About to buy a new car and.....

[Blueice]

I own a 2001 Mustang GT Convertible (with a few mods) for 5 years and have decided I need the additional room, and want some peace and quiet in my life plus room for all of my son's and my hockey equipment

Anyways - went and drove the BMW 325i last night and it was decent but seemed alittle small inside. No knocking cause it handled and braked excellent (course this is compared to my Stang lol !!!)

I love the look of the G35, and probably prefer the 06 over the new M looking 2007 (although I wish I could have the new interior)

So I'm going to drive them Saturday.......

Any thoughts on the AWD system ?? Its heavier and hurts performance but how much does it help handling in the dry ?? Or since its 100% back wheels unless slippage occurs, does it not effect it ??

I live in Central Virginia and have some curvy mountain roads to work.

I was also considering the 6MT in the sedan.....sounds from reviews that the shifting is smooth and easy, clutch is alittle heavy.

I drive in very little traffic, but haven't had a stick in 10 years, not sure I want to go back.

Thanks

Rob

[SVTCOBRA]

I would test drive both on some curvey roads and see if I could tell the difference. Our local dealer let us take our sedan out on an extended drive when we were comparing it to a TL. I won't knock BMW's either...have driven several including M's, but I do prefer our G. IF we lived in an area that had more bad weather we would have considered the AWD more heavily. Good Luck!

[Blueice]

Thanks - I can not find ANYTHING showing the performance difference, justthe weight - and I'm pretty good at finding anything

[C-Kwik]

Actually, if you get a hold of the March 06 issue of Road and Track, there is an AWD comparison that includes the G35x. In the article, they decide to throw a RWD sedan in teh mix and see how it compares to it's AWD counterpart. The AWD G35x was faster in an autocross by 0.9 seconds. That being said, it may differ if we were to test both in a road course. The lighter RWD version may end up with a slight advantage on long straights as it would give it time for the better power to weight ratio pass the AWD version, but the AWD version seems to show itself as the better handling of the 2. I suspect the AWD allows you to get on the gas earlier on exit. Unless you string out long straightaways behind each turn(or at least most of them), The AWD will probably win most of these battles. Of course in the long run, the heavier car may cause a bigger burden on the brakes which can make or brake any car on a track over repeated laps. I would conclude the AWD would be better in most real world situations. Keep in mind this AWD system is a variation of the one that originated in the GT-R's. These are very good systems that, other than the additional weight) are quite transparent until you need it.

[C-Kwik]

Just found the article online:

http://www.roadandtrack.com/ar...drive

[Blueice]

Good read - Thanks and interesting stuff.

don't go to tracks but have plenty of curvy mountain roads here in Central VA.

Might have to just go drive both and see...

Thanks again....

(of course now I'm thinking 6MT in the sedan........ )

[Blueice]

so I'm heading to pick one up tomorrow morning....I found a base with just the sunroof in an automatic.....letting me have it for invoice LESS the $2000 factory to dealer money - so 27.9K...can't pass that up !!!!!

Might change my mind on the AWD but they only have $1000 dealer money so its $3000 more for the AWD...cause of the less rebate....

I'll post pics of the Twilight blue auto old family man G35 tomorrow