’04 & ’08 G35x Comparison

[Sebago]

I’ve been reading this informative forum since Feb. ’08 after I bought a ‘04 Garnet Ember G35x with 44K on it (now ~ 60K). It replaced a ’94 Taurus (185K) – what an upgrade! I stumbled on the G by accident, saw it on a dealer (not Infiniti) used car lot, wanted AWD, and after driving it was sold – didn’t realize how well rated these cars are until after buying one. The ‘04 has the premium package w/o navigation. The only mode I’ve done is a Stillen CAI.

I liked the ‘04 G so much that in June ’08 I bought a new Ivory Pearl G35xS (premium, navigation, tech package, spoiler, mud guards, etc). It now has ~19K on it. The modes on the ’08 to date are a clear bar, window tint and a radar detector. My wife drives the ’04. She has a mini-van for hauling the kids but doesn’t drive it much anymore.

My observations of the two cars follow:

The Stillen CAI on the ’04 made a noticeable difference, not only in performance but I swear the gas mileage increased about 1-2 mpg. I’m hesitant to put a CAI on the ‘08 since it’s still under warranty and I wouldn’t want my dealer to be able to blame a problem I might have in the future on a mod I did.

Prefer the Garnet Ember over the Ivory Peal. Although I think the IP is the best of the ’08 colors. GE not available in ’08 selections. ‘04 peppier than ‘ 08 at low speeds (maybe CAI or different ECU?).‘08 comes to life at higher speeds and seems to be hardly working at 75 mph.‘04 sits lower and is smaller overall than the ’08 (16” vs. 18” wheels / Standard vs. Sport Seats).’08 gets more “head-turns”.‘08 feels more like a luxury car while ‘04 feels more like a sports car even though the ‘08 has the sport seats, spoiler and a stiffer frame.The sport brakes on the ’08 are noticeably more responsive than the stock ’04 brakes. The ‘04 Graphite leather is much softer than the ‘08 Stone leather. I guess the leather gets better with age. Also, the ’04 steering wheel seems a higher quality. Buttons on ’04 are metal while ‘08’s are plastic but the ‘08 has back lights and the ’04 doesn’t.Placement of the seat adjusters on the ’08 is better than then the ’04 (outboard instead of inboard).The Bose stereo in both cars cranks. My untrained ears haven’t noticed any quality differences between the two cars.Average Gas mileage in ’04 ~22-23 mpg; ’08 ~19-21. 60% Highway / 40% City. Run only premiumThe nav in the ’08 is awesome along with the blue tooth capability. Haven’t tried the IPod, AV in/out or hard drive / flash card features yet. The ICC (Intelligent Cruise Control) is okay, used it some. Good for long trips in light traffic, otherwise it seems like the car has too much control. The ‘04 has had a brake job including new rear calipers. I used ceramic pads from NAPA and the brake dust that was ever present on the front wheels has been significantly reduced.

The ‘04 also has a new set of shoes (Yoko Avids V4s) which make it feel like a slot car when you take tight corners – very impressed so far. It will be interesting to see what kind of wear mileage I get out of them. I’m hoping for 40K but that might be a stretch. Also how they perform in heavy snow will be interesting (live in Maine).

Only non-maintenance issue I’ve had with either car is the paint. It chips too easily. The ‘04 has chips on the front end that the previously owner tried to touch-up. On the ‘08, I had a clear bar installed everywhere possible when it was brand new but as bad luck would have it, it has two very small chips on the hood just beyond the clear bra, where a pebble or something must have struck it while cruising down the highway.

All-in-all these are the best cars I’ve ever owned (‘63 Chrysler Newport, ’65 Mustang, ’67 Chevelle SS – wish I still owned, 70 Caprice, 75 Nova, 3 Subaru’s, plus minivans and Ford Sedans, as well as a ’63 Buick Convertible which I still have). The ’08 is more powerful and has many more bells & whistles but the ’04 may be more fun to drive.

I’ll try and post some pictures once I take some.

Thanks for reading this long post!

[kmckis1029]

my 05 G35x has been the best car i have driven over a long period of time...ill probablly end up with a g37x when this one gets old. its only at 45k miles