Infiniti G35 Sedan 2006 and earlier

hvan3

Thanks for the confirmation. I knew going into the LA Auto Show that the G35 is equilavent to the 5 series in overall dimensions.

I think the pricing is excellent for an entry level luxury sports sedan with a 3.5 liter engine that can produce 260hp and 260lb of torque. Say good bye to that juvenile looking, boy racer IS300!! Those kids will be looking at the rear of the G35. LOL

rezo00

If it were a sports car I would care if it had a auto and no manual, but since its a lux car I would rater have the auto...

stanny1

It will be more performance than lux car. Next to the 540i6, M5 and M3, it will take the cake if you choose the Manual. (I'm assuming the G35 manual can beat the 330i's 6.4 seconds and .83g). If lux is what you want, go for the I35 and leave the good hardware for us. I plan to break my G35 in doing SCCA Solo2 in San Diego Stadium. That's the real testing ground.

norcalmike2

Yes, that was me who flew to LA for the day to attend the car show. I know full well that the ES300 is a fantastic car but it just does not excite me. Who knows, one drive in the G35 might make me crawl back to the Lexus dealer whining for a good deal. Worst case scenario is getting my deposit back from the Infiniti dealer and another $100.00 plane ticket to get home. On the other hand, I really enjoyed seeing the G35 at the show. I have a funny feeling that I will be looking forward to my daily commute and smiling a whole lot more in a G35. This reminds me of when I first saw the 1990 300ZX. The first pictures I saw I said "I like that car!" The first time I saw one in person I said "Roll it out of the showroom, here's your check!" Never regreted buying it. I'm getting the same feelings with the G35.

himomer

I haven't forgot that, and I'm ready for the new 5 series, which is suppose to differentiate from the 3 and 7 series styling. How do you like the new headlight treatment on the 3series sedan? Hopefully by the time the new 5 debuts I'll be ready to get a new car, but my 330 will be missed dearly if i trade-in. Maybe the 5 will be available in Gray Green w/ natural brown leather.

oxmead

I just saw the G35 at the show. I overheard several people refer to it as the Infiniti version of the Altima. The same thing hapened to the G20 when people kept calling it a dressed up Sentra. Infiniti fans know better.

Back to the G35. Why wasn't this car called the J35. It's a lot bigger than I think a G should be. I like this car but not enough to get rid of my G20.(well, not just yet) You couldn't see the inside. The rep said they haven't finalized it yet. I did see in the trunk. The seat doesn't fold down but there is a small pass through. When it starts showing up at dealers I'll take a closer look. The Cadillac CTS is also getting a closer look.

afty

I think J35 would have been a more fitting name than G35. Both are RWD sedans, and both are built on the Z car chassis of their day.

I never did understand why Infiniti axed the J30. Where I lived at the time, they seemed to be selling quite well.

riez

himomer... I prefer black leather interiors. Go nicely with red, silver, and dark green exteriors. Guessing the next generation 5 Series will use the new 745i's V-8. It is a complete screamer. Adds gobs more power to an already powerful motor. (Filled my 540i 6-speed up today. 24.4 mpg doing mostly 74 mph.)

maxamillion1

I also think the Infiniti should have just called the car the J35. It sounds sexier and, to me the new G35 is nothing like the G20, yet a lot like the old J30.

rezo00

The J was between the I and the Q the G is below the I..lol

maxamillion1

But to me, the J30 wasn't between the Q45 and I30, I always thought of the J30/I30 as todays Lexus ES/IS. The ES standing firmly on luxury while the IS stands on sport. I think this new G35 will be the same way. I could get an I35 cheaper than a comparably equipped G35. The G35 can be more expensive than the I35 with the right amount of options. Also, I think the main reason people(me included) wanted this car to be called the J35 because the J30 was RWD and so is the new G35, the G20 is FWD. The new G35 is actually larger on the inside than the old J30. and some say it's the same size as the new I35. The G20 is about as small as a Jetta.

blueguydotcom

Nice car. Very slick styling. Great lines. Interior looked wonderful. I can't wait to test one.

infinitiseller

You lucky guys in the states who get to see one before us. The G35 tilt steering is also supposed to move in combination with the instrument cluster. Did anybody get a chance to try it? Is it functional?

As for the car being a dressed-up Altima,give me a break. I understand the G35 platform is the 350Z platform. Any input?

As far are driving a G35, it is a fourth generation car with excellent history as a drivers car. The automotive press has said for years the Skyline should come to North America. The North American car is actually more powerful. In Japan it is only available with a 2.5 or 3.0. Mind you they also get AWD,hope it comes here.

b4z

How can the G35 be a dressed up Altima if the G35 is RWD and the Altima is FWD?

himomer

I thought that it would use the 745 V-8, but i wasn't sure. Also, the Natural brown leather is just like a black leather interior, black trim and everything, only the seats are brown, it is a very nice combo. I almost went for a black interior, but living in Mississippi, i knew that black would be too hot esp w/ the top down, but i wanted a dark interior and brown was the next best thing.

