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Comments
and again I didnt care that much because I dont drive at nite much. But I figured, what the hell, it would probably be a good investment if and when I sell or trade the car.
I asked to drive it. (Until now I had only a short test drive with this vehicle, with this dealer. After taking a sharp curve the car went into "limp Mode" and we limped back to the dealer with the car running extremely rough).
He handed me the keys to a demo by myself and I took off.
Maybe I am just nuts, but I didnt like the car that much! I found the engine noise a bit obnoxious. I am used to putting my left arm on the window sill, but on the G35 its only about an inch wide and doenst work. I found the manual shift mode unprecise.
I walked away from the deal after driving 2 hours just to get there. Maybe I am just too soft and middle aged for this car. (currently drive a 300M)
Guess I am nuts, but I will continue to look and research. Maybe my perfect car doesnt exist.
The G35 and CTS are more Sporty, both rear wheel drive. The CTS has the old Opel engine for just this year, then the new GM V-6 will debut in 2003. Just for this reason - the orphaned CTS engine - I would not consider the present CTS.
So the G35 is a great bet. The only other car that would make a great "trip" car is the V-8 Lincoln LS, which should be a bargain about right now since it's the end of year end production and dealers are clearing out 2002s. The 2003 Lincoln LS, due out in November, will be mostly new but much more expensive. Check out the deals. Here in San Diego, dealers are advertising a 36 month closed in lease for $369 a month. The LS is very quiet and smooth.
Me, I like noisy, nasty cars and am waiting for the G35 Manual to make it more noisy and more nasty. I currently lease a 2000 Lincoln LS with a Manual and have made it more nasty and noisy. But it is relatively quiet at cruising speed despite the Borla exhaust. My car used to be a quiet cruiser. I have yet to drive an auto G35 at cruise to check out the driver fatigue factors. Good Hunting!
By the way, although relatively slow in stock form, the Lincoln LS Manual is being discontinued and should be available at fire sale prices this summer unless it becomes a collector item. After all, it was Lincoln's first and last try at a Manual in 50 years.
Not knowing you, it's difficult to say what will fit your taste. The LS mentioned above might be a good choice or a Chrysler 300. Both are good sized and travel well. In a price/value comparision you might want to look at the Mazda Millenia. The CTS is ok, but underpowered and I personally don't like the interior. I have real concerns about the resale also since there will be a number of changes very soon.
My advice would be to narrow your choice down to 2 or 3 max and arrange for a weekend test drive. That will give you time to decide if the car is right for you. Good luck.
Since you seem like you may want an emphasis on luxury rather than sport you might also want to check out the I35 and the Lexus ES300. Good luck
Anyway, the fact is that, at $1.75/gallon, the difference, on an annual basis (15,000 miles) is only about $200-300 per year, depending on the competing car model and how you drive. That is a price I am willing to pay for class leading performance, handling, and, IMO, room and style!
Also, I finally saw my "first" other G35 on the road this last weekend, here in Memphis. It was a Desert Platinum at Wolfchase mall. Looked good!
Scott
Scott
I can see it if I really need to by turning up the intensity of the dash lights. Generally though I don't care about the precise time when I'm driving some place at night. I certainly don't consider the car noisy, the engine noise I hear under heavy acceleration is music to my ears. I suspect that the reason that the G35 doesn't have 60/40 back seat split is the reclining rear seats with the premium package option.
Now for the things that bug me some. What's the deal with the "thong" holder? Is there some option that would use that little usless v shaped pocket one the right of the instrument stack? Then there's the half width cargo net, I assume there is some presumed safety reason for it but I can't see it. Actually it was the only thing that proded me into action and I bought an I35 cargo net and adapted that.
I can see where the rapid brake dust accumulation is going to get old over time. After lacerating my fingers like several others on the list, I solved the problem by hot glueing two 3x5 kitchen sponges to the end of a paint stir stick. So far it works good and keeps my blood where it belongs.
