tftimm

I have an 08 TSX non-navi and had the opportunity to be a passenger in a G35 Sedan. There may be other reviews out there of this car, but I like to read others reviews, so I thought I'd do one of my own.

Initial Impression
I always thought the new G35/37 coupes and sedans were nice looking cars. The G35 definitly looks bigger but it seemed smaller the closer I got to it. I was very suprised to see that with the seats back, there wasn't that much room for back passengers. I thought there would be more space.
When I opened the doors, I was suprised at how they felt. They felt very weak. My TSX doors have a better sound when they open and definitly when they close. Also, what's up with the little button on the handle? It looks out of place. My friend liked the keyless entry and start button, but to me it wasn't that big of a deal.

Interior Impression
I thought the seats were comfortable and had nice support. The leather was nice, but nothing great. The seats were firm so I don't know how they would be for long trips. The door handle also bothered me. It seems cheap. The door handle in my TSX seems more solid and made of better material. I also wasn't impressed with the dash materials. They seemed OK, but I was expecting better. The stereo was nice, much better than that of the TSX. It was clear and had excellent bass.
It was a non-navi, but the screen was nice and so were the guages.

Driving Impression
I didn't get to drive it, but he pushed the car to the limit for me. First off, the car has great pickup. The TSX isn't known for it's pickup, but the G35 seemed to have plenty of power for anyone. It was fairly quiet inside with little road or wind noise. The sunroof made a bunch of noise though. It felt solid over bumps, with more body roll than the TSX when making turns.

Overall
The G35 is a competitor of the TL. I would have to go with the TL. The interior of the TL is much nicer and it seems that the TL has a much bigger interior. The G35 seems faster than the TL, but at the same time, my friend said, "it drinks gas" which is why the TSX is nice, especially with 32-33 on the highway.
The G35 is a nice car. I thought the interior would be nicer, bigger, and the doors would be more solid. I can see why they are popular, but everyone has their proirities.
I enjoyed closing the door and getting into my TSX and looked forward to my 3 hour drive home and my 32 MPG.

davidspalding

Thanks for the personal impressions, always fun to read these.

A lot of things are nice every time you get behind the wheel, but then... if there's disappointment every time you fill up, is it worth it? I was getting frustrated when I filled up my 1987 Jeep, even though it was fun, rugged, and got compliments.

MMsTSX

funny.
I own both a loaded 08 TSX and a loaded 08 G35s Sedan.

the two cars are not even comparable really.
I could go on for days about which car has better what, but in
the end, they're not even close to the same.
I seriously doubt anyone is cross shopping the TSX and the G35.
I wouldn't anyway.

acura_ak

The only thing that didn't impress me too much about the G35/37 was the interior. To me it just didn't scream "luxury" as much as the TSX.

MMsTSX

well neither the G35 nor the TSX are luxury cars.
I certainly think the G35 has a more luxurious interior, but not by much really.
lots more tech stuff and fancy options.
I have the G35s, so I have the fancy seats, steering wheel, paddle shifters, pedals,
and whatnot in my interior vs. the regular stock one. which makes it much nicer.
but still...

both are sports sedans. neither is a luxury sedan.
the M is more luxury, and the RL is acura's luxury sedan.
the TL is more luxury probably than the G, but only by a sliver really.
the G beats the hell out of the TL in performance though, hands down.

now granted, both of my cars are modified, quite heavily at that, so
they perform way above stock, but still.
the G is like a bigger stronger brother of the TSX. much stronger, kinda bigger.

if luxury is materials, the G is only like a step or two above the TSX.
if luxury is options and tech stuff, the G is lightyears ahead of the TSX.

just one look at the G's seats vs. the TSX's seats tells you the TSX is out of it's league though.

tftimm

I know that nobody probably cross shops the TSX and G35 because they are in two different classes. I just thought the G35 would be larger, more luxurious, and faster. It really only seperates itself in the speed category. Of course it's larger, but I didn't feel that it was that interior was that much larger.
This was a base G35 so it didn't have all the tech features. Just my 2 cents.

davidspalding

A G35 (year model unk.) passed me this morning and looked the same size as a TSX.

goon54

one thing that really sucks about the G35s is the trunk space. there's so much more room in a TSX. 2 sets of golf clubs to be exact!

MMsTSX

the TSX trunk is about 2 inches deeper and 2 inches wider.
plus the TSX has the folding seats.
G35s doesn't have folding seats in the back, just that little ski cubby thing.

and the G35s is not much bigger of a car at all.
not sure what gives you guys that impression.
it's not supposed to be a bunch bigger, I never would have bought it
if it was any bigger than it is.
and with any car, if you put the front seats all the way back it will
drastically limit the rear passanger seating.

it is MUCH faster and MUCH more powerful than the TSX.
not even a comparison, hands down. it's an insult to the G35s
to even compare power with the TSX.

