2008 G35x Sedan Driving Impressions: The Facts

So, I recently upgraded my 2005 Subaru WRX Sport Wagon to a 2008 Infiniti G35x Sedan. The WRX was a great little sport compact car, but at its core it was still a suped-up Impreza compact car with very basic attributes. I was interested in getting something a little bigger, a little stronger, and with some more luxury.  My basic criteria:

• Sport sedan or wagon
• 300-ish HP from a non-turbo charged engine
• 4 doors, big enough to take on weekend trips with family
• More luxury features (bluetooth, ipod connector, HID lights, leather, etc.)
• AWD. (I don't need it THAT often, but really enjoy having it during the few times it snows every year.)
• "Sporty" transmission (either 5+ speed manual or decent manu-matic)
• Couple years old to save on depreciation

The combination actually makes it a short list. I looked at the 2007 Acura TL Type-S which I really liked. It had good power, lots of features, good fit and finish, and looks very sharp. Unfortunately, I really don't like FWD cars much, so opted out. Lexus IS AWD was good option: very sport looking, handles well, but only comes in the 250 motor which is a little underpowered for the weight of an AWD car. BMW 3-series IX, but the 328 is kind of underpowered and frankly I didn't want to pay the price of maintaining a BMW. The 335 IX kicks ass, but I wasn't willing to pay the price. Audi would have been a good option, but I didn't want another 2.0L turbo and there weren't another option with going with the S4 was kind of pricey. This left me with the G35x, which hit well on all elements and I just generally liked. The 2nd generation '07+ sedans got a major styling make over which drastically improved the looks, in my opinion. The G35 fit the bill and I've been very happy with it.

Some general facts about the car:

The Motor. Potent V6 that makes 306 hp, 268 lb-ft of torque which is good for 0-60 in approximately 5.6 seconds. This is close to the rated times of my 1994 RX-7 (when it was stock) and not bad for a 3800 lb car. Overall - it feels very strong and it's an nice change to be able to stomp on the gas in a high gear and have it go somewhere without having to downshift. (See below: automatic transmission that will actually stay in a gear.) The motor's additional power in the 2nd generation seems to have come from running higher compression with some other minor tuning adjustments.

The Transmission. The AWD "x" model only comes with a 5 speed automatic. Historically, I really don't like auto trannies very much, but I'm slowly getting used to this one. I don't care so much about the clutch, but I really want the transmission to do WHAT I want WHEN I want it to do it, and NOT to do things I don't want when I don't want it. So far, this one isn't bad. It has normal "(D)rive" mode, "(D)rive (S)port" mode, and manual shift mode. Drive mode is as you would expect. It is smooth in normal driving and responds with fairly crisp upshifts when wound out to high revs. It's fairly down-shift happy and drops a gear any time you give it moderate throttle, which I personally find annoying. Drive-Sport mode is a little more aggressive, holding the revs longer before up shifting and automatically rev-match down shifting during moderate or hard braking. It's still a little shift-happy, IMHO. Entering DS mode from D usually results in a down shift from current gear (e.g., 5th to 4th) but it will eventually up shift back to the higher gear if you cruise with steady throttle for a while. Manual mode is entered by bumping the shift lever up or down while in DS mode. It switches to manual-only shifting with a dash indicator of the current gear. Unlike some other (lousy) manumatics that I have drivent, it WILL actually stay in the gear you tell it to, including bumping off the rev limiter if you wind it out too far. (Err ... oops.) It will, however, down shift automatically to 1 when you come to a stop. It responds rapidly with crisp down shifts (maybe 0.25 second) when you bump the lever, but has very sluggish up shifts (0.75-1.5 seconds, perhaps). This lag is kind of annoying some times when I want to get on the throttle briefly, then back off and upshift a couple times to resume cruising mode. Supposedly, the models that include paddle shifters will allow you to bump gears up and down while in D mode, then it will resume normal D mode after a brief delay. (This seems desirable to me and the paddle shifters are actually a bolt-on addition that I might get.) The torque converter has about a 2000 RPM swing between full throttle and coast-down off throttle when cruising in a high gear. This amount of swing seems a little extreme, but allows the motor to rev up nicely and apply torque when cruising around in a single gear. This is a welcome change for me compared to the anemic turbo-laggy 4-banger that I've been driving for 6 years. The slush-box does lock up when cruising so throttle application has a more direct effect on the wheels at highway speeds. 

Styling. This is, of course, subjective but I think the car has very crisp, sporty styling that is just slightly on the "soft" side. I really like the changes they made to the back end for the 2nd generation remake they did in 2007. I do think the front-end styling on the base and "journey" models is a little "soft" however and I prefer the sport models that have a more aggressive, angular front air dam. I think a slightly more angular set of ground effects (front lip, side skirts, rear bumper) would improve the sportiness of the car quite a bit. It's possible a rear spoiler might sharpen it up a bit, but it also might ruin the clean lines of the car. For reference, I like the look of some of the Lexus IS sedans as well as the Acura Type-S.

