Yui

I already tried searching, and didn't find anything, so I figured I'd start a new thread =)

I'd like to trade in for a new car in January for my 25th birthday to celebrate insurance rates getting cut by over half =P So I'm thinking either the 2006 TSX 5AT Nav or a 2006 G35 Coupe. I've actually test driven the 2006 G35 Coupe so I'll start there. I remember sitting in one at the Dallas Auto Show back in 2003 and thinking the interior was pretty crappy. The seat was very uncomfortable and the material looked a couple grades lower than what was used in our TSX. I sat in an 06 and it's definitely improved. I love the real aluminum on the dash and around the speakers, as well as the motorized tilting steering wheel and cluster. The intelligent key feature just blows me away. Walk up, open the door, get in, turn the dial for the ignition, and drive off - the fob never has to leave your pocket. The bi-xenons are beautiful as well - seems brighter than what I have now on my 04 TSX. Plus it's both highbeam and lowbeam, *drool*. However, there are still some things I don't like about the G35 Coupe interior - there's still this funky bulge below the aluminum trim that really seems awkward. In contrast, I love how smooth the TSX interior design is - nothing sticks out at weird angles.

Driving the 5AT coupe, I was kind of surprised at how heavy and sluggish the sportshift mode felt - I really had to push up or pull down on the shifter and there was a noticeable longer delay in when the car would actually shift gears. The car definitely accelerates fast but once I was at about 95-100 it seemed to have a harder time accelerating, and I didn't want to leave it at high RPMs for too long. There is some serious road noise with the 19 inch wheels and some harsh wind noise as well - I didn't expect this from a luxury coupe.

The coupe would remain pretty stock through the warranty period, but I'd definitely like to mod the TSX as soon as I get it. I'd get A-spec suspension, Yokohomas, lighter rims (haven't decided yet), LED taillights, CF hood, Comptech intake and exhaust, eventually an ECU reflash, and play around with the Navigation some. And definitely upgrade the sound system. So basically, a modded 06 TSX vs a stock 06 G35 Coupe. To be honest, wallet would be hurting a bit with the Coupe, even with the insurance rates dropping, but I think it'd be worth making some sacrfices here and there for. As for how I drive my current ride, let's just say I average 20 mpg on the TSX and 90 mph on the 65 mph highways and like to weave through traffic.

Thoughts and comments?

One last thing, I have to say I find it ironic that the G35 owners bemoan the lack of power in their car just as much as we do ours. They all confess that it's more luxury than sport at under 40k. The grass is always greener... =)

Jim Holloman

That clinches it. You need a BMW -- don't ask me what BMW stands for.

HoRRo

Bitch Moan and Whine ?

rugbybrado

quit compairing crap.

evo_to_tsx

Bus, Muni, Walk?

hans007

well i owned a g35 coupe. 2005 version. i think the only difference between 06 and 05 is that the 06 one has the intelligent key thing as an option.

anyways i traded my car for an 05 tsx so here is my opinion on it.

obviously this depends on your life style, traffic in your city, etc, i had a lot of bad luck regarding cars hitting me, me hitting a car etc in my g35... and other circumstances but here is my opinion

the g35 is WAAAAY more powerful off the line than a tsx. i suppose maybe i matured a bit in the year i had it, but it got old after a while. cant really do it that much in L.A. traffic though. Oddy I am turning 25 in january too which is ironic.

here are the PROs. tthey are what make you fall in love with a g35 coupe and buy one and smile for a few days straight

- the car is really fast
- the exhaust note is like music
- it handles REALLY well (i beat on an IS350 this weekend, g35coupe much better in corners)
- my best friends 65 year old father called it "unadulterated sex on wheels"
- you can go 130mph on the way to vegas uphill and due to rwd feel stable and still be accelerating
- the seats are very good.
- stereo plays mp3 cds (albeit the "random" feature on it really sucks)
- the LED taillight patter on the coupe is sexy.

here are the con vs a tsx so far.

