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Infiniti G35 vs. Acura TL
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Comments
Obviously that recall is not on topic here - let's leave conversation about it to the affected vehicles' discussions.
Now, if you like driving RWD vehicles it's your choice and it might make you car better for you, but not others.
Even if you include coupe, TL still outsells G35 by a big margin.
Does this mean that a Camry is better than an Accord just b/c it sells better? I wouldn't say so.
First, there are those factors that jpiatchek mentioned.
Second, never underestimate brand loyalty. A lot of people step up to the TL from an Accord or other Honda/Acura product. And we all know how successful the Accord has been.
I can think of more factors that are swishing around in my head, but I'm too sleepy to put them into words...
1. You can get G35 cheaper than TL.
2. Infiniti as a company is bigger than Honda(in Japan 2nd after Toyota), so marketing network/advertising is not a big problem for them.
3. incentives/low rate financing doesnt apply in getting the TL.
IMO the majority of people think a car as a total package. Good handling alone doesnt really matter much in real 'normal' world/people if not combined with good exterior/styling, good acceleration, features/technology, comfort, good interior, MPG, resale value, reliability, prestige, crash safety rating.
Both cars are just fine, but more people like 'A' car better than 'I' car bcuz..(fill in the blank)
G has been out for 3 years, its sales increasing every single year. Let's see TL, which in its first year outsells G sedan/coupe a little bit, do that for 3 years. Let's not forget this is the 3rd gen TL, so it has more brand identity than G.
Anyway I think 3 is G's principal competition. To me, long term it's more important to outsell 3 than TL.
Why one vs the other? I think jpiatchek hit the nail on the head in an earlier post: quality of interior (which is where the driver spends all most of his time) and overall build quality. While the latter could be debated, every knock I've seen on the G35 has been about interior materials quality. Driving differences aside (and "most" of us agree that for "most" drivers, those differences are not noticeable "most" of the time<g>), it wouldn't be too hard to argue that the TL offers better value than the G35.
We really need all the actual G35 and TL owners (not the wannabes like me) to weigh in here: what made you pick one over the other?
The TL was almost exactly what I wanted; the only thing I would have changed is I would have loved to have had the option for AWD.
I didn't test drive the G35, so I can't compare the two in that respect. However, the TL felt confident enough on the road for my purposes, so I wasn't too worried about it being FWD.
As far as torque steer goes, I have the automatic (my wife refuses to learn how to drive a manual) and I don't find it particularly bothersome.
Jeff
I enjoy front-wheel drive, which has definite benefits in heavy rain and snow. I will suggest to Acura National that a 4 wheel drive option on the TL will probably sell well. The 2005 RL will have 4 wheel drive, from the preliminary literature. Will also have about 4 additional inches of truck space or interior passenger space, for those needing more room, but at about $40,000.
Yes, the front wheel drive can get scary when approaching curves at high speeds, therefore the driver needs to be careful and slow down at times. If you are buying a TL or a G-35 to drive conservative, then possibly another car would better serve you. Either car is outstanding. The TL offers more and for a better price when all added options (for the G-35) are compared.
Read My G35 6MT Test Drive, message #219.
That's common sense advice for any type of car, not just FWD.
You are absoulutely correct.
If any of these so call RWD experts have been to any Formula One Racing, they know pretty much that the experts take it easy on the corners.
I don't see them throwing their rear axel around corners at 145 mph.
TL outsells G35 by 3% YTD. Someone said Acura dealers outnumber Infiniti dealers by 3:1. Let's be conservative and say the ratio is only 2:1. That means an average Infiniti dealer sells about twice as many G as Acura dealer sells TL.
No wonder Infiniti dealers are as hot as any!
I don't see them throwing their rear axel around corners at 145 mph. "
This clearly illustrates the gross misunderastanding of how RWD cars are driven by most pro Front drivers. Tendancy to oversteer does not mean the axles are thrown out....If you dont get it fine, but you clearly have little grasp of the driving dynamic RWD offers. Trying to justify that RWD is not really that great in light of the new TL is ludicrious and actually funny.
Mariner7, If they are really hot, then they will sell as many as others. Even the old version of TL sold better than G35. So what is it that so hot about? No AC? :-)
I have been searching for that data (how many Infinity dealership vs acura dealership) but found nothing. Someone said they have more Infinity dealers in their area. (hear-say)
Anyway Infinity need some time to catch up with Acura(just hope that Acura will stay put). If TL comes with SH-AWD, it will be more interesting. :-)
There's absolutely no doubt there are many more Acura dealers than Infiniti. 2:1, or more, wouldn't surprise me a bit!
And here's why Infiniti dealers are hot. Let's say each G35 and TL make the same profits. And since a dealer sells twice the number of G35 as TL, it'd make twice the profits. And BTW, profit margin for Nissan is higher than Honda, I don't have breakdown by Infiniti/Acura.
