Need Q45 opinion on G20

[jimbyjimb]

Considering a G20 and have been through the G20 forum. Curious if any Q45ers have an opinon since I TRUST most of the people in the Q45/Cima forum. I drove an early vin 91 a few years back, 5 speed, and I loved it. Be a great car for my future wife.

[Infinitiguy19]

I can tell you it costs less to maintain. But I have only heard 2 reviews on NICO 1 good and one bad so I am not too experinced on them.

Will this be your second car or will it replace the Q?

[konatown]

I helped my sister get a 2001 G20. 3Speed auto. For a chick, its a perfect college car, decent fuel economy not a whole lot of power, super comfortable seats!!!. But its a Sentra at heart. I could certainly live with it for a commuter if she wanted to get rid of it.

[jimbyjimb]

A fun commuter but NOT a Q45 replacement. No way. Just drove my Q 170 miles today. The one I drove was a few years back and Infiniti donated it to South Seattle Community College. It was the first manual trans r/r I ever did and that little bugger was super fun to drive. We have an airstrip on campus so we did some serious burnouts an doughnuts with it. Had some serious go for a 4 popper. It was vin 15 I think, one of the first. Infiniti directly donated it. It was super cool when we hooked up the consult. We could make each airbag (suspension) activate individually and made it dance like a low rider. It was a top tier model, super low vin#. I don't remember much except that it was a blast to drive. It had some rediculous mileage on it, like 50 or 60, since it was a direct doner. Poor thing was just beat by students for 12 years by the time we did the trans r/r. I wouldnt have whooped it so hard if it werent already trashed. There was a 95 Camaro with the EXACT same story on campus. It was a hot Camaro too, top tier.

[qship96]

What info do you need? I bought a 1993.5{ an early release 1994 updated model} brand spanking new from Infiniti dealer and drove it til 150,000 miles, so I could probobly answer any questions you may have.

[Jesda]

Get an early one with a manual.

I suggested a G20 to my brother. He ended up with a 1995 automatic. Handled beautifully and cruised smoothly. It was an electrical nightmare and had the worst automatic transmission I've ever experienced. Apparently by 1995 changes were made for emissions reasons and it lost a lot of power. Climbing mountain roads was NOT fun.

The interior was decent except for the crack in the dash. The seats were very comfortable (decent quality leather too) and the trunk and interior were shockingly spacious for a short car.

It ate alternators like Oprah at a bakery and parts weren't that cheap for an economy car. It ate a couple AC compressors too.

The silver paint flaked off the entire front clip.

Overall, I hated it. It was a terrible car to drive and repair.

The ratty $1500 240SX convertible he ended up replacing it with was a MUCH better car with far fewer problems. It needed suspension work but the rest of the mechanicals were solid.

The G20 was sold with 140,000 troublesome miles. We let it go for $1400 just to get rid of the piece of crap.

If you want an economical FWD car, get a 1989 or later Maxima. My 1990 was an outstanding car with great handling, an easy clutch, and reliable mechanicals. The AC blew ice cold at 185k and it was an absolute beast in the snow, enduring a nasty upper midwest ice storm on a road trip home.

1995 G20 highway fuel economy: 30mpg1990 Maxima highway fuel economy: 27mpg

Maximas from that era are prone to injector problems, but its a much easier job than the Q.

I'd sacrifice 3mpg for the increased comfort, style, performance, and reliability of a Maxima.

[qship96]

First of all, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER even consider a G20 with an automatic transmission- NEVER!!!! The SR20 engines power band is at high RPM, not down low- you need to use the gears and drive it like you are mad at it to produce any power. The automatic transmission sucks the life and fun out of the G.....about as bad of a match as an automatic transmission in a Miata.

Take Jesdas comments with a grain of salt, as he purchased a old, used example with who knows how many previous owners or level of care.My experience was near flawless mechanical wise{much better than my Q, which I consider very reliable}. At time of trade in at 150K, the only parts failures were a waterpump and clutch replacement in the few months just prior to trade in. Car still had original battery, exhaust/muffler/shocks/hoses/AC system/alternator/starter/window motors & regulators/sunroof components/on and on.......nothing failed.

Fun to drive{with 5 speed}, handled extremely well, comfortable, 34mpg on highway.....just a little loud compared to Q. Get the 93.5-96 for the dual airbags,keyless entry, dual power seats,r134 a/c system and other improvements over the 91-93G. The later 99-02 were a totally different, cheaper built car that lost the fabulous multi-link suspension and were nothing special.

[maxnix]

P10 with manual is more sprightly than a P11. P11 is a little more refined.

Think there was a sludging problem with one of the SR20 configurations if OCI was abused.

[qship96]

P11 more refined? They stripped the P10 multilink suspension out and put in a beam rear suspension!!!!! P11 was a huge downgrade cost saving effort, all the way down to eliminating the bronze tinted glass for the economy grade green/blue!!!

[Jesda]

Take Jesdas comments with a grain of salt, as he purchased a old, used example with who knows how many previous owners or level of care.

I've owned a lot of 100k+ cars. The most dependable ones so far have been the Maxima and Seville, and both were very well-abused. We wasted a lot of money trying to keep the G20 on the road.

AVOID the most recent P10 G20s and go for an earlier one. Like the 96 Q, they lost power to meet emissions standards. P11 was a prettier car but Nissan cheaped out on feature content and suspension. I wouldn't really call the P11 more refined. The P10 was already very quiet and felt very solid with little wind noise.

