by Tamir Orbach

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Even better acceleration than the ’07 G35
• Handles and feels like a true sports car and easily up to par with competing BMW sports coupes and sedans
• Very comfortable sports seats
• Intuitive controls
• Lots of standard features and great options
• Killer sound system
• Price

Cons:

• Fit and finish much improved over ’07 coupe, but not yet up to par with BMW (very close though) and definitely not up to par with Audi (whose interiors I consider to be the best in the business)
• Rear seat is useful only for sado-masochistic adults, small children, or Dobby the house elf, with difficult ingress and egress from rear seat
• Trunk size is fairly small even for a sports coupe
• Auto box needs a 6^th gear for highway driving

Introduction

As a long time car nut and a fan of rear wheel drive and all wheel drive German sports sedans and coupes, I recently defected from the BMW brand (and more specifically from an ’06 BMW 330i) and purchased a 2007 Infiniti G35x after primarily driving BMW’s or Audi’s for the last 8 years.

Some of the reasons behind my move away from BMW include becoming less and less appreciative of their interior design and ergonomic features, an unsatisfactory experience with their service departments, and the potentially high cost of maintenance after the warranty expires. I love the look of the BMW’s 3 series coupe, but the rest of the line-up with the now infamous Bangle-butts, is not attractive to my eyes.

Given all of these factors, I decided to look at the Japanese alternatives to the BMW 3 series. I like the fact that the Japanese car manufacturers have reached a point where their luxury sports sedans and coupes can compete favorably with the best that Munich, Ingolstadt and Stuttgart have to offer – and in most respects often do so with better reliability and value.

The 306 horsepower G35, predecessor to the G37, is a fantastic vehicle that is blazingly quick, handles very well and is a very sporty luxury sedan. But when Infiniti recently announced the new G37 coupe with an all-new 3.7-liter V6 engine with Variable Valve Event and Lift (VVEL) intake camshafts that help the engine deliver 330 horsepower and 270 pound-feet of torque, I had to take this beast out for a test drive to see what I was missing.

Driving Impressions

The G37s Journey model that I drove had the standard 5-speed automatic with the paddle shifters, Premium package (moonroof, Bose premium audio system, iPod connection, HomeLink and Bluetooth), and the Navigation package (navigation, audio system with hard-drive access, rearview camera). More options are available such as the Technology package (intelligent cruise control, adaptive headlights), 4-Wheel Active Steer (4WAS) and the 6-speed manual transmission (6MT). Typically I prefer manual/stick shift cars. But traffic in the DC area has finally convinced me that an automatic transmission is the more prudent choice. It may seem that I settled for something mundane, but having paddle shifters and an auto box that shifts quickly and rev matches on down shifts is the way to go (unless you can get a dual clutch system like VW’s DSG).

One thing I noticed the minute I pressed the brake and pushed the “start” button (the key was in my pocket the entire drive since it just has to be somewhere within the car) was that the engine note seemed a little quieter than that of my G35x. Pulling out of the dealership’s lot, I immediately felt the tighter suspension settings in this car as I drove over a few bumps in the road. The bumps were not jarring though, and the car felt very solid and had a good combination of handling and ride.

The steering initially felt light, but very quickly progressed to a tight and responsive steering that gives fantastic feedback from the road without passing unnecessary vibrations. Once I got past 30 miles per hour, I felt like the car was an extension of my body and immediately felt comfortable and completely in control of the G37s. I personally prefer the more linear nature of BMW’s (non active-steer) steering, but this is really only an issue when I’m driving at less than 30 MPH.

As soon as I hit the curves in a few country roads in the area, I started punching the accelerator and accelerating into corners to get a sense for the stability and handling of this car. It felt completely unflappable and made me feel like a race car driver. The paddle shifting auto box seems to shift in milliseconds, and driving in DS/sports mode where the box shifts more aggressively but still shifts for the driver, I felt like it was reading my mind. It even gradually geared down to 2^nd as I approached a stop light leveraging the engine’s braking ability. This is a very easy car to drive quickly and have fun with on winding roads. At the same time it never punishes you on bumpy roads or undulations in the road and would make an excellent daily driver and a good track car.

While I didn’t have the opportunity to do any emergency braking, the brakes felt very competent and rapidly brought the car to a halt when needed.

Comparing the G37s to my ’07 G35x, the G37s definitely feels somewhat sportier, primarily because of the sports suspension settings. The smaller, but thicker steering wheel, is a nice touch and the body hugging sports seats, with adjustable sides (both lower and upper), is a great feature too. While it did feel a tiny bit quicker in acceleration, the G37 did not feel significantly quicker than the G35. This is probably due to its additional 200 pounds of weight that make up for the 30hp difference. The engine feels more refined in the G37 (probably because of the VVEL), and a lot less thrashy than the engine in the G35 once you get above 4500 RPM. Neither of these cars feels slow with 0-60 MPH times in the low to mid 5-second mark – performance that until a few years ago was reserved for sportier cars like Porsches and M3’s.

