Preliminary Review – 2006 Infiniti G35s 6MT

[G35stilez]

Due to a request or two as well as my own drive to document my feelings over a specified time period, I have chose to post up my thoughts after the first 4000 miles in my “G”.


Exterior

First off, I absolutely love the styling. It has been about two months and nothing has gotten old yet. From the 03 styling:



to the 05-06




I think Infiniti has done an outstanding job. The taillights now emit dual rims of red LED’s that double when braking; elimination of the ugly latch on the trunk to a small hidden button on the driver’s side taillight; addition of a much more attractive aero package including an entirely revised nose with monochromatic paint. Further, for the manual tranny, the 18” wheels have a beautiful satin silver sheen to them that offset the Diamond Graphite wonderfully.

From a detailer’s perspective, the car is nothing hard to work with. It washes and dries easily. Continuing drips run from the side mirrors and trunk lid, but the jams stay amazingly clean. The side skirts wrap way under the vehicle so special care is needed to keep them and the painted splash guards clean, all the time. The paint, although claimed by many to be poor, I have found to be “very good”. As I said, I am going on two months with the vehicle. I wash her once a week with Zaino Z7, then an application of Z8. Even under the most scrutinizing reviews with metal-hallide (gas station) lighting, I have only found 1, yes one, marr. There are zero swirls on the finish . The front was covered in ArmorGlove’s Clear Bra to protect it from heavy chips and pits, and thus far, is doing a nice job. Two months and 4000 miles, and she still shows as new.



Interior

The interior, as I’ve found, is, “Love it or Hate it”. Personally, I love it. I’m 6’1” and everything is at an easy reach. The wheel has all of the respective controls for the stereo, Bluetooth phone, and cruise control. I wish the “seek” function on the wheel didn’t take so much time (hold “up/down” for more than 1 second), but that’s my only peeve with the wheel. Speaking of, the wheel is power in terms of moving vertically or horizontally. It also moves the entire gauge cluster so you never lose site of your gauges or signals (very cool).

The mirrors are power, too, but I found the large rear pillars to create a bit of a blind-spot. I am still working to perfectly tweak the mirrors to spot all vehicles.

The seats are made of very nice, supple leather, but to my dismay, wrinkle a bit easily. Maybe I’m going crazy, but I would love for seat to look new (no wrinkles, creases) forever . I have hit the entire interior with Z26 four times thus far, with using Z9 before each time. Being all black, any level of soil bothers me. Speaking of the seats further, they are a bit wider and higher than what I’m used to, coming from a coupe. Not uncomfortable (done many 2+ hour trips), but the bolsters could hug a slimmer person better.





Driving

One of the main reasons I purchased this car was the driving experience and I itched to break her in and open her up. Waiting the recommended (by forum gurus) 800-1000 miles, I turned off the Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC). Turning onto an open highway, I plunged through first, second, and third. After a large chirp into 3rd and knocking on the door of 100 mph, I was pretty damn stunned. This car has a lot more grunt than my Integra (as it should!). The power was smooth and linear. There was no skwirming from the tail, just an amazing hole-shot and controlled power. At higher speeds (80mph+), the car “eats the road and spits it out”, according to my girlfriend, Liz. I had the car at 130 mph on an empty highway, a couple times, just to see how it felt. With the optioned aero package creating zero lift and a drag coefficient of .27, the car hunkered down, and performed far better than I thought it would. A certain automotive magazine article from the past came to mind.

The driver was testing out a 2000 BMW M5. As he brought it up to the 155mph top speed, I remember the line to this day, “…and it felt so comfortable and stable that I felt like tuning the radio to Pavorotti to further enhance the experience”. My thoughts were aligned with his on these precious occasions.

The clutch in this car is very well built. It’s solid with predictable engagement, yet it’s still forgiving. There is a slight “striation” feel to it in that you both hear and feel the engagement when even slightly depressing the pedal. It’s a touch hard to describe, yet it’s totally normal in VQ manual trannies. I’m not wild about it as my Acura didn’t have anything of the sort, but it’s not a deal breaker.



