New 2007 Infinity G35
Wednesday, October 4th, 2006
A excellent encore to a first act that was very exciting. It’s true that creating a new car whose visual and visceral appeals hit enough buyer sweet spots to make it a winner is chapter one in the great book of designer challenges to overcome. Not known to many, though, is chapter two: the follow-up. When the debutante gets rave reviews, whaddya do for the encore in four years? A major makeover? Or just the automotive equivalent of a little more eye shadow and a few sequins.
BMW has faced this challenge with its 3-series sedans for decades, responding each time with a cautious evolutionary styling update augmented by significant engineering improvements. This approach obviously works — for BMW.But can this policy work for a newcomer? The short answer is a definite maybe.
History: The G35 was an unknown quantity when it made its appearance in mid-2002 as an ’03 model — an eager rear-drive sports sedan replacing the I35, a badge-job version of the front-drive Nissan Maxima. Suddenly, Infiniti was a real contender in a game that has belonged almost exclusively to players from Germany, particularly those hailing from Bavaria. The real exclamation point came when a G35 prevailed in a seven-car sports-sedan shootout that included — ta-da! — a BMW [“$35,000 Sports Sedans,” C/D, March 2004]. Okay, the deck was stacked slightly in the G35’s favor. To keep the playing field level by price, the BMW was a 325i rather than a 330i, thus giving away 76 horses to its Asian assailant. But never mind. How many other Japanese sedans have topped a BMW 3-series sedan in C/D comparos over the past 20 years? Clue: zero.
The 3-series reasserted its primacy in a “$35,000 Sports Sedans” rematch that included a 2006 Lexus IS350 [C/D, October 2005], and we described the G35 as “aging gracefully.” How quickly new becomes not-so-new in the car biz. But more to the point, we think it likely the updated G would have given the 330i a much stronger run for first place. Here’s why.
Leaving the cautious styling update aside for the moment, this is a distinctly more capable G35 than the original: quicker straight ahead, quicker on its feet, with a new variable-assist rack-and-pinion steering system that tells the driver more about what the front tires are doing than did the previous setup. Infiniti also offers a new active-steering option that’s touted as a response enhancer, but it wasn’t present on our test car, and in any case, we wonder whether it’s worth the extra money — $1200, at a guess — or the added weight — about 25 pounds.
Speaking of weight, like almost all new cars, the G35 scales in a little heavier than the previous edition. Infiniti says 48 pounds and lists curb weight at 3532. In our comparo a year ago, the G35 weighed 3520, and this similarly equipped ’07 version ran our needle up to 3583. Increased mass is never a good thing — you probably notice that when you step on the scales at home — but in this case there are mitigating factors. For one, the updated FM architecture, shared with the Nissan 350Z and Infiniti FX45, is 40 percent stiffer, according to Infiniti, due in part to more extensive spot and seam welding in the unibody.
For another, there’s more thrust from the car’s 3.5-liter V-6 engine, the fourth generation of Nissan’s VQ series. Although the bore and stroke specs of this oversquare design are unchanged, Nissan says the engine is 80 percent new, with a beefier bottom end, variable cam timing on the intake and exhaust valves (the previous engine was intake side only), reduced exhaust back pressure, a slightly higher compression ratio (10.6:1 versus 10.3), a higher redline (7600 rpm versus 7000), and improved coolant flow — among other tweaks. It all adds up to 306 horsepower at 6800 rpm and 268 pound-feet of torque at 5200 rpm.
The previous engine carried a 2006 rating of 298 horsepower and 260 pound-feet, so at a glance, this doesn’t look like much of an increase, particularly with a corresponding gain at the scales. However, the old power numbers were published before the Society of Automotive Engineers instituted its new and more stringent rating system, which means the output disparity between old and new is actually bigger. In addition, Nissan notes that the new engine’s breathing is enhanced by a ram effect through the dual air-intake system, to the tune of three more ponies at 60 mph.
Nissan calls this effect, and the car’s all-around acceleration characteristics, “swell,” in the sense of a wave gathering power as it moves along. Uh-huh. We took our test car to the track, where it hunkered down and dashed to 60 mph in 5.2 seconds, covering the quarter-mile in 13.9 seconds at 103. Hmm, that is swell, and considerably quicker than the last G35 we tested (0 to 60 in 5.9 seconds and the quarter in 14.6 at 98 mph) as well as just a blink behind the IS350. More impressive still, our G35 tester went to the track with fewer than 250 miles on the odo. That’s like putting an Olympic sprinter in the starting blocks in his street clothes. What’ll it do with a proper break-in? We look forward to finding out.
