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Comments
Thanks for your response! I think I like the idea of sport/luxury over the other way around...life is too short and I can get all the luxury I want on my leather sofa in the family room!
I didn't see any report of the damage to your G, though. How did it fare and what has your experience been with repair?
By the way, the only G that I saw in San Francisco or the East Bay was a silver one with Mission Viejo plate holders (Southern Cal), though I did see a green one being driven quite quickly in San Jose.
Best Wishes, Boomer.
Enjoy!
http://bimmer.roadfly.org/bmw/forums/e46/forum.php?postid=855315&page=1
Sweet! This is the car I'm waiting for.
The car performed flawlessly the entire trip, with one tiny exception: a speedometer malfunction that I thought had fixed itself showed up briefly and then disappeared again.
Cruise control was excellent and maintained the pre-set speed effortlessly, though my wife said that the adjustments that I made with the Accel, Decel controls produced surges that she found quite noticeable from the passenger seat.
Ride and high speed handling were great. Steering was so solid and predictable that I found winding roads much more fun to drive. The car just went where I pointed it with no squealing of tires or the torque steer that we are all used to in fwd cars. The famous Route 1 (southbound, hanging on the edge of the continent) was much more relaxing to drive in the G than in any car I have driven there.
Gas mileage was not great, but I got a new high of 24 mpg on the Route 1 drive, no A/C, very little traffic, fairly constant speeds below 60 mph.
Trunk capacity was very good and the trunk swallowed all of our bags and stuff nicely.
The only disappointment was in seat comfort. I noticed that I tend to sit with my feet pointing a bit to the left in the G, possibly to avoid the hump in the center tunnel caused by the transmission being set so far back in the chassis. This causes me to rest my back mostly on the right-hand part of the seat back, which is tiring on my right shoulder blade. In addition, my left knee was often in contact with the door armrest and window control panel. It was better when I consciously tried to sit facing directly forward, but that felt less natural. I must mention that I have a kink in my upper spine, which may contribute to the long term comfort problem, but I haven't had this problem in other cars.
My wife drove for a few hours and she found that the seat controls pressed uncomfortably on her thigh. She doesn't notice this on the power passenger seat.
Also, I needed to use the cruise control because I found that my right ankle got tired holding the accellerator at the correct angle for cruising after an hour or so.
All in all, the car was an excellent sedan for touring. The high speed stability, ride and handling, the quiet and smooth noise control plus the power to pass effortlessly make the G a highly competent highway machine. I would like to see better, more supportive and sport-designed seats and more room for the driver's legs, but the overall package was excellent.
no1trust: Did you get the new StreetPilot III Deluxe or just the StreetPilot III? How do you like it?
Thanks all.
I'd say the section on Hwy 1 thru Big Sur was one of my favorite drives ever, but the wife won the coin toss and had a blast chasing a 540i 6 speed through all those tight curves!
Sorry to hear about the seating comfort problems. We didn't have any discomfort ourselves and after 5400 miles still haven't any complaints to file.
I'm still filling out my JD Powers questionaire and the G scores a 10 in my book.
Stacey R
Greetings!
I'm one of those who opted not to get the NAV system and now regret it.
In the interim, I purchased a Garmin Street Pilot III... Its a fantastic system and it fits right in the opening when you have the center bin lid up (It sort of nestles right in the opening) and the plastic of the very sturdy unit is almost a perfect match for the graphite interior so many people who don't know assume that it is part of the car
The unit tracks 12 satellites and consistently has an accuracy of less than 16 feet. It uses a lighter adapter for power, and has the full voice prompting...
It has a tremendous database of points of interests as well as even the most obscure of roads.
I always get a kick out of setting it to display the nearest McDonald's and seeing the list of the twelve closest, their relative direction and distance all constantly being updated every second as I drive Did you know that it is virtually impossible to be further than 3 miles from a McDonald's in even a suburban area?
The display is no where as large as the Infiniti NAV screen, but I have no problems reading the streetnames and any info that is critical like the name of the street you are on or the name of the street you are turning onto are displayed in text large enough to read even if you were in another car alongside on the freeway
It doesn't of course do the monitoring of the car's systems like the manufacturer's NAV, but it does everything else and does it well.
I was able to get my Streetpilot for $985.00 including tax and shipping from www.gpsdiscount.com (I have NO affiliation with them, and they are great to deal with!) and this includes the largest RAM chip (256Meg) which allows you to load detailed info for almost half the US... For me it is everything from about Colorado, west to the pacific... You have to buy regions by unlocking the maps that come on the CD with the unit, and you get one region free... I opted for region 1 which is all of California, washington, Oregon, Parts of Arizona and Nevada, and bought region 2 jsut to be a bit more complete even though it will probably be very rare to drive further east than Colorado.