68bullitt

Yes, I tried moving the tilt steering on the G35. It works great. The instrument cluster moves along with the steering wheel so that you always have the cluster in full view with no obstruction from the rim or center of the steering wheel. All cars should have this!

rezo00

I think the fairlady Z (350Z) has its own slightly different platform....but the skyline platform is very strong...

afty

G35 and 350Z are on the same platform. Nissan's codename for it is FM. It's also going to be used in the upcoming FX45 sport-ute and the new GT-R.

Nissan chose to use the Skyline platform for the Z to cut costs. It helps that it's supposedly a very good platform.

himomer

I know Xenon headlights are optional, but are they just low-beam or bi-xenon? Also, is the Bose system suppose to be an improvement over current Infiniti/Nissan Bose systems?

dl7265

"The instument cluster moves along with the steering wheel " wow thats interesting , Hope it stays quiet over 100k miles.

Im thinking someone needs to get into trunk hinge design lol

DL

bluetentacle

Is that a query? If so, the G35 has shock hinges that do not intrude into the cargo area at all. It flips open very wide as well.

It opens up really wide:

oxmead

I know it's not an Altima, but that's what I overheard at least 10 times at the autoshow. I wanted to pull these people to the side and explain how they were mistaken. It made me cringe the same way I do when someone calls my G20 a sentra.

#523- great pictures. any interior shots? they had it blacked out in Philly.

lsc

The G20 and the Sentra are similar. But if you compare them, at least the old G20, the materials were much nicer on the G20.

The G35 looks awesome to me. Also, if Infiniti wants to add a mid-level car to compete w/ the Lexus GS and the BMW 5-series, they better stretch out the Q45 first. I think the G35 is almost as roomy as the Q.

corkfish

I have a 93 SE-R, performs better than the G20, although, the interior is much smaller and not nearly as nice.

ateixeira

Those trunk hinges are nice. Note that the new Sonata and Kia Optima have them, but the Altima, Accord, and Camry don't. Why does Nissan use them only for their luxury cars?

A thought on the J35 name - the old J30 was beautiful, but when the similarly styled Altima came out, people bought the affordable luxury car. So there may be a link in people's minds about those being related, even though they aren't.

-juice

ppnff

Thank you to bluetentacle for posting the pictures of the hinge design.
Unlike the trunk design on the I35/Maxima, Infiniti did a nice job on the trunk design of the G35. I remember examining the I35 and to my chagrin, saw the hinges eat into the I35 trunk space, but the I35 does have mini-hydraulics on the hood. Does anyone know if the G35 has the mini-hydraulics on the hood too? Now, I just need to save more to buy one soon.

ateixeira

I'll bet it does.

-juice

mirth

Saw the G35 yesterday at the auto show and it looked very good. Unfortunately, they didn't let you sit in it. The only thing I didn't care for were the taillights with the little circles. Maybe they look better when lit up or something.

ateixeira

I don't care for the L-shaped taillights either. They look too big for the car, out of balance.

Overall the styling is good, though.

-juice

cayennered1

Went to the Detroit show today ready to gaze on my "next car" the G35. I've seen dozens of pictures and have been very positive on its looks.

Well when the moment of truth arrived today and I saw it in the flesh for the first time, I was dissappointed. Maybe it's just me, but I was totally underwhelmed with the styling and the interior didn't do it for me either.

While I have no doubt that it's a great car, I'm not spending 30k+ unless I'm in love with the looks and sadly, I'm not.

For those of you who think the car looks great I say fine. For me, it's back to the drawing board. Praise for the styling has been pretty much universal with the exception of the rear end. I'd be interested to know if anyone else who saw the car in person is less enthusiastic or do you all love it.

68bullitt

Both the exterior and the interior looked better in person than I expected from the pictures, especially the front end looking at the car straight on. Love the way the hood slants down and the clean look of the hood and bumpers. Also liked the interior which was more luxurious than I expected given the price. The leather was very high quality and sumptuous and the doors felt heavy and solid and closed with a nice "thump". Anyway, to each his own. Actually, I do hope that not everyone likes it so that it won't be next to impossible to get one, and also, the lower the demand, the lower the price the dealers can ask for it.

dl7265

Interesting there are over 3200 post over on the Caddy CTS site, I would consider the G35 leaps and bounds ahead of that car, Am i missing something ???

DL

riez

dl... This board is much more focused on the G35. The CTS board is a bit all over the place. But it is usually quite interesting much of the time. (Maybe anywhere from a fifth to a third of all the posts there come from a nice 14-year-old kid, baron87. He is a real Cadillac fan. Cadillac should hire him! Ya gotta love his passion.)

havoc

My local Infiniti dealer called me and wanted me to come in to talk about pre-ordering a G35. Of course, as I posted before, any G35 purchase/lease would have to include me trading out my current I30 without getting taken to the cleaners. Meeting with him on Wednesday. Will let you know the outcome for those interested in trading in their current Infiniti while owing IFS a lot of money still.

jvv

I'm also on my local dealer's list. They want me to come down and mentioned that there are some special incentives/offers for those that have expressed early interest. I haven't gone done yet. Any idea what these 'incentives' might be? (hopefully, something more than a balloon...)