The power feeds through a six-speed manual gearbox that’s the personification of precise engagement — it makes BMW’s 3-series manual transmissions seem rubbery — to a limited-slip rear end and thence to the pavement via a set of 245/45-18 Bridgestone Potenza RE050A tires.
The 18-inch shoes (225/50-18 front) — the base rubber is 17-inch all-seasons — deliver grip that’s a little better than the previous G35 managed: 0.87 g versus 0.85, but neither number is impressive by the standards of this class. What is impressive is the G35’s nifty footwork on a set of switchbacks or that secret stretch of country road where you just know your transit times are world-class.
This honey can dance as fast as you can pedal, without a misstep and without punishing its partner in the ride department. Besides its more aggressive tires, the Sport 6MT employs firmer rear dampers and harder steering-rack bushings. It’s a setup that delivers Bimmer-esque compliance, and if the 3-series still holds an edge in this area, the distinctions have become paper thin.
G35 Sport models also have heftier brakes — bigger rotors, beefier single-piston calipers — that pay off in improved performance. The brake pedal felt a little long and a tad squishy, but our test car needed only 160 feet to stop from 70 mph, a number that would have been best in test in that October comparo.
Although the sheetmetal is all-new, Infiniti didn’t take any big chances with the G35’s second-gen styling. The outer blades of the grille are canted forward, the HID bixenon headlights are new, the hood has more contour, there’s a new character crease down the sides, and the rear roof*line is a little faster, with a little more down slope that takes a small bite out of rear-seat headroom. The wheelbase is unchanged at 112.2 inches, still the longest among the leaders in this class. However, overall length has stretched by a half-inch, width increases by 0.8 inch, and at 59.8 inches front and rear, the track has expanded by 0.7 and 0.5 inch, respectively. The roofline, meanwhile, is down by a half-inch.
The look that emerges is a little more tightly wrapped and athletic, particularly going away, but it takes a practiced eye to perceive its newness.
The interior is a different story. Upgraded materials, a superb new Bose audio option, an attractive and highly legible new instrument package, nicely placed switches with an exceptionally positive operational feel, and a sporty steering wheel with hand-stitched leather all lend an upscale feel that wasn’t really part of the first-generation G35. We’re not unanimously seduced by the aluminum interior trim — to some, at least, the optional straight-grain rosewood veneer might be preferable — and the front buckets aren’t quite in the BMW league in lateral support. On the other hand, there’s lots of power adjustability, there’s plenty of room front and rear — thanks to that long wheelbase — and interior noise is down in most operating modes, save for wide-open throttle.
Money: We don’t know. As usual, Infiniti sources will say only that they expect the new G to maintain a “highly competitive” price position. The ’06 G35 started at $31,850. We estimate the broadened ’07 range — G35, G35 Journey, G35x AWD, G35 Sport, G35 Sport 6MT — will start at about $32,500 and that our test car would retail for about $36,000, right about where 330i pricing starts.
It never gets any cheaper. But if our estimates are anywhere close to accurate, the G35 will still be one of the best buys in its class. Can best in class be far away? We smell another comparo brewing.
Tags: 2007 infinity, infinity g35, g35, 2007 g35
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November 5th, 2006 at 8:36 am
Read your review and decided to add this car to my list of cars to check out. This car is amazing. The finish and fit are excellent and the performance is fantastic. I loved the navigation system with the xm real time traffic updates. Negotiated and bought the car should pick up our new G35 next week when it comes off the boat in Jacksonville.
November 5th, 2006 at 4:27 pm
Thanks for the info Rick,
Can you share what kind of “Negotiated” pricing you got? Here in Pleasanton, CA the dealer was offering $500 off sticker pricing at best… Hope the Jacksonville dealers are a bit more accomodating?
November 5th, 2006 at 4:50 pm
I’m in the market for a new car and saw my first and only 07 G35″S” at the local dealer. The new 07 car was on display inside, no wonder, with a full lot of 2006 G35’s. I was more in favor for a Lexus IS350, but now this upgraded car is making my decision longer and harder.
Price was right at $40,000 nicely equipped, quite several grand less, than a similar Lexus and several more, than a BMW, which seem to have missed the train to 300+ horsepower and had to dig in an old trick box.