I understand you guys are biased towards the TSX and you want to make
yourselfs feel better about thinking the TSX is superior, which is fine.
But the G35s drastically outshines the TSX in several areas, and the price
is basically the same.

So I guess it's all about what you're into. I went to buy an 09 TSX, and I
was beyond disappointed. I then test drove the G35s and knew there
really wasn't even any comparison. But that's my opinion.

Think of the G as a more powerful, RWD, tech-y version of the TSX.
that's all. it's not some over the top super luxurious race car.
Look at the price difference, which is only a few thousand. Then look at
all of the extra stuff you get with the G. Pretty hard to knock in all reality.

wreak

Does the G35 have a soft touch dash? I sat in a G35 coupe 2005 model and I wasn't impressed with the fit and finish at all and everything felt like cheap plastic. I wasn't sure what they made for improvements because I haven't been in the new gen yet.

MMsTSX

the 07+ have a whole new interior.
the previous interior, that which is in the 05 is horrible.
terrible. bleh! it's been much, much improved since.

go to their site and check it out. the 09's have the same interior
as the 07-08's. world of difference.

6SpeedTA95

Think again, I am cross shopping the G35, TSX (first and second gen) and the 328i...used of course...manual transmission is a must...I'd love to hear your thoughts on the two.

MMsTSX

two completely different feeling cars.
what are you after? power? economy? modability? handling?
with similar price tags, take the G35s, no question.
but they're like two cars for different people really.

6SpeedTA95

Similar price tags...yeah I'd probably take the G35. Problem is that they're not similar price tags. The G is about 5k more used for equivelant miles.

Right now i have a 2002 Maxima, same motor thats in the G35 just an older version of it. Its a great motor. The G35 (the 07+) is a fantastic car but its got a bit of a price tag to go along with it. If I were going to drop that kind of coin I'd probably do it on the 328i.

Right now I'm looking for a mix of all things but economy is moderately important to me which is why I like the TSX.

I also love the high revving motor that I can drive the piss out of and still get 20 mpg in the city.

valeratj

Nissan is making same mistake GM did. They make cheap quality lemons that they want to sell to people. I mean the engine of G35 is NOT a sport engine like in 300ZX or S2000. It barely handles 10PSI of boost. What they have done to save money, is they engineered 1 engine called VQ35. Then they gave those engines different tuning and put them into 95% of Nissan/Infinity models. The engine itself came from France. This new CEO of Nissan really sucks.Car is not that well made. Interior is.... ok in the new Nissans. New Sentra is uglier than ever, but maxima looks alright. Altho if u look at newer Hondas and Acuras, their design went slightly downhill but the weight went up. It is all about marketing.....

6SpeedTA95

What on earth does the sentra have to do with the G35? Not a damn thing...

The VQ has also won numerous motor awards and the V6 isn't a "sport" engine? What defines a sport engine? Because the V6 makes more power and rev's higher than the motor in the TSX.

It doesn't need 10 pounds of boost to make 300 horsepower, it already is making 300 horsepower.

Also the sentra being ugly has nothing to do with how well the motor runs or how well the interior is screwed together

litesout

Okay, I can't really agree with most of that. First and foremost, the practice of making one base motor and putting it into multiple vehicles is not the travesty you make it out to be. That's standard industry practice. They all do it. Look at how many vehicles Honda puts the K20 and K24 motors into. Second, I gotta agree with 6SpeedTA95 on...well pretty much everything he said. I fail to see what the new Sentra has to do with the G35 beyond the fact that they're made by the same parent company. And what's uglier than sin to one person may be the best looking vehicle ever made to another. Case in point, the Pontiac Aztek. There are people out there who actually like the styling of it. I personally think the new Maxima is one of the most hideous vehicles to hit the american road. Its really just a matter of personal preference.

I too have to ask, what qualifies an engine as a "sport" engine? The ability to handle more than 10 lbs of boost? Well if that's the case the diesel motor out of my International work truck is a sport motor.

You did get one statement right, it is all about marketing.

xjohnkdoex

iTrader: (2)

these were the 2 cars, along with the TL, were the 3 vehicles i test drove when searching for a car.

the G was mostly b/c a buddy of mine had the coupe, and i really loved the styling and engine. i ended up test driving the 05 or 06 sedan before they redid the interior. i agree with all the comments above regarding the interior looking a lot better after 06.

in the end, the G was still out of my price range, not to mention the fuel economy would be painful.

psteng19

The VQ was developed by Nissan looong before Renault came into the picture.