- blind spots in the g35 coupe are god awful. it makes changing lanes in L.A. (where people zoom up the minute you signal to fill the "gap" well slightly unnerving)
- a LOT of road noise, i had the 18" tire package as my ONLY option on the car . on a road trip i took the car on a road trip to san luis obispo ~300 miles, had 2 friends in the car, friend in back could not hear me at 80mph
- bass on stereo is not that good
- the car is pretty low, so i almost guarantee you will scrape one of those concrete parking lot stoppers with the front bumper
- there is not much space inside. truck is really shallow and oddly shaped AND small so its hard to effectively use if for much (i could fit 2 loads of laundry in it, a microwave will not fit)
- the interior still sucks compared to a tsx. the plastic is very cheap (my keys had worn into it just dangling from the keyhole, and the seatbelt had worn down the side plastic just from rubbing it fromtaking my seatbelt off) and the brushed aluminum on the shifter you could see the double stick tape holding it. the window switches, sunglass holder, interior lighting are exactly the same as a 350z. basically everyone who has been in the tsx has said it is like a step up in the "luxury and refinement and quality"
- wind noise is bad, or at least the cabin is noisier, not nearly as bad as say a 350z which is awful, but it is definitely louder than a tsx
- if you go to a car wash, due to the rimless design of the doors, water will leak in
- lastly. even though a Auto one is rated at 18/25, even driven gently you will be hard pressed to get 17mpg in it in 50/50 city hwy driving. Edmunds long term tester they did not average 15mpg in it on a manual one (which is supposed to get 20/27). i probably averaged something like 16 mpg on a typical week of normal driving when i was keeping logs to test it out during $3 gas time.


Anyhow, if you do buy the car make sure make sure you option it out. You will regret it later (mine was bone stock except the 18" rims). it is an easy car to fall in love with and for the right person with the right needs it will be an awesome car. Its a great car in some ways, and not a good one in others.

but get it with premium package so at least you get stuff like homelink, a moonroof, the better stereo, dual climate control, etc. the nav is cool ( a friend has it in a 04 sedan) and something you might care for (i made sure to get it on my tsx, but you may not need it).

and if you do buy it, i've got a 350z intake tube to sell you... gives you 5 hp at the wheels.

i dont know if you are used to a sedan and want to make a switch, hell i cant believe i'm saying this, but the 2006 bmw 325i's are a great car.

Savio

hans007

oh i'd like to add, that for me it actually cost more to insure the tsx than the g35 coupe (odd huh?). it was $25 more or so per 6 months. and i have a clean record.

joerockt

Its going to be a short celebration if you get either one of these cars.

vidgamer

Hmm, I'm sure this has been mentioned before but maybe buried in another comparison thread....

If you insist. ;-)

I don't blame you for planning some mods. I think that I traded up from a car that had better handling, and I'd like to do at least the a-spec, and eventually better tires.

But when people start talking about a lot of mods to try to get a few HP here and there, it just sounds like a lot of money and not a lot to show for it. I say, grab a few easy horsepower, but if you really need a lot more, it might make more sense to get something else. Unless you just think it's fun to mod the car.

If you need to go fast, you might consider getting the manual shift over the auto. That's a big power booster right there!

Aside from that, how fast do you need to go?

I test-drove a G35 coupe (auto). I thought it was way more power than I needed. I can see where it'd be fun, but it would be like riding a rollercoaster all the time. I like to ride rollercoasters, but only once in a while. I wouldn't want to do it for an hour every day! No seriously, it was way overkill, and a bit rough; I can't imagine how tough the manual would be. Very tempting though.

The G35 sedan was better-priced and the HP is only a bit lower, so that might be a good option.

The TSX is quite a bit cheaper than either of these.

Tintin

intelligent key isnt as good as it sounds. i have tried it, and its really nothing special.

i would prefer a car that doesnt have it...

