I have read some of the posts comparing the G and the TL (among other cars) and believe both cars are great. My first reaction to seeing and sitting in the TL back in October at the California Auto Show in Anaheim was WOW! I was completely impressed with the syling and interior of this car-beautiful and great value for the money. Maybe it's because I am in my mid-thirties, but I think flaming one another for liking one car or the other is stupid. I am a car enthusiast, and while I take pride in what I currently drive, I definitely appreciate nice rides of all makes and models.
Now, my ownership experience with my G is a long, sordid story but I will quickly summarize. I have had fit and finish issues with my G sedan since I took it home. Lots of rattles, squeaks and TSB's have been performed (seat rocking, rattles, etc.), not to mention the steering pulling right and some very intermittment, bizarre electrical bugs (flickering temp and compass displays-like a short). Perhaps the most annoying is the front window "tapping" on both sides of the car. I drove with a tech, and of course, my car decided to be quiet on the ride so I have no chance of convincing Infiniti to help get me into a 2004 G.
That being said, I am very interested in the TL. I read the sticky post listing all the issues (which are expected with a re-design-like my G), and I plan on driving one soon-perhaps this weekend. It looks like some of the higher VIN numbers are pretty much rattle/bug free. I hope this is the case.
If I love it, I may end up with one in the near future. But, I may still wait until the 2005's arrive in hopes all the bugs get ironed out.
The reason I am shopping the TL - the constant trips to the dealership, the inability of the dealership to fix the issues and the fact that Infiniti is not helping me frankly pisses me off.
All the styling and performance in the world can be ruined by cost cutting in the cabin. In my experience, Nissan is not focused on the interior fit and finish enough, but I think Acura is right on the mark.
Sorry for the long rant. Bottom line-I really like the TL and will consider it as my G replacement.

 

Despite my car being a very early build number and having some problems I can still say that I would buy it again. I still love my car. I know Acura will fix the memory seat thing, that is a small problem overall. I had two noises, now down to one that I know and hope my dealership will be able to fix. The first one was from a defect in my sun visor which upon replacement excorcised the noise. The second has not been fixed yet but the dealership is still trying to fix it for me. I don't think that you'd be disappointed if you bought a TL. I know the G35 is a great car. I test drove it too. The reasons that I didn't buy it are #1 RWD because I live in Canada #2 I didn't love the interior or exterior styling as much as I love the TL's and #3 I'm an Acura/Honda guy. But I have friends with the G35 and I really like their cars and I know they love them. It is good to be able to appreciate all the great cars that are available right now, that way each person can find the right car for them.

 

i think half the people here have considered the G and TL side by side. Both cars are great and you get alot of performance and features with either. what sold me on the TL was a couple of things. First i live in the north east so a rwd (i was looking at the g35 coupe) and when it snows it is just horrible. second is the interior for me the TL had such a beautiful and functional interior. Like most people i didn't like infiniti's interior but it wasn't a huge negative. price wise when i priced the g35 coupe vs TL with the same options the TL was cheaper. Some people won't care about the price as much but it made a difference to me. you will probably here alot of debate fwd and torque steer garbage. you just have to go drive the car and see if you like it. of course most people on this message board will say the TL is better but its up to you to decide if you want to part with the G.

 

Hey, another guy here ever cross-shopping G. Newer 04TL should have less and less rattle/vibration issues. Overall, this is the wonderful vehicle with the great value.

Make sure your car has no vibration when you pick up.

 

you won't regret it.

This is my 3rd TL and the best so far...
I know a guy who told me, this is my Acura # 10!
"can't stay away from this beautiful cars!"

 

Last weekend we test drove a Mazda RX8, an Infiniti G35 sedan, a Cadillac CTS and an Acura TL. I was really planning on buying the G35 as I like the G35 styling and power. The TL was just thrown in to be fair; besides the Acura dealer was just across the street from Infiniti.

The TL had better power, gave a smoother ride, had a cleaner interior, more rear legroom, less window glare, less road noise, and less wind noise than any of the others. So even before considering features like Nav, Bluetooth and DVD-A, the TL seemed the better value.

(The wind noise was really prominent in the G35 sedan, and was a surprising difference, considering that the Cd is slightly less for the G35 as compared to the TL.)

We did second rides in the G35 and TL. After going back and forth, we ended up ordering a 5AT TL with Nav.

While I've had many different makes in the intervening years, this TL brings me full circle to Acura: my first 'nice' car was a 1987 Acura Legend.

 

As mentioned above, most of us have considered G35 among others as our option. I considerd the A4, G35, 330I, ES330 and other similar models - even maxima.

My decision to go with TL was (in the order) exterior styling, interior styling and comfort and performance. Just lots of stuff for the price. You really have to make up your mind on a purchase like this - don't want to be unhappy later on. Continue to browse the site for info - just watch out for silver b.s.