Features. I seem to have picked a version of the car that has almost all the options available with the exception of paddle shifters, sport seat, and active suspension (which I'm not sure is available on the AWD car). It does not have the larger brakes, either, but those don't seem to be available on the AWD model, even on the G35xS "sport package" (not to be confused with G35S sport *model*) which I did not get, hence the missing paddle shifters and sport seats. Here are some noteable features:

• "Intelligent" Cruise Control (part of Technology Package) with laser-guided distance sensing system that automatically controls speed if you approach another car. This means if you're set at 65 and you come up on the bumper of another car, the system will automatically will slow down and maintain safe following distance (3 selectable distances). If you get too close, it will actually apply up to 25% braking force (while moving the pedal and showing the brake lights). The sensor is embedded in the front left bumper and looks like a 4" reflective sensor with a redish tint. (It took me a while to figure out what it was when I bought the car.)
• HID auto-adjusting headlights (part of Technology Package) that actually turn direction with the steering wheel. This is very noticeable at slow speed where the inner headlight literally pivots toward the direction of the curve when you turn the wheel.
• Traction Control (Vehicle Dynamic Control) with selectable Snow Mode that, most importantly, can be (almost) completely turned OFF. With AWD, the system does some magical combination of adjusting torque to each wheel, retarding engine power, and individually applying the brakes to a slipping wheel to attempt to control vehicle dynamics and allow the car to maintain grip and a stable forward direction. I had a recent opportunity to drive it in the snow and the system (while "on") does a good job at sensing vehicle dynamics and correcting the car in slides. If the car starts to slide under power, you can actually feel the system cut power and apply brakes to a slipping wheel. Combined, this has a very effective ability to bring the car back into line and allow you to maintain a forward trajectory. A steady, moderate throttle allows the wheels to independently drag you in the right direction. It's fairly impressive. The "Snow Mode" switch further retards engine response to prevent you from spinning wheels. Most importantly, hitting the "VDC Off" button seems to do just that: stop the system from intervening when you actually want to have some fun with the car. (More on my adventures in the snow with this in a later post, perhaps.) Side note: I read somewhere that the system might still intervene with brakes on a slipping wheel, but I haven't seen any indications of this yet.
• Navigation system (07-08 maps) with backup camera that has guided steering lines when you turn the wheel. It's driven by either touch screen or 8-way control pad and/or limited steering wheel up/down/select controls. It also has lots of physical buttons which I like. Generally, I find the system fairly easy to use and the Nav seems to be adequate. One pet peeve: it shows "remaining time" to destination instead of "estimated time of arrival." This makes it difficult to play my favorite game of "beat the clock" when driving to destinations. It's got simplistic voice activated menus that allow you to pick choices and set destinations hands-free while driving.
• Bluetooth integration that syncs with up to 8 different phones, so you and your wife and kids and friends can all connect their phones (one at a time). It can download the phone book, but I've had weird experiences of it duplicating my phone book entries. The search mechanism SUCKS and you basicallly have to just scroll through your list at 3-letter increments (A-C, D-F, etc.) looking for entries. You can add individual ones to your local phonebook in the car, which are the only ones accessible while the car is in motion. The voice activated menus for dialing work here, as well, and seem to be adequate. I have to say, it's VERY nice to jump in the car and have it automatically connect to my phone so I can make and receive hands-free calls. I can still dial from the phone, if necessary, but it auto-switches to the car as a bluetooth head set after dialing. There's easy to hit menu items for "use handset" if you decide NOT to talk on speaker phone. I've been told that the call quality is pretty good, so overall I give it a thumbs up.
• iPod integration which can be controlled from the on-screen navigation. Seems nice enough. Also has 3 RCA jacks for auxiliary input in case you have a non-iPad music player. Supposedly, it can display video on the Nav system monitor while parked, but I haven't tried it. I don't know if it will let you play iPod videos, but I doubt it.
• Compact-Flash card slot for playing MP3's and maybe some other stuff.
• Music Box 10GB internal hard drive that can rip music from CD's and store internally. Seems nice enough, but I haven't bought any CD's in years. It does not seem to let you just copy MP3's into the system or transfer from your iPod, so I'm not sure I'll use it much.
• Proximity-Sensing Keyless Entry with Push-button Start. Kind of a neat feature, but it allows me to unlock and enter the car, then push a button to start it without taking my keys out of my pocket.
• Auto-positioning power seats that have a "1" and "2" setting so my wife and I can automatically set our positions. Supposedly, it can sense which key fob is in the car and automatically set it that way, but I haven't configured that yet. This also includes positioning of the power mirrors and tilting extendable power steering wheel column.
• Heated seats ("Go bummy!") and Heated Mirrors which have already come in handy this winter.
• Homelink Garage Door Opener which eliminates one other do-dad that I would otherwise have to hang on my visor.
• Leature seats that I'm still getting used to. Leather is, in my opinion, not as comfortable as a good sport cloth, too slippery, too cold in the winter, and too hot in the summer. It is, however, the ONLY option available in most modern high-end cars. It has the advantage of being easy to clean, which I'm looking forward to considering what my kids have done to our other cloth-upholstered cars. The seat itself is reasonably comfortable, but I find myself sliding around in it a bit too much. Perhaps the one thing I wish I'd know about and possible searched for was the sport seat in the "sport package" that has better thigh and side bolsters. Oh, well.
• Rear pass-through panel into the trunk. I would much prefer it if the seats actually folded down, but that doesn't seem to be common in any of these cars.

It's also got some other decent features like bottle-holder slots in the map pockets in the doors, analog clock in the dash, faux-wood finish, proper knobs for the radio, dual-zone automatic climate control (with knobs), and kid-activated map lights in the rear seat.

Next up: driving impressions (as my daily driver) and some fun driving in the snow (aka "slippy slidey" in 10-year-old boy speak) that earned me the humorous name of "drift king" from one of my son's teachers.