Yui

Hans007, thanks for your perspective. When's your birthday? Mine's on the 13th. Yeah, I can see how LA traffic would really put a damper on your driving experience. Visited before, ugh. If you ever come out this way you gotta check out the rubberized high ways in Phoenix - the road noise will suddenly drop so low that it's eerie. Plus, all the AZ natives drive under the speed limit, and only the out-of-towners from California and Texas drive fast =P By the way, what's it like in real life having friends sit in the back seat? I've always had a 4 door, so I don't know if I could stomach people scuffing the back of the front seats with their shoes all the time. I don't give as many rides as I used to - most of my friends have their own rides now =)

I have to agree on the exhaust note - I forgot to mention it in my mini-review. This thing growls like some unearthly monster at WOT - it's such a nice sound. Lots of G35C drivers complain about road noise and wind noise as well, and some have tried to dampen it on their own with mixed success. I didn't realize water could seep in with the door design - that sucks. I don't know, the interior seemed a lot nicer than on the 03, especially if you're looking at their equivalent of the ebony interior. As far as the plastic's durability, with the intelligent key you wouldn't have to worry about the key scratching up anything cause it'd be in your pocket =) But for everything else you mentioned, yeah, long term durability is an issue, so I'll keep that in mind. I wanted to play more with the nav but it's definitely new software for the 06 and people have said it's much improved over the old one. However, the TSX nav is voice activated.

Sorry to hear that you've had such bad luck with getting hit, that's just not a pretty sight on such a beautiful car. Hopefully you'll have better luck with the TSX =)

I already had my insurance agent run some numbers. If I get it now, my rate jumps up by 100 to 1150 per 6 months. When I turn 25, it will be 580 per 60 months. I'll have to directly compare that to my current TSX to get an accurate count, but it looks to be a very minor increase if any. Before you bring it up, I know it's high - keep in mind that AZ has one of the nation's highest rates because of the number of uninsured people that drive here.

Tintin, why don't you like the intelligent key system? When the salesman showed it to me, I thought it was so cool. Not having to fumble around my pocket to unlock my car with the fob. Or when I want to put stuff in the trunk. Granted, I've mastered activating the fob without needing to actually stick my hand in the pocket by now, but I think it's definitely a nice feature. What was your experience with it?

Unfortunately, I can't drive manual. I would like to learn but at this point I wonder if it's a bit late. I wish I had a beater that I wouldn't worry so much about messing up. Also, I can get absent minded sometimes and would hate to accidentally downshift and blow up the engine =P And yeah, I want to mod the car some this time around, now that I know what she needs.

I appreciate your input guys! I'm still waiting on test driving the 06 TSX when it comes in before making my final decision.

Powered by Honda

G35c > Tsx

Imho

DaveWhyman

Why not take the money that you save on insurance and invest in something that appreciates rather than spending to replace a car that is not that old?

evo_to_tsx

"When I turn 25, it will be 580 per 60 months"

geez, I'd love to pay $9.66 / month for insurance on a TSX

gdcwatt

Sounds to me like you need a second car, for when you want to do a different kind of driving. For what you might lose (depreciation, taxes, etc) on making another "trade", a modded Civic could be a lot of fast, cheap fun, and something that you would feel comfortable taking to the track, or otherwise driving the snot out of it. Maybe a classic of some kind? An older BMW? A new Mini?

hans007

most of my experience giving people rides is with coworkers. you know you dont want the same person driving every time for say lunch , or say going out to a club.

i mean its tolerable for people under 5'8 back there. the electronic control which is used to move the seat forward is really annoying since its super slow. (my boss has a clk320 mercedes and even that one is manual, having it motorized that slow is just terrible). its useable though when you need to, the leg room isnt so great. i have sat in the new IS350 in the back and legroom is about the same as that (kinda sad actually on the IS350's part). if you intend to carry people in it a lot i wouldn't recommend it though, as at high speed the road noise from the rear wheel drive is noisiest for the rear people. if they are over 5'8 and you hit a bump they will probably smack their head into the rear windshield too.

the rain window thing, is the same on my friends 350z, so its probably just a problem with those type of cars since the seal isn't that great. when the car got a bit older for me, i noticed a whistling sound started getting through at higher speeds.

pretty funny though my birthday is 4 days after yours. i also can just barely drive stick. it wouldn't be all that bright an idea in L.A. anyways, but i dont think it would take that long to get good. my friend who i mentioned before with the 350z didn't know how to drive at all and figured it out on his 350z in maybe 2 weeks to be driveable. its been abouta year and he's pretty good now.

anyways, i cant believe you get that much of a discount for turning 25. i'm paying like $900 per 6 months through mercury for the tsx with a $500 deductable and that is including a 15% discount for having an engineering degree. what brand of insurance do you use?

also i second the idea of getting 2nd "sports" car to mod along with your 04 tsx. another friend of mine has an '02 mr2 , and if you actually wanted to get good at stick and do some modding you could considering doing something like that since new g35coupe + some options - tax loss on 2004 tsx is nearly the price of an 2000 mr2 or so.

gsrthomas

16 mpg no thankyou.