[qship96]

All p10 series g20 {91-96} produced the same power.....140 HP & 132 lb torque. If the later G was slightly slower than the very early ones, it was due to added weight from increased equipment levels{ power seats/dual airbags/keyless entry/sound deadening materials, etc} One doesnt purchase a G20 for super fast acceleration- plenty of better choices, if that is your main priority- same with 90-01Q.

[Jesda]

It could have been that ours was just a lemon. Its hard to call a car that after so many years of being on the road, but the 1990 Q45 I owned was a nightmarishly unreliable car for its first ten years of existence before it finally settled down and became reasonably dependable.

Maybe the G20 is a good car, but I can't say I've had a good experience. A manual transmission would have made the mechanical and electrical issues much more palatable. The SR20 was also noisy and rough, fine for an entry level car but not good enough for what it cost in 1995. Once you got on the interstate and set the cruise it was pretty damn good.

The VQ30 in the Maxima is much smoother and more powerful. I keep mentioning the Maxima because the G20 and Maxima cost about the same when they were new. A lot of folks in the press also made the same comparison.

The earlier ones felt quicker, but AZHitman said emissions changes for the switch to OBD II (just like the 1996 Q) affected power output.

[MinisterofDOOM]

A family down the street has a G20 that survived being a hand-me-down between THREE teenage girls over ~6 years. It was an earlier P10.

I like the G20's looks, but I just wouldn't want an N/A SR20 in a commuter/grocery getter, especially with the auto.

I have to 2nd Jesda's recommendation of an '89-'94 Maxima instead. I drove one for several years and my worst complaint was the crappy cupholders. Get a VG-powered one and you'll be driving the easiest to work on car you've ever owned. It's easily one of the best-mannered front-drive chassis I've ever had the experience of driving. Since the VG makes a lot of it's torque down low, you can get by just fine with the auto. 5-speed is still a much better choice, though.The Max I owned is currently sitting at 250,000 miles and I'd trust it to drive cross-country.

P11 more refined? They stripped the P10 multilink suspension out and put in a beam rear suspension!!!!! P11 was a huge downgrade cost saving effort, all the way down to eliminating the bronze tinted glass for the economy grade green/blue!!!

Just like the A32 Max vs the J30 Max. Materials, engineering, and fit-and-finish saw a big decline for cost savings. It got a more powerful motor and was still reliable, though, so most overlooked those changes.

[maxnix]

P11 more refined?

In the sense it is a heavier quieter car, not engineering wise.

[Jesda]

I have to 2nd Jesda's recommendation of an '89-'94 Maxima instead. I drove one for several years and my worst complaint was the crappy cupholders. Get a VG-powered one and you'll be driving the easiest to work on car you've ever owned.

And the quantity of detailed and photographed DIY information out there is insane. There wasn't one thing on the Maxima a newbie couldn't do himself. And there's MUCH more space in the engine bay than the short-nosed G20.

[jimbyjimb]

Wow guys. Thanks so much for the responses. My biggest considerations have been the 1st gen G20, an I30 or a Max. The input is really valued.

[qship96]

I would take a first gen 93.5-96 G20 over the I30/Max any day.

[MinisterofDOOM]

I would take a first gen 93.5-96 G20 over the I30/Max any day.

I suspect you'd feel differently if you had firsthand experience with an '89-'94 Maxima and a P10. The P10 just doesn't compare. The Max is a baby Q, the G20 is a big Sentra.

[qship96]

You are forgetting the fact that I purchased my 93.5 G20 brand new, and test drove and eliminated the less expensive 94 Maxima from my list of contenders. G20 was not based on the Sentra, but on the Nissan Primera.

[maxnix]

G20 was not based on the Sentra, but on the Nissan Primera.

That's true. And beam rear axles are less than desirable on anything, even a minivan.

The SR20 was econmical in the 5 speed implementation. Not fast, but thrifty.

[MinisterofDOOM]

You are forgetting the fact that I purchased my 93.5 G20 brand new, and test drove and eliminated the less expensive 94 Maxima from my list of contenders. G20 was not based on the Sentra, but on the Nissan Primera.

I know. The Max isn't based on the Q, either. I was just making comparisons.

[Jesda]

DIY on the G20 blows.

The G20/Primera was/is a popular car in Europe because of its handling, space efficiency, and fuel economy. It was a lot of car for 2.0L due to the way they tax displacement.

Americans aren't forced into these government-mandated compromises. Your used car money goes further in a Maxima. Cheaper service, cheaper parts, easier repairs, better styling, more space, more power. You'll never have to worry about replacing a timing belt on a G20 though, so that's a point in its favor.

[jimbyjimb]

Well, the reason I asked in the first place is because what I'm getting is all I'll have to change on a Max is a timing belt and I'll have to change everything on a G20 BUT a timing belt. Mostly kidding, but a 5-speed Max would be fine also. Ultimately it's up to Jen what she gets but I'll throw the Max up there since I'm the one who's going to have to fix it. the only Nissan experience I have is the G50, N/A 300ZX, 91 G20 and a 90's Pathfinder. Didn't like the Z for serious room issues, but I can say it's the best riding car with 18's and a short wheelbase I've ever driven. I've seen a few Max's over 300,000 miles also, so that is an attractive option. Most seem to lean that way, so before we just go get a G20 the Maxster is worth a peak. Plus either way they're both cheap now.