Even if you didn't buy any regions you could still use the unit with the included Base maps which include most major thoroughfares and all highways and freeways, but doesn;t go down to specific address and street level.
One thing that the Garmin unit can do that the Infiniti unit can't is go into another car! Its COMPLETELY portable and I bought a little camera bag to carry it around in and to just generally protect it when I'm not using it. SO that's a big plus.
I'm looking currently for a home to purchase, and talking to my new real estate agent the other day, she asked how many houses I looked at yesterday and I told her 14... Her jaw dropped, and then I told her I had a NAV system in my car and she said "Ohhh! tha makes sense then"
You can punch in addresses, Points of interests, intersections, cities... all manner of things and this thing just spits out the directions for you Its incredible! try finding a particular house in the dead of night using an old fashioned paper map (Yes, it tells you not only what street you;re currently on, but the name of the cross streets coming up, and even the ADDRESSES of the houses as you are driving by them!
Dang, I've written too much! LoL! But I love this thing, and generally mobile NAV altogether.
One thing I have my eye on, is that in Japan, Clarion, Panasonic, and I think JVC are all making aftermarket retrofit NAV systems for the V35 Skyline including the large format screen, DVD player and molded piece that fits right into the upper bin to enclose the screen,a nd looks very very clean...
Only a matter of time before it ends up here, if it isn;t already available somewhere...
Faenor
I can get $24k easy for the TL and buy the car of my choice later.
INKY
Over the 4th, we went to my in-laws (~300 miles each way) and noticed no unusual discomfort... As I said, you get numb.
Scott
Did I see you leaving Davies Plantation this morning? (Did you notice a guy driving a white G35 wave at you?)
Finally got it away from the wife...
Scott
Lately, I have become slightly annoyed with the tendency for some portion of the seat to rock and slide when accelerating or braking hard. This is a small but noticeable movement.
I consider these issues pretty small, and I've really enjoyed the car. It handles beautifully, really moves, is stylish, and has had plenty of room for my family and other passengers.
I presently drive a TL-S and it's time for something new hence my test driving the G. The G handles a lot better, about the same power (I find), is quieter, is smaller outside but larger inside (good)etc., the seat controls are the only thing making me think twice. Also, great navigation system but that prop rod has to go. Enjoy your cars. Wayne.
Drove a round trip to Kansas City a couple of weeks ago (to pick up my daughter from her summer ballet program), and the G35 was fantastically comfortable on cruise control, with my mind on vacation with a few good CDs plugged in (however, I just hated those bugs hitting the car). I think the extra money for the Bose 200 watt audio system is well worth it! That trip was the first long drive where my back did not hurt after driving for a full two days, back-to-back. It's amazing how comfortable that drivers seat is on a long trip, and also the passenger seat, as my teenage daughter told me she now actually prefers me over her mother to take her on a long trip, IF I pick her up in my G-35 :>)
Tom
Does anyone have pics of an interior *without* the titanium extra bits you get with these packages?
thx
Power seat controls on the seat? Not my preference, but after 3 months and 6k miles I rarely notice them there. My first week of ownership was spent on a 1600 mile road trip with long stints behind the wheel...no complaints, and I'm a larger than average guy.
Hey, I don't love EVERYTHING about the G35 either. Just don't let such small issues get blown out of proportion enough to miss out on owning such a spectatular automobile!
Stacey
Now the questions...
1) The burglar alarm does not have a motion detector, making the car vulnerable to being taken by towing. Has anyone put a motion detector in? If so, I'd appreciate details.
2) I am a little person, so the left footrest is too low for me. No, I am not sitting on a phone book to see over the dash. Has anyone found the same issue and has anyone found any way or aftermarket product to raise the footrest?
Know what you mean about the ride on the G35. Just wish my rear was a bit narrower (or the seat controls were on the center console by the auto trans shifter)...
Next time you see me, please feel free to wave me down. However, I'd avoid doing that with my wife. She'd probably freak.
Scott
The only caveat was that the armrest wasn't long enough for my wife to use it with both hands on the wheel. Anyone else find that to be an issue? Seems a bit strange to find that in a Japanese car.
Thanks.
Scott
Thanks.
ecarmack: I mentioned VPP to the dealer, he says no one does it on the G35. He has had calls from several hundred miles away trying to get one under the plan.
The G35 is at the very top of my radar screen for January. However, I'd appreciate your perspectives on it's ability to comfortably transport 2 adults and 2 kids. I'm tall (6' 3")so the front seat will likely be all the way back. This worries me a little in terms of a cramped backseat on long trips. However, specs say the G35 has much better rear-seat legroom than the QX4 and I've managed to make that work. Do any of you have compelling reasons to avoid the G35 for everyday family use? Also, I've read that the interior noise is quiet at highway speeds. Do any of you disagree with this? I realize it's not an LS430 but I'd prefer it to be closer to the LS430 than a Taurus. Lastly, I'm a nut about tight cars...build quality is everything. Squeaks and rattles drive me crazy. What are you experiencing so far?
