 Member Posts: 509
    The fact is Nissan style/design is among the most admired in the industry. I gave you link/quote to the same effect. Nakamura, Nissan's design head, has won the designer of the year award from autonews 3 years running. If you read the Brit magazines, they practically beg Nissan to bring the Murano over, my guess is they salivate over the shape.

    No other Japanese comes close to Nissan in design. I'd put Mazda in 2nd place. I've never heard anyone giving design awards to Honda or Toyota. But I think new TL is a big improvement for Honda/Acura.

    You know how people often say HOnda's the 2nd largest Japanese automaker. Globally Nissan outproduced Honda in January. Guess is saying will have to be revised soon.

    http://www.detnews.com/2004/autosinsider/0402/25/autos-73026.htm
  • bodble2bodble2 Member Posts: 4,514
    I think the Taurus was also lauded for its "think outside the box" styling when it first came out. 'Nuff said.
  • chrisbothchrisboth Member Posts: 493
    The only reason the Tuaras is not repected is that Ford forgot about it allotogether when the exploder became the SUV holy grail.

    In 1984 the tuaras was the best example of american design going at the time. J2000 anyone? If Ford had refined it and refined it and not gone overly ovoid in that 3rd generation version, and not flooded the market with 300,000 more a year than should have been procuded creating a rental car glut and falling from the sky values....

    At the time the Car was the saviour of the company and they sold a ton of them for a reason - initially. Supposedly they looked to Audi for the design cues - clean and aerodynamic...it's not appreciated anymore and rightfully so since ford has mismanaged the product and it's direction and it became what it is.
  • kahunahkahunah Member Posts: 448
  • raherraher Member Posts: 99
    There is no objective discussion to be had on styling. One man's holy grail is another man's spitoon. NSX anyone ?
  • patpat Member Posts: 10,421
    Hi folks - the messages containing the interesting question and subsequent debate about a 540i vs. a G35 have all been moved to the more appropriate (and newly reopened) BMW 5-Series vs Infiniti G35 discussion - click on that link to continue. :)
  • car3car3 Member Posts: 27
    Toyota: Maybe the Celica, and RAV 4 are cool looking. Thats about it from them.

    Honda/Acura: last generation Integra was cool looking. The last generation Accord Coupe was cool looking. The new TL and TSX are pretty good looking vehicles. I thought maybe the 1992-1996 Prelude was Honda's best styling work. I liked the 01-03 MDX. I don't like the refresh for 04 though. Can't wait for the new NSX. I saw a picture. I think its going to come out nice.

    Mazda: the new 6, RX-8, and Protege 5 are good styling works. Can't wait to see next generation Miata. I'll reserve judgement for the 3.

    Nissan: I like the Altima, Q45, Murano, and 350Z. I just don't know how good the Altima and Murano are going to look in the long term. I respect Nissan for being bold though.

    Honda, Nissan, and Mazda have all made understated cars that look better than American Cars from like 1993. The 93 Altima and 93 626 look better than most domestic's from 93 do. The 94 Accord has aged well.

    Nissan, Mazda, and Honda all have to offer something different. This can't be the late 90's where they offer the same exact thing. Toyota I don't know about them.
  • dude9876dude9876 Member Posts: 3
    http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=15&article- _id=7785&page_number=8

    This pretty much matches my thoughts...except I would have put the TL above the 325.
  • electronselectrons Member Posts: 16
    I have a '02 TL Type S, and did have that transmission problem that have put a big ding in Acura's reliability survey. The dealer and Honda handled the problem very well when my trans. went out. I think Honda is misleading with the percentage of problem, but I wouldn't be concerned unless you are looking at purchasing a used car from '02 with a auto 5 sp trans..