I would never buy a daily driver that gets 16-17 mpg at the most.

A weekend car thats another story.

hans007

on the 300 mile trip with no stops it got 23mpg though with 3 people in it. just when there is ANY traffic or stopping really you get seriously screwed on gas milage. i also drove to vegas in it at an average of just over 100 mph and got about 18-19mpg.

if you drove all city in it , you will be screwed. short trips really kill you too. so i could imagine someone who drove all city and say made a lot of trips that were less than 10 miles possibly getting even 13 or 14mpg. so i guess its like an suv but with less space if your lifestyle is anything like that. i am not sure what it is, i suppose it uses up more gas to start a larger engine, and most nissan's have pretty poor gas milage for their class (even sentras) , but if there is no traffic and you drive a lot of fwy i dont think it would be that bad.

Yui

As far as the daily driver aspect goes, I live about 2 miles away from work, so commuting is not an issue. It will be when I move into a house, since all the affordable houses are 45 minutes away from work. I agree that the rear seat is terrible. I've sat in the back of a G35C and hit the glass going over bumps. I'm about 5'10". I'm with Farmer's Insurance right now, and basically asked my friend who recently became a Farmer's agent to go with whatever cost me the least. I'm paying more than you right now at 1150 for 6 months. Ask your agent and you'll probably see a good reduction when you hit 25.

I think at this point I'm leaning towards the TSX more and more. Owning a G35 Coupe just has more cons than pros. Yeah, the motorized seat is going to be slow and people are going to be impatient. Then they're going to hit their heads on the glass. And then complain about the road noise and the lack of bass. No good. Besides, seeing the Mugen kit has rekindled my love for the car. http://media.cars.ign.com/articles/6...g_3026118.html One of my coworkers has offered to teach me how to drive manual. Now all I have to do is decide what color =)

gdcwatt

Years ago, a co-worker was looking for a new car, with standard transmission, but didn't know how to drive one. So we went around to a series of different car dealers, talked and haggled a bit. I took each car off the lot for a test drive, we then switched seats, and my friend practised standard, and eventually returned the car to the dealer. I wasn't going to let him use my RX-7, but I did enjoy all the tests.

Hondan53

I think investing the money saved is more practical...

hans007

haha we are even the same height. that is cool that you're gonna learn manual. are you getting a manual 06 tsx? or are you just sticking with the 04 tsx AT?

Yui

Yeah, thinking about getting a manual 06 with nav. I'm visiting friends in Irvine and Fullerton on Friday, where are you at?

otokoyama

I like the g35, but all the people I know get only 17MPG on it. Plus the fact that I live in LA with all the stop and go traffic and high gas prices, makes it's not worth it. The great thing about the TSX is the fuel economy. I plan on getting one later and stick on the A-spec suspension with 18-inch rims.

GeekWheels

Lack of power? I thought the G35 Coupe has 290 horses under the hood!

Yui

It does, but they still complain that it's too slow and heavy and has no top end acceleration and, get this, *rattles*. LOL

03TL-S

Road noise and low stance is due to the fact that it is a luxury sports coupe. Its like that with any sports car. I agree bass isnt that strong but neither is the tsx's. I agree, trunk space sucks. If thats an issue for you then get the g35 sedan. Tons of space in that car. I do not agree at all that the TSX's interior materials are better than a g35. The leather in the TSX is hard! I would know since my friend had a tsx and be traded it for a TL less than a year later. The TSX's interior has a nice layout, but it is not better quality than the G35. The g35 also has better build quality. You can debate this, but consumer reports tell all and infiniti is quite up there compared to acura with reliability and overall build quality. You can probably say that the 03-04 g35 interiors were low quality, but is would be totally false to say that about the 05-06 interior. Bottom line, i came from a TL to a g35 coupe. I am totally happy with this car and have not looked back. According to my navi, im making 20.3MPG on average from driving mostly city driving with some highway. Also, no disrespect since i think the TSX is a nice looking car, but ever since the new civic came out, from a far, i sometimes mistake it for a TSX. Not really a bad thing since i think the civic is nice but i myself wouldnt want my car mistaken for a civic. Again, not hating on the TSX since i think it looks great with simple mods.