And Infiniti leather > Acura leather

Master47

I own both a TSX ('05), nav, 6MT, and an '08 G35X, nav., prem...here are some of the biggest contrasts in my opinion:

Gas Mileage - I have averaged 26mpg over the life of my TSX (45K miles). The G so far is yielding about 20 for the same type of driving, granted it is AWD and hasn't quite been broken in (1400 miles on the odo.) I don't expect the G to ever get near 26, except on the highway, and maybe not even then.

Trunk Space - Not so much the overall space, but the opening to get things in/out of the trunk seems much smaller on the G. No fold-down seats in the G, I have used this feature about 3-4 times on my TSX, it has its conveniences.

Low End Torque - The G seems to have endless power no matter the RPM. It helps to have about 100hp more under the hood as well. No need to be at 4,000 RPM to feel like you're going somewhere. Does anyone else think there is more of a luxury feel to not winding it up to accelerate?

Leather - The G's leather feels so much softer than the TSX's has ever been. The G reminds me of that in a Lexus as well, they are very similar in feel.

Gee-wiz toys/misc. - I understand the TSX has quite a few more tech. toys from when I bought mine 4 years ago, but I have to admit once you go push-button start, you never go back, especially for my wife. If you've ever been "priviledged" enough to have to get your wife's keys out of her purse, you know what I am talking about - it's a jungle in there. For her to be able to walk up to the car, hit the button to unlock, toss her purse on the passenger seat, and hit "Start," you can't beat it.

The nav. package on the G has a back-up camera (gee-wiz), and a hard drive to store music on directly from your old CD collection --pretty neat.

In some regards I can see someone comparing the two, then again, I really think the TSX gets over its head pretty quickly in the comparo performance-wise.

Mokos23

Bad comparison. If I had the money, I would trade in my 04 TSX in a heartbeat (no-brainer) for a 2009 Infiniti G37x sedan. You guys know that Infiniti is putting the 3.7L V6 in the G sedan now and 7 speed automatic with 328hp. I read it gets better mpg than the 09 TL. 18-19 city and 26-27 highway, yes still not better than the TSX, but for a V6 with 328 hp, that's pretty good. The interior is better in the G vs. the 1st gen TSX. I've sat in both.

Even the 2009 Infiniti G37 journey beat the 2009 Acura TL SH-AWD in a compraro test done by Edmunds.com. Come on guys, wake up!

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=135807

DAYTA

If you're looking at manual transmissions, then I'm assuming you're a driving enthusiast . If so, I think the G35 should be the last of your 3 choices.

I've driven all 3 cars you're looking at with manual transmissions (except for the 2G TSX which I have no interest in), and I have to say that the G35/G37s by far have the worst shifters of the bunch. They have extremely clunky and notchy throws which pale in comparision to the precise feel you get in the 1G TSX. There is also a jarring vibration that gets transferred from the transmission through the shifter which makes the driving experience feel quite unrefined. Nissan improved the 2G G35s transmission over the 1Gs, but it's still prevalent and obtrusive IMO.

I'm not really a fan of BMW shifters either (rubbery, really long throws), but I'd take one of those in a heartbeat over the G35 manual transmission. Conversely, I've driven the 2G G35 auto as well - and that actually IS a good transmission (smooth, responsive, precise revmatched downshifts), but since you specified a manual transmission, that is most likely irrelevant to you.

Steering feel in the G35 is pretty good (properly weighted, good turn-in, thick steering wheel), but the car cannot hide the additional 2-300lbs it carries over the 1G TSX and 328i. The G35 is not nearly as tossable as the other two, and you really notice it when driving in the backroads.

Obviously, the one major advantage of the G35 over the TSX and 328i is the power (306hp vs 205hp vs 230hp, respectively), and in that respect it shines. For this reason, I view the G35 as more of a highway cruiser with some sporty attributes compared to the TSX and 328i which are comfortable sporty sedans .

6SpeedTA95

Yes I agree with your evaluations completely

However at 6ft 6 the added room of the G is appealing and its cheaper price and cheaper maintenance than the 328i make it a solid option.

But yeah its got some refinement issues that do crop up, vibration through the shifter, very notchy shift action etc...but anyways you're analysis pretty much matches mine

Master47

I have to warn you, owning both and being 6'4"...the G has basically 1-2" more front leg room than the TSX, it's not a huge difference. The G looks like a bigger car from the outside, but the interior really isn't a whole heckuva lot roomier than a TSX, and def. smaller than the 3rd and 4th Gen. TL

6SpeedTA95

Legroom isn't an issue for me, I love driving and I drive moderately aggressive I like being up on the pedals nad the wheel

Headroom is my big issue and the G has the TSX and the BMW beat in that regard.

SebringSilver

Never owned an Infiniti, and I will never want to. I quite like my TSX. It's a really good all-rounder.