Overall

Time and time again, I am reaffirmed about what a good choice I made. For under $35,000 being able to afford a full-on luxury sedan with a sub 6-second 0-60 time and every creature comfort you can think of, is a wise deal, in my opinion. Having detailed many upper level Mercedes’, Audis, and BMWs, I have found some touches that the ‘G’ has, that they don’t. At the end of the day, the build quality is a touch higher in these German equivalents, but that also comes at the expense of a porky curb weight and $10,000+ premium for equal platforms.

Who knows, maybe I’m just very biased or over zealous, but I have had nothing but great things to say. I love my power in every gear, the bond-like navigation coming out of the dash, the way that Diamond Graphite glitters the surface on a sunny day, but with the good come the picky.

Not that anything here would bother me enough to get rid of the car, but I do have a couple gripes.

- The doors are sealed so well, I only clean a few drips of water in the jams after a wash, yet the trunk leaks like a civ.
- The navigation limits your functions when you are driving. Now, I don’t use it at speed, but if I’m in 5mph traffic, it’d be nice to find a gas station without having to stop the vehicle (speed sensing).
- With a couple bass’ier songs, I can hear a faint rattle from one of the doors. I will have it addressed the next time it gets to the dealer
- The VDC (traction control) is a bit over-corrective. Any slight feel of a slip and you lose all power. I tend to find myself turning it off when I get in, just incase I do catch a patch of sand.
- Gas mileage on a combined cycle (60 hiway/40 city) is still only at about 23 mpg. An Acura TL is about 30 mpg. I am working on improving it, but it’s hard to resist the VQ bassy exhaust note.


Honestly, as puzzling as it may be, those are my only gripes. I know the headlights have a terrible hazing problem, but I had mine clearbra’d, so I am exempt.

If you want a quick, sporty, luxury sedan that fits four adults comfortably and includes DVD-based navigation, Bluetooth technology, satellite radio, Bose acoustics, and many other high-end features, all for under $35,000, the G35 is your choice.



Cheers!

[CelicaLover]

Your car is simply amazing. Keep up the great work.

[SpoiledMan]

Nice review!

[joyriiide1113]

Thanks for the review. I have been waiting like an impatient puppy.

[Knockwurst]

Nice review, Sean. Be biased and overzealous . . . nothing wrong with that. After all, it’s OK to have an opinion and it’s even better to be passionate about your car

[Picus]

Nice review Sean - I agree with everything you said; the G has been very good to me too (going on 100k km now!). It'll be sad to see it go.

(Oh, you need clear corners and a drop, btw! )

[Bigpoppa3346]

Nice review. Those G35's are nice looking cars, but your's is really the bomb. I love the combination of the color and the rims on your G(not to mention it's always detailed to perfection), it makes for a subtle yet sexy look.

[Surfer]

I like the new style comming out, especially the interior which looks straight out of the M35/45. I wish Infiniti would make the M45 in manual trans form, why is it that cars in that segment, BMW is the only one to offer a manual trans....irritates me. I'm looking at e39 M5's right now b/c I love the feel of the cars (like you mentioned in that one quote). Nobody else makes a sedan in manual trans form with the power, handling, and class that car has.

I think it would be great if Infiniti had the sport package on the M45 with a 6 speed manual, would be an even better car then it already is.

[G35stilez]

Thanks for the kinds words .


Picus: Doubt I will ever go for the corners. Something about the amber sets it off for me. If lowered, I will go with the Z spring setup.

Surfer: I feel the SAME WAY! I really wish they'd just do it. BMW really encapsulates that market by offering a manual tranny. To date, I've never really seen myself buying an auto.

[ExoticFetish]

love the g35 but hate the flat lifeless steering wheel.

[JohnnyDaJackal]

Nice review Sean, I agree the G35 is a really nice car blending style, peformance, luxury and affordability. I think Infiniti and Lexus are really putting some nice cars out to really give the "prestigous" german cars a run for their money.

You should consider copying and pasting your review and posting it up on epinions.com
I did one for my RSX and get "very helpful" ratings all the time.

[ZaneO]

Great and thorough report, Sean. Sounds like you definitely picked the correct vehicle.