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Full Test: 2003 Infiniti G35 Sedan
Air on G-String
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By Liz Kim
Date posted: 05-06-2002
After a decade of limping along in the luxury car market with a muddled brand
identity (Do we want to be luxury or sport? Sport or luxury? Neither? Let's slap
a premium badge on mid-market Nissan models while we decide.), Infiniti finally
gets serious about becoming known for both luxury and sport with the all-new
2003 Infiniti G35 sedan.
For the 2003 model year, the Infiniti G35 is a strong and serious contender in the entry-level
luxury sport sedan arena. This marketplace is crowded with a flurry of excellent
warriors from all the major luxury brands, crested by the very-good-and-affordable
Acura TL Type-S and the excellent-but-pricey BMW 3 Series, as seen in our last
comparison test.
Does Infiniti have what it takes to knock either of these champions off their
thrones? We drove one briefly during the press introduction and wrote about it,
and its technical merits, in our First
Drive and came away very impressed. We also recently snagged a test vehicle
for a week to see if the view held.
For the most part, it did. This is an earnest example of focusing energies on
trends and markets and delivering on consumer demands. The Infiniti G35 will appeal to
the sport-luxury car buyer, and the tepid Infiniti I35 should inspire the luxury car consumer.
This is a strategy that seems to work with the Lexus IS 300 and ES 300, another
bipolar divergence. However, very few carmakers get a completely new model exactly
right straight out of the box; the Infiniti G35 is a near-textbook product that needs a
couple of years of tweaks and refinement to ripen to full flavor.
On paper, it has very little competition in terms of performance. The impressive
engine is part of Nissan's "VQ" family. In the G35, this 3.5-liter V6 cranks out
260 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 260 pound-feet of torque at 4,800 rpm. These numbers
are the same as the previous horsepower leader in the class, the Acura TL Type-S,
yet the Infiniti G35 was able to achieve a 0-to-60 acceleration time of 6.1 seconds, a
half second better than the TL, in part due to its 200-pound weight advantage.
It bests the 225-horsepower BMW 330i by 0.6 seconds. Keep the throttle planted,
and the G whizzes past the quarter-mile in 14.7 seconds at 95.1 miles per hour,
handily beating both of those cars (both of whom ran it in 15.1 seconds at 93.6
mph). A refined purr rises to a high-pitched snarl anywhere above 5,000 rpm. Want
power and torque? This is your car. At 17 mpg, fuel economy is slightly
less than the average for this class.
For now, the engine comes standard with a five-speed automanual transmission.
The tranny is a fine unit, and what few complaints we had were related to the
manual-mode gate being located to the right, away from the driver. Downshifts
could come more immediately, but for most driving situations, a slight lag is
barely noticeable. For a car of this type and its average intended consumer, a
manual transmission would bring out more of the car's sporting character. Infiniti
says one will be offered in the summer of 2002.
Being able to downshift in a smooth, polished manner is always a boon when you're
monkeying around on little-traveled canyon roads, as we often do, to test out
a vehicle's handling capabilities. Our vehicle was equipped with the sport-tuned
suspension package, which minimized body roll to an impressive degree. The suspension,
composed of a multilink independent setup for both front and rear (again, for
a more detailed description of the underpinnings, read our First
Drive, maintained its composure on twisty roads without being unduly harsh
around town. However, under intense driving conditions, we felt that the car lacked
the high degree of grace and balance that the best cars of this class possess.
Steering, although quick and nimble, doesn't have the raw, at-one-with-the-road
edginess of the Lexus IS 300 or the pure, cold extrasensory perceptiveness of
the BMW. Not that it's poor; it just doesn't have the above-and-beyond capabilities
of those two grade-A sport sedans.
While the car's 600-foot slalom run was achieved at an excellent 66.4 mph, our
test driver noted that the rear of the car could get light while snaking through
the cones. The Infiniti G35 sedan seemed to show signs of rotating a bit too severely when coming
out of a curve with the front end loaded. Odd, considering its near-perfect front-to-rear
weight ratio of 52:48, thanks to the front-midship (FM) platform it shares with
the much-anticipated Nissan 350Z.