 

I cross-shopped Audi A6 2.7T, Volvo (Ford ) S60/S80, BMW 330i (too small), and of course the G35 sedan w/sport package. The easy choice was going to be the G35 until I happened upon a preview of the '04 TL, so I waited. I'm glad I did, but there was still alot of hand-wringing between the TL and the G. I took two thorough test drives in each to confirm my choice.

I think the thing that really hooked me on the TL was the interior. My initial reaction when I first got in the car was just...wow. The G never got my attention in that respect, and although I love the VQ35 and its power delivery (fatter, flatter torque curve), the TL won me over.

I'll never diss the G35, though. I thoroughly respect Nissan for taking it directly to the Europeans, and with interior improvements and handling tweaks the G sedan will be a very difficult package to compete with.

 

I just finished my search for a new car and ended up with the TL. Since I would only consider a manual transmission, that eliminated some of the options for me. Like most people, my initial reaction to the interior of the TL was WOW! I actually looked at the G35 right after looking at the TL. My initial reaction to both the exterior and interior was 'this doesn't compare'. I went ahead and test drove one and was impressed with the drive. I couldn't get past the styling issues. I was also a little concerned about build quality compared to the Acura. I'm getting rid of a Nissan Maxima that has been a great car and very reliable but its starting to develop some minor things that make me question the overall quality. In fairness, I am partial to Honda (this will be my 5th). I think both are great cars and it really boils down to your priorities.

Good luck with your decision.

 

I shopped a lot of cars and narrowed it down to a G or a TL. To me, the G was the better handling car with better low end grunt. Someone that is after the absolute best performance bang for their buck would probably be happier with a G. If you option out a G with navi, it will sticker about a grand higher. Current market conditions have G's easier to negotiate a deal on, so for now, that's pretty much a wash. If I lived somewhere with warmer winters and twisty roads, I probably would've chosen a G coupe. I personally like the TL interior better, but there are numerous accounts of interior issues for both cars. My VIN is 245xx, and I have had *zero* build quailty issues. No vibrations, rattles, rubs, squeaks, failures, paint flaws, misaligned panels, nothing, and I'm picky about those things. I don't really like the tires Honda put on the TL, but fortunately, I haven't had a single flatspotting or tire vibration issue. If you're into navi, I like the TL's better, but the G's has a couple of cool features that the TL's lacks. G navi is not touch screen, it's all done with a joystick, and I found that to be a major pain. OTOH, the TL's screen gets a lot of fingerprints that have to be cleaned, but I find the touch screen/voice thing much more convenient. Another pain: You can't program the G's navi while the car is in motion, it has to be out of gear. I understand the reasoning behind that, but they overlooked the possibly of a passenger programming it. I think it was a bad choice to try to make it "moron-proof" and save the driver from himself. The G navi has a 3D "bird's eye" feature that is pretty cool, the TL's doesn't do that. I really like the way the G's navi retracts into the dash, I think that's a slick feature, though it makes for a smaller overall screen. Good luck to you, either way you're going to get a great car.

 

i think that most poeple who buy a car in the 35k range and didnt get a TL is b/c they didnt look into it or take a test drive.

 

I also might have considered the G coupe which i think looks great but on closer inspection, I didn't like where Infiniti put the seat controls plus the slab doors looked like ding magnets. I've learned to look how a car might wear over time vs how great it looks in the showroom. Coming from strictly Detroit iron before my 2002 TL-S, I was really impressed with how that car was thought out and the choice of materials. I chose the new TL because it has a great interior and the exterior has some real style where as I thought my 2002 was somewhat bland. I also tend to stick with a car company until they let me down and Acura has certainly not done that. Good luck with either choice.

 

Thanks for the great responses!
I still love the styling of my G, and I really like the design of the interior as well. There are just too many rattles and fit and finish issues to deal with. I agree that the interior of the TL is better and much more refined.
I live in sunny SoCal, so the weather really is not an issue. When you read about the good 'ole torque steer, it is a deterrent when you are shopping. Then again, I was going to buy an Altima before I stepped up to the G, and experienced NO torque steer issues on my test rides in the auto. I know the six speed is the real torque steer test, however. Still, I really don't drive through the hills or twisties, or race much for that matter. If torque steer was prevalent on every-day, normal driving, then I would be concerned, but you guys make it sound as if it really isn't an issue anyway.
I pulled out a couple of Car and Driver's, including the latest issue, and of course, those guys always rave about the rear-drivers. I have never owned a front-driver, and my G was my first "nice car" so I only know the differences from reading about them.
I considered most of the vehicles everyone has listed also. This feels kind of strange though, as I consider myself a Nissan guy. I don't get into the maker wars, but I do appreciate nice cars and the TL is definitely NICE.
A buddy and I are planning on driving the TL, IS, BMW and G (for him) soon. I will keep you updated on what happens with my situation.
Thanks again.