[Sal@AUTOcouture]

Originally Posted by sflgator

I came from driving a loaded (and modded) '04 Infiniti G35 Sedan and when I was shopping for a new car in the fall '06, I narrowed it down to the '07 335i and the '07 Infiniti G35 Sedan. I loved my Infiniti G35 Sedan, but I heard so much about the F/I twin turbo BMW 335i that I knew I had to test drive it as well...he he.

Although the new generation G35/G37 is absolutely a major improvement over the previous generation G35, it still doesn't match up to the BMW 335i in terms of build quality, handling, power (especially TQ), braking, transmission and overall "road feel" and driving experience.

The Infiniti G35/37 has the advantage of price ("bang for your buck"), interior design and electronics. The Infiniti Navi System is far more advanced and user-friendly than the BMW Navi System for example. Yes, the leather and sport seats of the BMW 335i are far superior than in the Infiniti G35, but the G35/G37's interior "wrap-around" design is just better, imho.

Where the Infiniti G35 (and I suspect the G37) falls short of the BMW 335i are several places including build quality, handling, power (especially TQ), braking, transmission and overall "road feel" and driving experience. Although I haven't driven the '08 G37 of course, I can tell you the brakes on the '07 Infiniti G35 Sedan felt much worse than the previous generation G35 brakes (and Infiniti admitted to "softening" the brakes for MY '07); they are way too spongy now...not sure why they did that since the prev. generation G35 brakes were fantastic. In addition, the G35's auto tranny is just not even in the same league as the 335i's lightning fast and super smooth ZF auto tranny. The G35's auto tranny is still very slow (upshifts are painstakingly slow with about a 1/2 sec. upshift delay..I expected Infiniti would've fixed that by now ) and not nearly as smooth as the 335i's ZF tranny.

With all of this said, I'd say the Infiniti G35 and G37 remain the best bang for your buck in this car segment (and yes, they should be compared with the BMW 3-series since they're more sport than luxury, as opposed to Lexus which is more luxury than sport); the Infiniti G35 and G37 are equal to approx. 8/10ths of the BMW 335i...which is fairly close for less money. If money is a major issue, then those ppl will go for the Infiniti G35/G37 and have a lot of fun with it. However, the 335i is a superior car in so many ways (not to mention the performance modding potential.. he he ) and worth the extra $$, imho.

Very well said

[Bubbarossa]

Heh heh, made this comparison before having lots of experience driving a 2004 g35 and was called a "fanboy" for bmw (on this forum) because i feel the 335i is a superior machine. Not to knock the g35, great bang-for-the-buck, no doubt, and loads of fun (as i even gave the g35 high praise on that particular forum and still had people jumping on me for some reason...this is a bmw forum, right?).

[!Xoible]

are you comparing the G35 that came out on 2002/2003 with 2007 bmw?

[Crea]

i've driven the G37, for the price i pay, i'm definatly prefering the G37 over the 335i.

its nearly 10k cheaper in canada, and offers alot more.

[Beer Goggles]

Originally Posted by Crea

i've driven the G37, for the price i pay, i'm definatly prefering the G37 over the 335i.

its nearly 10k cheaper in canada, and offers alot more.

Offers more in terms of what? Certainly not power and performance. But as I said its a nice car for a much cheaper price.

[Jonmartin]

Originally Posted by AutoCouture

You cant seriously believe the interior in our cars is nicer than in the new G...

Ya maybe it's "shaped" nicer but it's all cheap quality crap no matter what.Cheap Leather,Faux Brushed Plastic trim where BMW uses actual aluminum and the doors don't feel solid at all feels like it's stuck to a pin cushion in that car.And yes I'm talking about an 07 G sedan,And it doesn't offer alot more either just because it has a little screen it doesn't do anything much better except it has a HDD thats the only plus the nav system sucks and it locks up when driving you can't change certain things it just gives you a stupid message saying you must stop something iDrive doesn't do.I used to own an 04' G35 coupe and it looked good but thats where it stopped.The 07 model is just plain ugly.I really can't wait to get out of this rental G35 I have this week.I would say the G35 will be good competition for the new C-class which is actually alot worse and and the upcoming tiburon replacement and the new Honda accord coupe. BMW>Infiniti any day.Buying a G is just another way of saying you can't afford the BMW cause in no way is better or equal.But it's good value I guess.

[revah2]

One other thing I remembered. When he let me drive the G35 we did several launches on 2-3 miles of empty road. I found the throttle response to be very light, in fact, too light . Both of our cars are manual, I usually launch my car at around 3k rpm and actually have to push the throttle down a fair amount to get it revving up to 3. In comparison, just the slightest tap of the throttle in the G35 and the revs were flying past 3 and 4k rpms. It really was a challenge to get the g35 revving at a steady 3k rpms before I launch. In other words, the 335i is also a ton easier to launch.
Perhaps this is a good thing say if your running against a friend or what not on a roll. But for those of us who like an easy quick launch :rocks: the 335i definitely wins in that department

[revah2]

Originally Posted by mantis

are you comparing the G35 that came out on 2002/2003 with 2007 bmw?

I know, crazy right!
Should be compared to a 328 or 330.

[revah2]

Originally Posted by AutoCouture

You cant seriously believe the interior in our cars is nicer than in the new G...

Sit in a G, drive a G. Pictures of interior won't do you much justice. And yes, I seriously do believe the 335is interior takes a large smelly dump on the G37s interior.

But of course, that is purely a matter of opinion.

[E90ice]

G35/37 interior is ugly...cold, no taste.

[turbocoins]

Originally Posted by AutoCouture

Very well said

+1, well said, Gator, from another G35 sedan driver.