It will take an infinity to make infiniti the infinite one. Why dont they use a different name! lol :-)
Sales figures dont matter but now dealerships matter!
AS far as sales supporting the claim that the car is better...ummm NOT. and thank god there are TL's all over and G's are still rare around here.
Success for a platfrom is how to put this into context. Unless you know the variables behind fixed and variable manufacturing costs - you have no idea how sucessful the platform is. Infiniti is selling more than they planned to manufactur so far and with little incentives. I bet they are more successful than they thought they would be. Lets not forget that 1 platform for several models reduces fixed costs and INCREASES profit. The FM platform is singlehandedly bringing Infiniti and Nissan back to the top in sales growth and profit margins and growth...some failure compared to the TL eh?
Some of the arguments here is clearly deranged self justification for buying a TL that is less exclusive and less balanced than the king of the entry sedans - The G.
Do you think manufacturers and dealers are in the business to see less of their products on the street? That tells me how much you know about business.
For a car thats been around for three years(the G) and a car thats only been out for several )the TL)months- don't you think we should be seeing more of the product that as been around for the longer period- unless we the people think it's not that good of a product.
That tells me how much the G is really selling.
For a so call "King" I dont think the locals are showing you much respect-I get the feeling that Treason is dominating your Kingdom.
You guys have completely misunderstood Acura's new SH-AWD system. When road traction is compromised not only does this system vary the power to the wheels appropriately, as with Infiniti, Audi, BMW, etc. -- it does something that no other drive system in the world does. It also varies power to the wheels based on applied G-forces the car endures, say in a corner turn for example. So, even on clean, dry pavement the system works to maximize performance and handling. In other words...the perfect drive system!
Sorry guys but with this new system, the TL is destined to become THE KING of entry-level sports sedans!!
A world’s first, the SH-AWD system combines front-rear torque distribution control with independently regulated torque distribution to the left and right rear wheels to freely distribute the optimum amount of torque to all four wheels in accordance with driving conditions
A World's first = NEW, not just a common AWD, its a killer AWD system. Is it really a laff?
Exclusivity for $30-40k, thats a laff(many people can afford it). Unless the car lacks of something like PT Cruiser, Aztec, reliability, interior quality, performance, luxury etc. If you cant make people buy the product, why bother making it.
BMW 3's are all over and they are the benchmark that Acura and Infiniti are gunning at. The problems is they all wanna be all over, but can they sell more? Whose failure? :-)
Toyota, Honda, Nissan, etc they all say that they sell more than they planned. Can they lie to 'sales figures'? Now sales figure matters?
The next discussion would be about who need super handling.
Come on! No one's even driven the SH-AWD RL (except Honda engineers). It might look good on paper, and it may turn out to be as good in the real world, but no one's even tried it yet!
So, no one's driven an SH-AWD car yet, and Honda hasn't even announced when the SH-AWD will be available on the TL, yet it's going to be the King?
Same thing with the active rear suspension of the M. It remains to be seen how that translates in the real world.
Supposedly, the '05 G35 will have an upgraded interior. Something tells me that TL owners will still harp on the car's interior, and G35 owners will still harp on the TL's SH-AWD (whenever that comes out) for being FWD biased. Old habits die hard.
Infiniti = 162
http://www.hondanews.com/CatID3002?mid=2003090449776&mime=asc
http://www.infiniti.com/content/0,,cid-34153_sctid-52138,00.html
Agree with that, we really gotta wait and see.
Personally, I hope that this SH-AWD is as good as its hype. It'll force other companies to innovate as well as keep prices in line.
Love the hyperbole. The SH-AWD is copying xdrive+DSC. They are using the word force instead of slippage to designate the interference from the electronics.
In another couple of years a Hyundai will have a self-adjusting, torque sensing, completely variable center diff locking AWD system. Unfortunately that's the way of the world.
I'd better give you some homework for the weekend, so you can better understand this ground-breaking technology.
http://world.honda.com/news/2004/4040401.html
Shapiro, SH-AWD is nothing like X drive. Nobody even drove it yet and but you already know everything. Nice Huyndai example, have not seen that from you for a while:)
"xDrive adds revolutionary intelligence to the BMW performance arsenal. Under the most challenging condition, xDrive delivers variable power to individual wheels, providing tenacious grip and optimum traction. In all conditions, xDrive enhances driving dynamics to extract maximum exhilaration from tight curves and winding roads. The result is remarkably agile handling on any road, in any weather"
It can't deliver variable power unless there is some mechanism to sense the load.Call it what you want, but is still appears Honda is fashionably late to the party. I can attest to the fact that it works as advertised as I've flogged an X3 on a snow/ice packed empty parking lot.
The Atessa system in the G35 works slightly differently I believe. But maybe Chrisboth can post more info.
This isn't the place anyway. There is a RWD/AWD/FWD forum for that.