I think the engineering on this car is great. It seems hard to compete with the drive train at the price.Having said that, (here we go)....The leather is cheap.The carpet is cheap.The clock is unreadable.The front seats are shallow and narrow.The trunk space is limited.There are no lights in the interior to let you know the head lights are on.There are no lights in the interior to let you know the parking lights are on.There are no lights in the interior to let you know the fog lights are on.The 12 volt outlets are all placed in places that get limited use. (how about one in the back seat area).As with most Japanese cars, one can't charge a cell phone battery at night because none of the outlets are hot when the ignition is off.For the Infiniti name, I would expect a little more luxury than a "Nissan" brand car.

Then why did you buy the car?

It was the AWD feature that persuaded me to get it.It's quite possible that if I could have waited one more year, which I couldn't because I needed a car, that I would have bought a Lexus 330. Apparently, the new Lexus in 2005 will come with AWD.

The lights complaint was really laughable. I never owned 1 car that has some kind of notice to let me know when my lights are on or off (other than the ding ding when opening the door). Are you saying that the interior buttons are not illuminating when you turn your lights on? There's a little wheel switch next to your trunk release that you turn to brighten things up. As fare as the rest of the observation what are you comparing the G too? Buick has nice leather (I was told) Bentley has very nice carpets. (No doubt) Lamborghini has shallow seats that are hard on the rump. (Per C&D) We live in a digital generation so I'm sure it's hard for some to read a traditional clock. Two outlets in the front one under the armrest is sufficient (IMO). I would say the vast majority of cars Japs & USA outlets shuts down when the ignitions is off. The G is designed for more performance in mind than Luxury. If you want luxury you need to add $20k to the sticker and buy the Q or the next M.

Kev...PS I was going to say something mean but I changed my mind.

My review wasn't really meant to be a personal attack in order for some to say something mean. As I said, the engineering is great but as with every car out there including probably a Bently, nothing is perfect and I chose the items I selected as something that are annoying to me personally that I thought I would share. But if someone chooses to take a hunk of steel and plastic as a personal attack, I have no control to the decision that person has made in order to vent their anger, rage and meanness.

Hmmm ... on my M45, the interior lights screen and LCD brightness dim when the head lights are on. So I know that instantly. Plus the lights are automatic, so anything left on wil go off after a settable delay.

Does the G35 not have something similar? Accessible through the LCD settings?

Z

If you move the interior light switch setting to max in the G, the interior lights will not dim when lights are on. I like to leave it on that setting. If you have the premium package you have the auto lights. The headlights will shut off automatically as part of the battery saver device even if you don't have auto lights.Kev...

Z,

The G is the same. The interior lights dim when the headlights come on. The headlights can also be turned to come on automatically by turning the knob. The LCD display can be set for night view if wanted where the background is black rather than white, the change happens once the headlights come on.

bbq,

I don't think that I would call the leather and carpet cheap. Granted they aren't the quality of Lexus, Mercedes or BMW, but then again the price is a bit less as well. Plus the G35 is not classified as a luxury car, so I wouldn't expect to see the high quality luxury materials used, but I would expect to see materials that are a step down.

Yes the trunk is a bit small, but it is about average for the size of car that it is. And the seats being narrow and shallow is just a personal preference. I find the seats much more comfortable than seats in the BMW M3, 3 series and 5 series that I have ridden in.

I find the clock readable. While it doesn't have big numbers on it, I can pretty much figure out what time it is by looking at it, it isn't that difficult. Plus the LCD screen has the digital time on it if you have the nav system.

Now, as to some people taking things a little personally here, I can understand where they are coming from. You are basically tearing the car down and tearing it apart. You did give it a couple of good remarks, in that it has a good drivetrain and the AWD is good, but otherwise you basically spat on the car in general. This is quite offensive since the majority of people, obviously you not included, bought the car because they like it and they take pride in it. The car is often times looked as a reflection upon the person. By tearing the car down and spitting on it, you are basically tearing the person down, stepping on their pride and saying that they are cheap or have cheap taste. This is wholly offensive. I am sure that you did not mean to indicate that, but that is the way people often take things. A car is a rather large personal investment (right behind buying a house and getting an education) that people take tremendous pride in.