    I personally do not like the smaller trunk of the '04 TL but that seems to be the only drawback I can see. The engine pulls from lower rpm and feels smoother, and the car does handle better than my TL, but the G35 will probably out handle the newer '04. However, the TL has more luxury items and yes, I agree the interior is of better quality. The G35 seems to have stronger brakes, but the TL has better electronics and probably the best NAV system in the business right now.
  • kahunahkahunah Member Posts: 448
    "The G35 seems to have stronger brakes"

    Don't underestimate the braking performance of TLs equipped with Brembos.
  • electronselectrons Member Posts: 16
    Well first of all I have a '02 Type S, and can tell you that the G35 for the same year has better brakes and I haven't driven a TL w/ Brembo because 6sp TL are extremely scarce and I have never seen one at the dealers. I can say this tho, Brembo like most companies have different levels of quality, and because they are nearly a household name in the racing circles, they are known to be quite good, however, if you go by magazine reports from other Brembo brakes to OEM cars, they are over rated and over priced. The Subaru, or the Mitsubishi EVO, just check on the replacement rotor costs? Major ouch. My comment was more general in that Honda could slightly improve the regular non name brand brakes to somewhere similar to the stopping distance of the G35, instead of going to flashy name brand brake companies that a lot of auto mfgs are doing.
  • chrisbothchrisboth Member Posts: 493
    The g coupe gets brembos in some packages but the raves about stopping power are from non brembo packages such as the sedans 5AT. Calipers alone do not make a brake package better than stock. To really improve braking you need cross drilled/slotted rotors of a bigger size and a 4 piston caliper. Gold paint does sqwuat!
  • kahunahkahunah Member Posts: 448
    "To really improve braking you need cross drilled/slotted rotors of a bigger size and a 4 piston caliper."

    I agree with you, Chris. Only problem is you can't remachine cross drilled/slotted rotors. Even though it's less likely, if they do get even slightly warped under heavy usage, they're garbage.

    I'm very pleased with the performance of the 4 piston caliper Brembos on my TL. Very short stopping distances and there's no fading in their performance under heavy braking conditions. The rotors are not cross drilled/slotted but they're large and remachinable if there's a problem -- a very acceptable compromise.
  • billyperksbillyperks Member Posts: 449
    I agree with on the Type S brakes- should have been better, my previous car (Mazda Millennia) did much better job than the S.

    No other complaints- the car is blast to drive.
  • electronselectrons Member Posts: 16
    ditto, have you driven the new TL? It's a blast, love almost everything about it except the smaller trunk size. I guess you can't have everything. Love the torque range better on the newer engine, but I can hardly complain, I get 29 mpg on the open highway drive from 85 to 95 mph.

    I'm at 48k miles and still on original tires, don't really care for them, and can't wait to get something else. Been thinking about the Yoko H4V4 or something like that. Anyone recommend better tires than the original OEM Michelins?

    another small issue I have w/ the TL. it's no biggie actually, but when your car comes to a stop, does it seem like the car lurches a little? as if the torque converter is unloading or similar to that? I never felt a car that had this same feeling.
  • kahunahkahunah Member Posts: 448
    Consider the Falken Ziex ZE 512 tire: http://www.falkentire.com/tires/512_infopg.htm

    This high performance all season tire is the best value for the buck and is the #1 choice with Consumer Reports.
  • bodble2bodble2 Member Posts: 4,514
    Probably due to tranny dropping into 1st?
  • electronselectrons Member Posts: 16
    the lurching isn't from dropping the trans into first. It's already in gear and coming to a stop. I haven't noticed this on the new '04 TL. Just the older style TL's.

    kahunah, thanks for the tire tip. will look into it. Do you have it? is it quiet and what yr/model TL do you have?
  • kahunahkahunah Member Posts: 448
    I don't have the Falken Ziex ZE 512s but they've gotten rave reviews. They would be my pick for all season high performance tires.