Phil
One thing I did notice is that the A6 is more stable in cross winds; this is partly due to the increase in weight.
The A6 leans more on the luxury side and less on sport.
There are a lot of great cars in this segment, and the higher luxury segments, right now and it would be hard to go wrong with most of them. I bought the G35 because I liked the looks,it was fun to drive, it had good room for 4 (needed for customers, etc) and, of course, my golf clubs fit easily in the trunk. I could have just as easily decided to buy about any "sedan" out there. Everyone's reasons for buying a particular car are different. Pick the one that has the "right stuff" for you.
I also recommend you look at the Infiniti I35. I had a brand new loaner I35 the other day. It looks and feels significantly more luxurious then the Maxima you mentioned. It's very comfortable, especially at cruising speeds, and it has a great stereo. Of course, the best part is that the I35 shares the G35's engine. The one I drove had exhilerating performance for passing and acceleration while providing a quiet and silky smooth cruising experience.
But if you want to add some real spice to your driving, then the G35 should be at the top of the list of cars you want to consider. As everyone has pointed out, the G35 is, by design, a sports-over-luxury type of vehicle in both looks and accoutrements.
Looks like the same car to me with 4 cylinder engine!
Anyway, there are a couple things to get used to. The lack of street selection while driving is a safety feature. People are dangerous enough driving while trying to use a cell phone and there is NO WAY I want to be on the road while someone is trying to spell out street addresses on their nav system!
For addresses that you may travel to frequently, you can store them in your address book. Those are accessible while driving (first page only, 5).
As for coverage, it is nation-wide, but only detailed coverage in major metropolitan areas (I think the complete list is on the Infiniti web site, at least 100, say >250,000 population, definitely where there are Infiniti dealerships).
I don't know why they don't have more detailed coverage, especially with a DVD, but I hope that over time it will get better. Oh, this is a common problem with all factory nav systems. Updates can only be obtained with new DVD's (don't know if any are available), not downloaded.
Another alternative for addressing is to "navigate" to your location using the joystick in "map" mode. It will take you to the closest location it has, based on its coverage. This way, if you are in a city/town that does not have detailed coverage, you can pinpoint your location and save it or just drive to it.
Hope this helps.
Scott
I have to agree with you, the pocket on the right side of the console seems very impractical. They claimed that it was a "map holder" but I doubt that it will ever hold anything of importance to me. But, as far as the cargo net goes, I have a good answer....it IS a safety precaution. The claim is that if you get locked in your trunk, you should have ready access to the lever to open it, so by having half of a cargo net, you can access the lever faster : )
bg11
I would have to agree with Scott about the Nav. I think that it is great, and has come in very handy for me a number of times...good luck!
Rumor has it that the next Survior is going to feature 10 people driving Volvos with Gun Control bumper stickers trying to drive across Texas.
Paul
El Cajon, California
Paul
El Cajon, California
Cars HAVE been known to jump out of park and roll - into other cars, buildings, or worse yet, soft and spongy things like people.
Having got that off my chest, it is unlikely you were able to do any serious damage to the rear brakes in the distance involved. To be safe, an inspection of same is now in order. If you are mechanically inclined, you can pull the rear wheels yourself and have a look. Don't know whether Nissan uses the drum-within-the-disc approach to the parking brake, or merely clamps the rear calipers...in this class of car, it's about 50-50 these days as to which system is used. If the latter, a quick check for rotor damage is all that is required. If the former, assuming no other symptoms, I would leave it alone, but test its effectiveness on a hill at the earliest opportunity.
The complaints about mpg were implying a cost issue, NOT range. If it were a range issue, the would have been talking about miles per tank. Regardless of range or cost, the lack of 2mpg on the city milage compared to the "competition" is not going to negatively reflect on the G35. It has a 20 gallon tank and the competition has, at best, a 18.5 gallon tank. Just about breaks even for equivalent driving.