Quote »Now, as to some people taking things a little personally here, I can understand where they are coming from. You are basically tearing the car down and tearing it apart. You did give it a couple of good remarks, in that it has a good drivetrain and the AWD is good, but otherwise you basically spat on the car in general. This is quite offensive since the majority of people, obviously you not included, bought the car because they like it and they take pride in it. The car is often times looked as a reflection upon the person. By tearing the car down and spitting on it, you are basically tearing the person down, stepping on their pride and saying that they are cheap or have cheap taste. This is wholly offensive. I am sure that you did not mean to indicate that, but that is the way people often take things. A car is a rather large personal investment (right behind buying a house and getting an education) that people take tremendous pride in. [/quote]

Well, I've said my piece. I can see some folks agree with some of my complaints and others may not.But if they chose to be mean, angry and possibly, who knows, maybe even become violent, then I will stay out of their way.After sleeping the night away they may be rethinking about my personal preferrences and peeves and may end up concurring.Time will tell.

bbq,I don't see anybody on this forum agreeing with you on how cheap his or her G is. Some viewers are just reading your observation shaking their heads and moving on without wasting their time adding a comment. Is the G a step up or down compared to your previous ride? Has your transportation budget been downsized? I'm just curious to the type of quality you are accustom to. This will help me to understand the standards you judge by. Please provide us with your auto obituary.Here's mine:1982 Datsun 210 SW1987 Thunderbird & 1995 Ford Escort1993 Subaru Legacy & 1997 Ford Escort2000 Neon & 1997 Aurora2003.5 G35 Sedan & 2000 Neon (Currently)I'm climbing the food chain but not as fast as others. So, I'm sure you now understand why I have a very little since of pride in the G. I'm hoping to replace the Neon with something nicer down the road. The Neon (wife’s car) keeps me humble when I have to drive. As far as personal preference, I would love to trade my Neon in for the second generation M45-V8. The only 2 peeves I have with the my G is 1) Break dust on the front rims which I can live with & 2) it needs bath but it's been raining every afternoon after work.

Kev...

g35 driver...Well, it is true that other cars I have owned a different in many details. And as you say, I guess I have experienced accessory and features that some other vehicles have or had that I have become accustomed to. Also, new cars have higher prices than previous years and I personnaly have had to trim my budget.Thanks for your feedback.

BBQ,Please go away. You sound weird and unhelpful.

bbqbrisket wrote:I think the engineering on this car is great. It seems hard to compete with the drive train at the price.Having said that, (here we go)....As with most Japanese cars, one can't charge a cell phone battery at night because none of the outlets are hot when the ignition is off.

This is good because otherwise the car battery will draw power form the attched device's battery, and thereby shorten the device's battery life.

This is what my Japanese generation one Legend does.

If your prefer frosting to cake, definitely dine at Lexus.

If you prefer cake, dine at Infiniti.

The leather is cheap. I disagree. I like the logo stitched into the leather is soft .

The carpet is cheap. No its not its nice & the one piece in back is a nice touch

The clock is unreadable. I can see mine fine

The front seats are shallow and narrow. I love them they hold me firm in place

The trunk space is limited. it's huge what are you talking about

There are no lights in the interior to let you know the head lights are on.This is true & after a day I got over it. look at the wand switch

There are no lights in the interior to let you know the parking lights are on.see aboveThere are no lights in the interior to let you know the fog lights are on. see above

The 12 volt outlets are all placed in places that get limited use. (how about one in the back seat area). I don't even care about these I won't be pluging anything into to them any way & if I do they are accessable enough

Actually, my friend has a 2003 BMW M3 and he went to test drive a G35 coupe with me and he loved the seats. He said they are more padded and wish BMW had better seats. I was shocked cause he paid 60k for his and actually liked the G35 for the price. It was funny because he was like wow for 32k for this is a steal.

I fell in love with the coupe that's why I'm getting one. The only thing I wished for is it to be faster and lighter...coming from my 240SX/SR I love the feeling of a turbo and now it's strange for a linear NA feel.

Oh yeah my list of cars I had:

1986 200SX (S12) - CA18DET1992 240SX (S13) - Blacktop SR 2004 G35 coupe (V35) - Im climbing the stairs! I guess I'll always have a Nissan. I was going to join the German bandwagon of an Audi but I hear bad stuff.

So when's the turbo coming for the G nnkfws333?

well first I need to get one...my buyer just bailed on my so I can't get it this weekend...I dunno I want to mod it but then again Im tired of maintaining it. I was thinking of picking up another 240 and RB25DET or just waiting until my G hits over 100k and needs a rebuild and then making it bulletproof with the APS kit...