Thanks for your time.
Paul
The G35's quiet too, except under hard acceleration. Stomp on the gas and the exhaust roars to life. Otherwise it's a sedate driver about town and on the freeway. It loafs along smoothly and quietly at 85-90 mph.
Build quality is rock solid. Like all Infiniti's it's assembled well and will last.
My wife's Cadillac STS with its 300 HP Northstar V8 has more HP than any other FWD car I can think of...
Thanks again...Paul
Scott
Also an infant seat fits well behind there. The head room is tight for a 6'3" frame, but if you get the option, you can tilt the rear seats.
I had a couple little squeaks...they attempted to fix one...and now they're both gone. You really notice the squeaks because once you're at cruising speed the interior is very quiet.
First, boy is it fast! Even tho the engine is still tight and I didnt push it at all, passing and acceleration is amazing.
Handling is first rate. I took familiar turns on the highway at much higher speeds then Im used too with perfect control.
Got roughly 20 mpg with a/c too!
Interior is good, armrest is great, huge cupholders, excellent base stereo, strong a/c.
Suspension is good, smooth ride in normal traffic. Suprisingly, more "float" over some bumps than my Accord V6.
The only negative is the drivers seat. I test drove the car several times, and it really didnt bother me. After driving all day yeaterday, my opinion has changed. The problem is not only the power seat controls, which intrude into your thigh, but the seat is for the lack of a better term "mushy" (in my opinion - Im sure some will not agree). If you are a larger person, you MUST spend a good deal of time in this seat before buying.
Overall, a great car - Im just going to get a piece of foam and put it under my thigh!
I think someone had mentioned here they had
installed one on their G35. Question: On the
Instruction sheet it states "Insert (2) plastic
flaps between the grill and the bumper fascia,
you may need to loosen the headlamp assembly."
I hope this isn't necessary, as I really don't
want to have to mess with the headlight. Anyone
had experience with the nose mask ?
I will tell you, though, that I worked up a sweat putting the thing on. I really had to pull and tug to get the plastic hooks into place around the wheel wells. As you have read, you also have to remove two screws at the wheel wells and screw in two special screws that have pop-tabs on them.
I also accidentally pulled off one of the tabs that was designed to hold the front edge of the hood piece tightly down. I may try to sew it back in place.
The good news is that the second time you put it on, it goes much more quickly. This is partly because you know what you are doing, and partly because the mask is stretched somewhat.
I bought the mask for long trips, to keep gravel and other stuff off the paint on the front end. I used it on a two week trip and it worked great. No bugs or dings on the front of the car, and the mask didn't leave any scratches or anything on the finish. Around town, though, I'll be leaving the mask off.
Best wishes. Go install that thing!
I'll be installing it for my trip this week-end, and yes I also bought the mask for long trips.
I was glad to hear of the protection it gave you.
The dealer parts guy told me to leave the mask out in the sun for a short time before installing
and it should help with the installation.
Don't get too hung up on the comparisons that have manual vs auto, etc. If the price savings sounds good to you, go test drive one. I think the manual version will compare well with the manual versions of the cars it has been compared to so far.
If the manual will not be available in Canada for a few years, then I'm going to buy an IS300.
Any additional info on the manual tranny availability in Canada would be greatly appreciated.
http://san.diego.diningguide.net/data/d100365.htm
Go to Mapquest and input the address below for directions. Edmunds won't accept long links
http://www.mapquest.com/maps/
531 South Pacific Coast Highway
Encinitas, CA 92024
Telephone: 760-632-0919
If you have not yet RSVP'd, please RSVP to me at jvalenty@san.rr.com
so I can get a good headcount.
So now Moving is almost complete, and one thing I have been wanting to do is program the garage door opener with the G35 Homelink system
I was reading thru the instructions and I'm fairly certain that the opener is later than 96 (therefore rolling security codes) but I can't find the "learn" button they talk about in the instructions that allows the remote to give the homelink the proper signals.
Also there are strange anomalies that don't match what they say in the instructions i.e. Hold down the two furthest opener buttons on the homelink till the red light flashes slowly. I do this and instead of flashing slowly, after about 20 seconds the light flashes once or twice slowly and then rapidly immediately after... do I release the buttons in that window of about a second where it flashes slowly? is something else wrong?
Anyhow... fighting of some weird virus at the moment, any help would be appreciated for those that have dealt with this already...
The opener looks like a fairly new Sears Craftsman 1/2 horsepower with a screw drive... I can post the model number after I get home in a few hours if that will help anyone, but I'm hoping that the setup and config is fairly generic...
Thanks in Advance!
Faenor/Dane4
I thought the red button on the panel of the opener was a release, my mistake
Faenor/Dane4