TTYL,
Scott
If anyone's interested, in the Bay Area Frontier Infiniti is honoring the VPP program.
It is perfect for my soft sunglass case. In my old car, I always had to balance my sunglass case on the center console or somewhere. With the thong holder, I always know where my glasses case is. I have long arms, so its an easy reach, even when I'm driving (without taking my eyes off the road).
As for the sunglass holder above the rearview mirror, I would have to use it with a bare pair of glasses, which would scratch the lenses, so I don't use it.
I'll have to find something that fits nicely in the sunglass holder, I guess.
"Well, since people like to beat this to death"
"That is a price I am willing to pay for class leading performance, handling, and, IMO, room and style!"
Scott,
I totally agree with you. Some people wants the best of both world ( performance without a price). It's a pipe dream, with the current technology, you can't have your cake and eat it too.
I'm pretty sure people who buys high performance cars like corvette, porsche or ferrari don't complains about gas milege. Overall I accepted the fact the I will not get the gas milege of a honda hybrid. However my "smiles per gallon" is well worth it.
Tony,
Thanks...Jack
As a result of this, and because for this tankful I decided to be as disciplined as possible speed wise, from the previous fillup to the next I was at about 98% freeway driving at an overall average of about 60mph...
What's the bottom line?
25.66 miles per gallon! Hah!
Faenor/Dane4
Range is important. If the G35 had an 18 gallon tank, there is no way I would have bought it. Any of you out there have experience with the Toyota 4 Runner? 250 to 275 miles "MAX" on a tank.
I love the thong holder. I keep my sunglasses in there mostly. Sometimes my wallet (shhhh) and my bulk of keys when I need my remote entry key only.
Of course, old reputations die hard. I think that it is based on certain cars in certain Town Hall forums but the S60 has been pretty decent for a brand new vehicle.
Unless Nissan puts a decent sixth gear in the manual G35 like a .70 to .75:1, typical of many 5 speed automatics, don't expect great gas mileage from the manual G either.
The solution doesn't seem to be the six-speed Getrag as installed in the M3,540i6,M5 and others. Their sixth speed does not have a decent overdrive ratio either.
The best ratios seem to available in the six- speed Tremec, as in the Viper, Corvette, and SVT Cobra. But this tranny is criticized as rough shifting and noisy compared to the Getrag.
The Tremec is American in design and the Getrag is German. I think the Germans like close ratio tranny so they can accelerate up to Autobahn speeds. Here in America, fifth and sixth should be maximum overdrive and not for acceleration. It's 75 mph and cruise and snooze time here. We can always shift down to accelerate.
My Lincoln LS will climb mountains without shifting down. But I would rather shift up to a higher gear for cruising on level ground if I had a real overdrive.
Let's hope the Nissan engineers break this current trend toward token overdrive ratios in their Manual transmission for the Gs and the Z!
I know this subject has come up before but I don't think we got a solution to the problem and there's got to be one out there. I took my G35 in for it's 5th 100 mile washing (my driveway). Cleaning the break dust off the wheels took as long as cleaning and drying the entire car. Fellow G35 owners, this is a call to arms. I call on the next G35 owner who takes his/her car in for service, to venture back in to that service department and find out what kind of gismo they use to clean the wheels. They cannot be doing it by hand, it takes to darn long and they'd get blood all over the floor.
I'd do it myself but I've only got 500 miles so far. Thanks.
I'd really like to know how many mechanics have died (or became even moderately ill) as a result of replacing these really effective brake pads (or shoes).
Of course, no one ever lets real data get in the way of tree-hugging green wonderfulness. . .and here we are.
Another option is to get something like "Kleen Wheels", like those from autobarn.com. I just got some for my Dodge Durango (front only disks) and they work great.
Only problem with going that route is you can't see the disks and it might mess up the "airflow" through the wheels that Infiniti designed in to cool the disks. Then again, it might not pose a problem at all.
Scott