skywaydriver

been shopping for a replacement for my totalled accord this week. the lease payment on a 6-speed 04 G35 sedan is $29 more a month than the TSX. the TSX is a fantastic car, but the G35 has 260hp and RWD going for it.

what to do...what to do.

justinjsw

You better check those numbers again. It's more than JUST $29.00 a month.

MSZ

get the real Accord, and forget about the Skyline wannabe(wheres the GT-R?)

not only you can save 29 bucks a month, Accord got a better look as well. You will be the center of the attention. (in Toronto Skylines are everywhere just like Civics...)

tycoon

Do you like a sports engine? Or a truck engine?

skywaydriver

worked out a deal through my office at the infiniti dealer. $3K down, 24K miles a year ( i'll use all of them), 3 year lease $400 a month for the expensive altima.

truck engine or not, the G35 is FAST but the brakes are way touchy and the interior is almost as plastic as my last 5.0 mustang. the TSX is much more refined and just as comfortable as the G35, but it's not quite as speedy.

never owned a nissan product, had 3 hondas. perhaps i'll flip a coin in the morning. (still leaning toward the TSX)

finalheaven

Personally if i got the g35 i would get the coupe. Second out of the choices i have currently it is 1) TSX 2) C230 3) G35 Coupe. For several reasons. I do not want to waste gas, i hate the orange lights, and i hate the interior. And the its not in the same $$$ category anyways.

tycoon

If you don’t care about the type of engine, then can’t beat the power and FR.

teombe

Ahem... On a serious note. I'll share my experience with you, and give you my take on Pros and cons of both cars. A few months ago, I set out to buy a car I really, really wanted instead of my previous cars (I had to settle for them due to bad timing/lack of money). My plan was to lease a car in the $35K range, but I was flexible enough to go with other options if they made sense. My field of cars was the following (in no particular order):

BMW 330i - immediately disqualified due to price, even though lease deals are good here due to high residuals

BMW325i - one of the front-runners in my eval.

Lexus IS300 - An excellent car, but I couldn't get over the interior AND exterior styling.

Saab 9-3 Vector (Aero) - My father in law is a fleet/commercial marketing manager at GM, so I could have gotten the employee discount on this one. I test-drove one at a ride-and-drive that was well-broken in (2K-3K miles). My wife thought the interior was cheap, and that it drove like it wasn't well put together...as if it sorta got loose with age. I agreed (sorry 9-3Kewl :-) ).

Infiniti G35 Coupe - disqualified because the fairly bad Austin roadways I travel on each day and the G coupe's $650/piece 18" wheels promised to zap my 'free money' budget. Plus, I didn't feel like the car was worth MSRP.

Infiniti G35 Sedan

And the TSX.

Long story short, I had decided to buy the G35 6mt sedan rather than lease, because its residuals are so shitty that leasing's disadvantages outweighed its advantages for me (vs. the BMW and the TSX). I worked a deal with Grubbs infiniti (DFW) on the phone for roughly $300 over invoice on an '04 model, and wanted to test drive an example (I had only test driven an automatic coupe at this point) before putting down my $1K deposit. So, I headed over to my local Infiniti dealer, and luckily they had a G35 6mt sedan to test-drive. The sales guy took me to a twisty route, and told me to let'er rip...

Well, I was really, really disappointed. The Auto tranny is tons more refined than the manual in this car. The shifter was extremely clunky, it vibrated like a sex toy, and the clutch pedal was hard... I mean HARD to manipulate... not to mention, it was positioned about 3 inches too high for me to get a comfortable position on it. I damn near broke my ankle driving that car. Before I drove it, I was willing to forgive the G sedan for it's many interior shortcomings (switchgear, cheap materials no headroom, amber gauges, etc..) and it's slightly unrefined engine noises... But, I could not deal with a sloppy transmission just to say I own a 260HP car.

I had already test driven the TSX, and liked it, but I kept telling myself I wouldn't be happy with a car with styling on the stodgy side. Well, I test drove it again, and saw my first Carbon Grey car.. and the rest is history.

Iceman

Great story!

Iceman

Provench sold a G35 sedan in order to buy a TSX. He told his story at the old club -- I don't know if he's told it here.

princed

After my test drive of the G35 6MT, I was CONVINCED that it would be my next car. Granted, I just moved from Boston, and I haven't really driven a car in 8 years (and it's been even longer since I've driven a MT), so having my return-to-driving experience in the G35 was great (it's hard not to enjoy its power)...

Before I wrote the check, I fortunately went online and read what people had to say about the car on various forums. Once I learned about the problems with the paint and brakes, I was much less enthusiastic about the car. Then, I decided to look at Acura and Honda, and I test drove the TSX 6MT and the Accord EX-V6 MT coupe. While I don't seem to hate the Infiniti's interior as many here do (except for the amber lighting which I DESPISE), I definitely feel the TSX (and even the Accord coupe) have much nicer interiors, and the Infiniti nav is nothing compared to Honda/Acura's.

So, I tossed the Infinti from consideration and focused on the TSX vs. the Accord coupe. For me, I liked the power of the Accord and G35, but I wanted a sedan with the refinement of the TSX. Ultimately, I was unable to sacrifice the convenience of the sedan, nor could I give up the performance, so I pre-ordered the TL, which will hopefully give the best of both worlds.

If you need a car right now, then obviously the TL might not be your best bet, but if you can hold off a couple of months, you might consider it. I can't imagine it'll be too much more than a reasonably configured G35. You'll have to deal with the interior of the car every time you use it, so you should definitely be sure it's something you enjoy. If you're looking for navi, I'd definitely stay with Acura over Infiniti...

skywaydriver

thanks for the advice guys. going for the TSX. i am much more comfortable with the honda product. my other 3 hondas were nothing but good to me and the service department at my current dealer is the best i've ever experienced.

but i must be getting old. i'm choosing quality over horsepower. never thought that would happen!

Jason

Great line and great story.

Jaeger

Well, my experience test-driving the G-35 Sedan (twice, two different cars) could not have been more diferent. I found the 6 sp. shifter to be very precise with nice short throws, and the clutch very easy to modulate. Now, both require greater effort to operate than the feather-light clutch/shifter of the TSX, but that is not surprising considering the higher levels of horsepower and MUCH higher levels of torque involved. In fact, I would rate the shift feel of the G ahead of every other car I tested (except the TSX) - including: A4, Mazda 6, Saab 9-3, Maxima SE, Accord Coupe V6 and others.

I passed on the G-35 for one reason only - it is RWD and winter happens where I live. But the driving experience was both engaging and rewarding. And it is outrageously fast. And it grips the road like it has claws (as long as the road is dry, of course).

I agree that the TSX has the nicer interior, although unlike some here, I found the interior of the G to be quite fine.

One more thing - unless you live on a different planet, there is NO WAY that a 6 sp. G35 and TSX are $29/month apart.

Cheers,

Jaeger

j-man

teome - great story - sounds like I could have written it myself, as I went through a similar dilemma, and ended up with a CG/Ebony/AT TSX. Still getting used to it, as my previous (totalled) car was a SC300 with the inline 225hp 6cyl.....210 ft pds of torque versus the TSXs 166, but I still like my new car.