norcalmike2

jw: When you find out what the incentives are let us know.

cayennered: I do agree with you that the rear end is so so. I'll bet the car has a "great personality" and we will all appreciate it's inner beauty. Besides, even if the rear end is butt ugly the conversation would go, "Man!, the rear end of that car sure is butt ugly! If we could only catch up to it to find out what it is!" ;-)

So far so wonderful with Thousand Oaks Infiniti. They called Infiniti Headquarters for me today and re-arranged their allocation, secured the car just the way I wanted it (color etc.), and informed me that a mid March delivery is expected. Without me asking, they volunteered to take care of my air fare from Sacramento to Los Angeles. Who knows, things might even get sweeter if jw finds out what the incentives are. I feel like I am stalking this car.

ateixeira

CTS is Cadillac's key product. If people don't buy into the styling, the division could be doomed. A lot is riding on it, so even people not directly interesting in buying one are interested in its success or failure.

I haven't seen it in person, but I give GM credit for at least having the cojones to style it in such a unique way.

The G35 is only one player in the full onslaught of products in Nissan's come back. The Z car will get most of the attention.

-juice

lenscap

I agree with you. There is no doubt the G35 will be a great car mechanically. But I, too, do not like the styling.

I'm going off memory, as the car was at the Chicago Auto Show two years ago as an Infiniti concept. I took several pictures. The car is just too bland for me. Also, I think the shape of the side glass too closely resembles the Altima. And why are there no fog lights? Just like the Q45, it looks like something is missing in the front bumper.

But I hope the car does well for Infiniti.

ateixeira

The Q doesn't need them because of the ultimately cool gatlin gun headlights. Apparently the lighting is so good that fogs became completely redundant.

I'm ok with having no fogs as long as there isn't a blatant hole left empty or plugged up where they would have been.

-juice

hvan3

That's funny! The only people who will be seeing the rear end of the G35 are the IS300, Honda boys, and BMW 3 series drivers when you beat them at the light.

BTW, I know you're getting cloth seats. What other options did you get and what was the total cost?

Thanks

norcalmike2

With cloth you get no options or options packages. Standard equipment includes all the safety features, VDC, ABS with brake assist, automatic climate control, power windows etc. My compromise was no xenon and no Bose. All the other option stuff I can live without after adopting a "That's one less thing that can break" theory. To get Bose and xenon I was looking at $6,000.00 in option packages. That's a big chunk of change for a guy who drives around listening to AM talk radio most of the time. With the dealer paying my air fare I'm looking at $27,000.00 even plus fees. I normally don't pay full MSRP for a car, but even at 27K I feel like I'm getting a whole lot of car for my money. Let's hope we learn more about the possibility of some dealer incentives for us early birds.

ateixeira

So they're knocking $100 off and paying your air far, right off the bat. That seems like a good deal for a pre-sale.

-juice

dfd3

Hello, folks! I'm new to the boards, but have been following the evolution of this car for months. I put down a $500. deposit yesterday for my ivory pearl w/graphite leather loaded model yesterday. Spoke with three area dealers and settled on the closest one to me. All told me the same thing regarding price - expect to pay full sticker. Since I'm a car nut, I will begrudgingly do so knowing that if I were a little more patient I would probably get a better deal. But I'm not, so open the checkbook!

As far as incentives, my dealer gave me a $500 debit Visa card that can be used as cash. That's it, no other incentive. He also mentioned that Infiniti will be sending me occasional "gifts" in the weeks to come. I'm assuming coffee mugs, keychains, etc. This will amount to $500 off of sticker, though. Probably the best I can do for the next 4-6 months as far as price is concerned. I'm looking for delivery in Mid March. Can't wait!

ateixeira

It's nice to hear you are being treated so well. That's a pretty color of red on that carpet they rolled out for you. :-)

-juice

kiiwii

Do both G35 and I35 have the same platform (wheelbase)? ....just curious~~ Thanks.

lsc

It seems like they are doing some nice things to sell you the car.

With the price being so low, I can see the G35's price point being something like the Acura TL's when it came out in '99. Sticker price, at least for a good 6 months or very little discount.

Congratulations!!!

afty

No, the G35 and I35 are on different platforms. The G35 has a longer wheelbase but is shorter overall. G35 is also RWD, and I35 is FWD.

I35 shares its platform with the Maxima. G35 is built on a new platform that will also be used for the new Z car and the FX45 sport-ute.

kiiwii

Since the G is sharing the same platform with an SUV....guess I can assume it must be a pretty strong base. Am I right?

68bullitt

Giving a $500 Visa debit card as an incentive is the same as getting a $500 rebate. Wow, that's not bad. That's $500 off MSRP right off the bat for a new car, not the $10K over sticker I hear some Nissan dealers were asking (and hopefully not getting) for the new Altimas when they first came out.

Too bad the 6-speed is not yet available. I hope Infiniti has at least as good incentives when the 6-speed and the coupe come out in the fall.

afty

Not really sure. The FX45 is going to be one of those "performance" SUVs that isn't meant to be taken off-road, like the BMW X5. It should be a pretty sporty platform though, since it will be used for the new Z car.