    I have the '04 Silver/Ebony 6-Speed TL with Brembos and summer tires. Got the car in November, so I put Dunlop Winter Sport M2s on for the snow season (awesome tires). The OEM Bridgestone Potenza RE030 summer tires aren't bad but not great (much better than the EL42s for sure). When they wear out (and that won't take long) I'll probably replace them with Falken Azenis ST-115s or Bridgestone Potenza RE750s.
  • infinitimaveninfinitimaven Member Posts: 19
    http://www.hondanews.com is an official honda site for information on honda/acura products.
  • dg725dg725 Member Posts: 5
    I have been trying to decide which to buy - the Acura TL 6 spd or the Infiniti G35 6 spd. I have test driven both and like both. Then I heard about the problem of xenon headlight theft. Is the theft problem the same with each of these cars? Would I be absolutely crazy to buy either and drive it into NYC and park it on the street? Should I consider a different car? I am tall and am afraid that I would not fit into the Accord 6 spd coupe.
  • kdshapirokdshapiro Member Posts: 5,751
    Acuras are noted for their inability to stop thieves from getting the HID assemblies easily and quickly. Not sure about the G35.
  • cheerioboy26cheerioboy26 Member Posts: 412
    I know the previous version of the TL had problems with theft, as did the previous version of the Maxima, since the HIDs would fit easily in older models that didn't have HIDs. I haven't seen anything regarding the current TL or the G35.
  • infinitimaveninfinitimaven Member Posts: 19
    The actuators for the lights on the G35 are hidden behind the firewall. The lights themselves are useless without the actuators, so there have been no cases of headlight theft on the G. PLUS, there is no prior model G35 to use the lights on.
  • chrisbothchrisboth Member Posts: 493
    Actually there are some cases of theft but people who stole the lights may never get them to work.
  • pg48477pg48477 Member Posts: 309
    Acura also has one of the best HID's in the business, that might be another reason
  • chrisbothchrisboth Member Posts: 493
    Acura's are easy to steal and put in an accord is the reason lol
  • kahunahkahunah Member Posts: 448
    Apparently, Audi, BMW, Infiniti, Lexus, and Mercedes-Benz are also victims of HID theft.

    http://www.bxtimes.com/News/2002/0307/Letters/005.html

    dg725 - Maybe you need to move to Nebraska. :-/
  • billyperksbillyperks Member Posts: 449
    You always try to find every little reason to put down Acura.

    Do you think Infiniti is a step above Acura?
  • chrisbothchrisboth Member Posts: 493
    Actually I think Acura is OK. I find the new owners to be quite zealous about thier cars as I am and have to have some fun when people make out thier HID's to be the best in the business or say that RWD isn't discernable as a factor in everyday driving as though only the honda engineers really know whats up. I used to be one of you so I know about you acura crazees. IF you take the bragging rights game too seriously it takes the fun out of it.

    Look I have a G and over time this board has come to almost accept it as the best value out there in class. I will be compelled to help people see the light on this until the new 3 comes out or someone else stands a chance at beating the G performance which has been consistently stellar in all forums and reviews slight 1 perhaps. To listen to some the brembo brakes and the HIDs make this car worth buying. To those teetering on the edge of a decision I say if you are intersted in those things get a G. If you are intersted in raw and balanced performance - get a G! ;)
  • dg725dg725 Member Posts: 5
    Several responses to my question re Acura TL headlight theft question refer to older TL3.2s and not to the 2004 TL. Acura customer service claims that the new headlights will not fit into an Accord, and that the car has been redesigned with theft problem in mind, but could not provide details. One salesman claims that there is no access to headlights from the TL hood, so that popping the hood (rather simple for a pro) will not give access to the headlights. Does anyone know if problem persists?
  • 95gt95gt Member Posts: 69
    It is much too early to tell if this is an issue already with the 04. It was a know issue with the earlier models so it would be nice to assume (and what you say indicates) that acura has done something to deal with the issue. Guess we will have to wait for those living in jersey to tell us :)
  • billyperksbillyperks Member Posts: 449
    the G is not the best VALUE in this class.
    I don't see any Acura owners admitting to that.
  • chrisbothchrisboth Member Posts: 493
    Hey I forgot this wasn't the entry lux sports sedan thread - those folks seem to know who the king is! Value means different things to different people obviously. People in 3's and 5's may admit the G's prowess as they wont even consider a FWD car.
  • billyperksbillyperks Member Posts: 449
    but previous 3 and 5 series owners are yanking up the new TL as I write.

    Talk to me when the G's interior catches up with the industry, also please tell Nissan to change those funky tail lights on the G.

    I told you this before- my wife's $24,000.00 Accord interior makes the G look primitive.

    I guess we can go back and forth with this- but these are just my opinion on the car.

    I have no gripe with Nissan (unlike some people do with Acura)- "heck",my next vehicle might be a FX 35 OR 45.
This discussion has been closed.