Mokos23

Look on the news and rumors section, I would wait for the next gen G35 coupe/sedan, well it said that it will be unveiled in Apr. 2007 at the New York Auto Show or Detroit Auto Show. I'm excited!

03TL-S

Those are the people who are power hungry. I dont think 5.5 zero to sixty and 14sec 1/4mile is slow... Rattles come with any car and guess what, acura is infamous for those. My TL rattled everywhere

Yui

03TL-S, yeah I know, the TSX is infamous for rattles. I just always thought it was just us =) And yes, the people who complained about lack of power were the ones who were talking about trading in for Evo's and Supra TTs. 20.3 mpg in the city is nice, how do you drive it though? I'm getting just about that much with my TSX 5AT, hence my concerns. What year coupe do you have? Did you get navi on yours?

evo_to_tsx

I've heard tons of complains like that from 350z and G35 owners when I still had my EVO

hans007

im up in santa monica. yes the g35 has 280 or 298 (pre SAE) horses. it is a 3500+ pound car though, its got a lot of pull in the corners and its very grounded (its like 72" wide or something like that and 4" off the ground). the other posters are right though, i'm not sure what it is, but it does feel "heavy" but maybe that is it being more on the ground.

i've driven a 530i bmw though, and the g35c felt heavier than that. the g35 sedan is a pretty good option too, but well it doesn't look "hot" like the coupe especially the 05 and up models. i suppose the coupe is so "hot" that you can live with all the drawbacks, but the with the sedan, then you might want to look at other cars.

03TL-S

You know whats weird is that i have a pretty heavy foot. I mean, i dont drive like a granny or anything like that. I have an 05 6mt coupe fully loaded w/ navi. Modded too. I used to have an 03 and this one seems to be getting better mileage

polytsx

As someone who just traded in an Infiniti on a TSX I would be happy to share some of the reasons why…

Infiniti was not great in the snow despite the traction control, Hakkapelita’s, and 300 lbs of lead in the ass end. It also felt like a big, heavy car. It has power and a great sounding engine, especially above 4000 rpm, however it always felt like there was more mass there than what the car really needed to be. It does not have a light, precision like feel to it. For whatever reason it was hard on tires. Worse was fuel, if I drove like a senior citizen I might hit 21 – 22 mpg, most often 15-17 was the norm. Heck my ’04 Dodge Cummins One Ton get’s better mileage when towing my boat.

In short, while a beautiful car in many respects, the Infiniti came across as more form than function; inefficient, uneconomic, and not extremely versatile as a year round daily driver. Kind of reminds me of my first wife in retrospect.

The TSX in contrast comes is incredibly efficient, well engineered and well designed. I also really appreciate the lightweight of this car not to mention how incredibly economical it is by comparison to the Infiniti. I suppose I do miss the stomp on it low end of the Infiniti, however I find that I enjoy driving the TSX equally as much if not more, and for far less money while doing so. I have no regrets about saying sayonara to the Infiniti.

hans007

yeah i agree. i would have to say though that with all its impracticalities, bloated pig like feeling. my ivory pearl g35 washed and sitting on a street at night, did look better than my satin silver tsx. that and it was faster (duh).

but the tsx is basically better in every other way and it made sense to trade, since i found out A. i'm not a race car driver B. if i were a race car driver traffic and police in L.A. would not allow me to race the car.

Yui

Mm, I hit 130 a couple times just for fun on my drive from Phoenix to LA. TSX starts to feel a little wobbly at that speed. Maybe it's the drag? Very stable <115 though. And I'm bone stock. I'm sure with new tires and a lowered suspension she'd be even more stable. Averaged probably around 100 the whole way to the border, very light traffic. Had to drop down to 85 average after that, more traffic. But people here drive aggressive!

And then I get on the 91 and it's like every 5 feet there's a small speed bump. The Governator needs to pave these highways. Makes me paranoid that I've got a flat tire. And it's rough on me arse!