Build

The G37 feels very solid and has a good if not a perfect build quality feel to it. The “thunk” of the doors is not bad, but definitely feels a little flimsier than that of a BMW 3 series door. The trunk lid feels very light which takes a little bit away from the quality feel. The fuel cap seems to be from the Nissan parts bin and feels more appropriate for a Nissan Sentra than any Infiniti. However, outside of those few issues, this car feels and looks great, and once you’re on the road, the G37 feels very well buttoned down and rattle free.

Interior Comfort and Ergonomics

The instrument panel is very intuitive and well laid out. Every control is fairly close to the driver and easy to access. The centrally mounted screen gives information such as cabin temperature, map info on navigation equipped vehicles, audio settings, and maintenance information. Navigation through the menus and settings is executed by a control knob that is mounted near the screen at an angle much like that in the Infiniti M class. I find the Infiniti Controller much easier to use than BMW’s iDrive or even Audi’s MMI systems and it’s fairly intuitive even if it has its own annoyances such as disabling many features while you’re driving and having to hit Agree to get past the legalese before you can use the screen every time you drive.

The overall driving position is perfect and easy to obtain using the 8-way power driver’s seat with adjustable lumbar support. I felt a lot lower in the car in the G37 than I do in my G35, but that’s to be expected given that this is a coupe while the G35 is a sedan. One of my favorite features is the rear backup camera (standard with the Nav-package in the 2008 models). Not only does it give you a clear view of the rear of the car when you reverse, but it also draws color coded lines to show you how close you are to the object behind you. Additionally, those lines curve in the appropriate direction of travel as you turn the steering wheel. Parallel parking is a cinch.

The Infiniti Studio on Wheels by Bose sound system that comes with the Premium package is fantastic and superior to BMW’s Logic 7 system in my opinion. It provides rich, high quality sound and excellent bass response. XM satellite radio and iPod integration are both standard with this system (both options on BMW’s 3 series). If you order the Navigation Package, the sound system also gets an internal 9GB hard drive. Speaking of the navigation system, it is one of the best factory installed navigation systems on the market. The display map has a bird’s eye view option that has become popular on recent external navigation systems, and numerous other very useful features. I can say that after using Infiniti’s Navigation System for the last few months in my ’07 G35x, I am extremely pleased with how well it works. The XM NavTraffic® providing real-time traffic information is not all that good in my experience. It has rarely saved me from traffic jams and usually gives outdated information. The service is free for the first 3 months though, so it’s worth a try before you decide whether you want to keep it and pay XM the subscription to continue with it.

Styling

I really love the look of the previous generation Infiniti G coupe – the G35 coupe, and while I was very excited about the initial concept car that Infiniti showed for the coupe’s replacement, I was less impressed with the final product in pictures. However, the pictures really don’t do this car justice. In person, this car is a beautiful sports coupe with curvy lines and a very modern look. The look shows a definitely familial relationship with the G35 sedan, but is far sexier. The coupe is a little wider and it looks aggressive. The G37 that I test drove was black, which I think is a great color for this car, but I’ve also seen one in pearl white and thought that was a great choice too.

Value

As you can tell from my review, I really like the G37 and would love to have one in my garage. But how does this all add up from a value perspective? The G37 starts at $34,250 with a well spec’d out model priced at around $40k. A fully optioned G37 will cost $44,665. That includes the Technology package, the Navigation package, the Premium package, active rear steering (a $1300 option), and a rear spoiler. Given the performance of this car, and comparable German cars, the closest of which is the BMW 335i, this car is priced very competitively. A comparably equipped BMW 335i coupe would cost $54,170 which is a good $10k more. I haven’t driven a BMW 335i, but I can tell you that the G37 easily outshines the BMW 330i in my view, and while most publications that have compared the 335i to the G37 have said that they prefer the 335i if price is not an issue, price is an issue in the real world, and it’s very hard to imagine that the BMW 335i is worth $10k more than the G37. BMW’s have excellent resale value, but the G35 coupe has also had fantastic resale value in the last few years, and has been more reliable than BMW’s 3 series according to Consumer Reports. Time will tell if the G37 will also hold on to its value as well as it’s forbear did.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the G37 is a very well executed sports coupe from Infiniti that is a pleasure to drive both as a daily driver and as a true sports car. It is an excellent value and promises to be a significant player in the luxury sports coupe market. If you don’t absolutely need a coupe though, consider the G35 sedan, which can be had for around $5k less with similar options (excluding the more powerful and refined 330hp engine). Dealers are also much more likely to negotiate on sedans right now than they are on the coupes, which are in high demand (as are BMW 3 series coupes), so expect to pay close to full retail price.

Who Should Buy It?

Anyone looking for a luxury sports coupe who considers themselves a fan of sportier cars that handle well should include the G37 coupe on their short list. Folks who have occasional back seat passengers other than kids or house elves should look elsewhere (the BMW coupe has more rear seat room).

Demo car generously provided by Ken Smith, George Khalil and the team of professionals at Infiniti of Chantilly located in Chantilly, VA

2008 Infiniti G37 overview

>> View more photos of the G37 in the photo gallery

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