We should note that we encountered this situation on a closed course with the
Vehicle Dynamics Control (VDC) turned off. Relentless knocking on wood keeps us
from being too meatheaded. Should there be an extenuating circumstance, the vehicle
dynamics control (VDC) system kicks in a shade obtrusively to give you a rap on
the knuckles. Moreover, astounding and amazing were two words to
describe braking capabilities; it halted from 60 mph in a mere 111 feet. That's
the shortest number we've ever gotten from a sedan; for reference, a Chevrolet
Corvette Z06 stops in 108 feet. Credit it to vented disc brakes at all four corners
enhanced by brake assist and electronic brake force distribution. However, all
that force comes at the price of linearity. Some of our drivers thought the pedal
was touchy and grabby to the point of skittishness.
Inside, verification abounds that most of the budget for engineering this car
went to the chassis rather than to sybaritic pursuits. Penny-pinching is evident
in the hard plastics around the dash area and in the flimsy headliner. Faux-titanium
trim is fine for sporty hatchbacks, but those who expect high-end materials from
a luxury car may come away disappointed. The beige leather covering the seats
was quite supple, though, and wood trim is an option for those who'd prefer it.
And we dig the analog clock in the center stack. It's classy.
One of the unique aspects of the driving position is that the instrument cluster
moves with the steering wheel, so regardless of wheel angle, the information is
readily accessible. This is a nice feature, though it does preclude the possibility
of a telescoping function for the wheel.
Most of the interior controls are easily accessible. The G35 cabin is designed to
impart a sense of coziness, and we really like the up-down toggle-type buttons
on the steering wheel to control the stereo; they're much more convenient than
conventional two-button configurations. We weren't particularly taken with the
front power seat controls, which are mounted inboard of the seat cushions. Not
only are they less-than-intuitive, our test driver mentioned that during hard
cornering when your body is leaning to the inside, your outer thighs could activate
some of the controls. The automatic climate control was easy enough to use, but
the display is too small and mounted at the top of the dash, causing you to take
your eyes off the road longer than you would if it were clearly presented in the
center stack. The storage bin in the center of the dash, which houses the optional
pop-up navigation system screen, will hold cassettes and the like but the door
won't shut if you put a CD case in there. The center storage bin is dual tiered;
the space offered is small and shallow, but at least the top is padded so you
can rest your elbow.
A Premium package, which didn't come on our test vehicle, includes a Bose stereo
system, dual-zone climate control with rear vents, a power passenger seat, reclining
rear seats, automatic headlamps, an auto-dimming rearview mirror and one-touch
operation for all four windows. That means, of course, that without the package,
our tester had none of these features, many of which we consider essential goodies
in the entry-level luxury sedan market. Only the front windows were one-touch
and the passenger seat was fully manual. Rear-seat passengers will find ingress/egress
exceedingly easy thanks to doors that open wide, and they'll find the generous
36.2 inches of knee room and 56.2 inches of shoulder space to be one of the most
spacious in the class. They may complain about the lack of storage bins, cupholders
and adjustable headrests, however. If rear-passenger comfort is of great importance
to you, consider springing for the Premium package to get rear seat vents and
seats that recline.
Thanks to the long rear overhang, luggage space is allowed an impressive 14.8
cubic feet, much better than the BMW or Lexus. The intruding wheelwells and suspension
hamper the loading of wide items, but at least the hinges are strut-types so that
they won't crush your parcels when the lid is closed.
Although it helps in cargo capacity, its excessive rear overhang seems further
emphasized by the short front overhangs, as if the wheels moved forward but the
body stayed put, like in those cartoons where Jerry ties an anchored rope to the
rear bumper of Tom's car. We prefer the Infiniti G35's atypical design to the blandness
of the I35, but there were divided opinions on the overall look of the vehicle.
Its vertically stacked headlamps seem beady, its L-shaped taillamps somewhat misshapen.
Somehow all these styling cues work to much greater advantage in the sleek, soon-to-be-released two-door version, the Infiniti G35 Coupe.
In the G35, Infiniti has created an appealing package at a competitive price.
While its handling and steering lacks the over and above I-can-do-anything-you-can-do-better
confidence of the chieftain of the group, the BMW 3 Series, its excellent power plant,
basic structural integrity and roomy cabin should make the 2003 Infiniti G35 a compelling candidate
on your shopping list of entry-level luxury sport sedans. It's a tight market,
but the G35 manages to establish itself as a stout contender. Welcome back, Infiniti.
See all the Ratings: 2003 Infiniti G35 Luxury 4dr Sedan w/Leather (3.5L 6cyl 6M) Road Test Scoreboard
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