G35 vs IS 350

[timn99]

Sorry to hear about your problems. Not to detract from the original thread, but what's going on with your interior? No problems here.......

Originally Posted by wrxrocks

I went to 07 G35s instead of IS350 because of three reasons.
1. The G reminds me of my evo in term of driving/ road feel, but not as fast. The IS reminds me of my boat.

2. rear seat room for my two babies.

3. price 4,000 less for the G

However after taking the G home, I wish I have bought the IS or TL-S instead because the interior is falling apart already with only 300 miles on the speedo. I need to stop by the dealer and have them check it out. The interior of my evo is holding up much better after 20,000 miles.

[FenixL1P]

Originally Posted by Sideshow7208

I test drove a number of vehicles before settling on the 2007 G35S 6MT. The IS350 was above my price range and manual transmission was a critical requirement to me, so I drove an IS250 rather than the 350. My wife and I arrived on the Lexus lot about 30 minutes before closing on a Saturday afternoon, and our salesman clearly had other things on his mind. He did agree, with a pronounced lack of enthusiasm, to let us go for a test drive, but rode with us (only one that did that, and we must have driven five or six cars) and talked the whole time.

I thought the Lexus had a nice instrument panel, and liked the ability to set a subtle reminder light on the speedometer if I exceeded a target speed (any Infiniti marketing folks reading this?). My wife actually liked the Lexus' exterior styling, particularly the front end, more than the G. But inside the center console seemed too high and wide, like there was a wall between me and my wife on the other side, I didn't like the big buldge from the transmission cutting into my footroom, and the glossy wood seemed a bit "over the top". Then, there was the IS250's decided lack of b@lls, which was quite pronounced after having driven a G. I was actually commenting to the salesman in the back seat during our test drive about the lack of power compared to the G when, perfectly timed to emphasize my point, someone test driving a G (the Infiniti dealer is about a block away from the Lexus dealer here in Grand Rapids) blew by us at WOT as if we were standing still. No reason to drive the Lexus any further...

yeah!!!... the is250 awd is almost the weight of a 6mt g35 sedan yet it is only being powered by an anemic 2.5 liter v6 pushing 200 ponies...

[AlterZgo]

Originally Posted by JakeFusion™

I know this is about the IS350 vs G35, but for everyday driving, I don't think the TL-S is horrible. On a racetrack, it'll get destroyed, but on the street, they are all very close.

Au contraire! In a recent track test between the IS350, G35 and TL-S, the TL-S actually turned the quickest lap times. The cars were driven by an excellent driver - Keiichi Tsuchiya (Drift King). I think he preferred the TL-S's handling over that of the other 2 RWD cars and mentioned that the TL-S handled very much like a RWD car with the ability to slide the tail out.

If you search on You Tube, you should be able to find a video of the test.

Personally, I'm torn btw the TL-S, G35 and 335i. Given that I have 2 young kids that need to go into car seats, nothing beats the space available in a TL-S. Eventhough its interior volume is comparable to the G35 and has a shorter wheelbase, the TL-S actually feels a full size larger than the G and 2 sizes larger than the IS350.

I actually feel the opposite of what you indicate re: build quality btw Nissan and Honda. I currently have an Acura TSX and I am underwhelmed by the build quality compared to my past Nissans (Infiniti G20t and Nissan 300ZX TT). My TSX is a rattlebox and the leather on the TSX's driver's seat is more beat up after only 2 yrs than the leather seats in either my G20t or 300ZX which were both over 7 yrs old when I sold them. And I chose the TSX over the TL thinking the TSX had better build quality b/c it was made in Japan vs. Ohio!

[Shiftlock82]

I just got my IS350 with navi and misc. gadgets. Coming from an 05 DG coupe, I can tell you that the G and the IS are just simply different cars.
I do miss my G but at times I like the smoothness of the IS. The exhaust on the G is by far the best! BTW... I bought my sis an 06 g35X so I have a better comparison between sport sedans, rather than a coupe and sedan.All in all, it comes down to which one YOU like the best.

Why I didnt go with the 335i was the customer service!!! Bunch of pricks I tell you!!! I walked in there with jeans and a polo and the salesman asked me if I was lost!

[muscarel]

Originally Posted by Shiftlock82

I just got my IS350 with navi and misc. gadgets. Coming from an 05 DG coupe, I can tell you that the G and the IS are just simply different cars.
I do miss my G but at times I like the smoothness of the IS. The exhaust on the G is by far the best! BTW... I bought my sis an 06 g35X so I have a better comparison between sport sedans, rather than a coupe and sedan.All in all, it comes down to which one YOU like the best.

Why I didnt go with the 335i was the customer service!!! Bunch of pricks I tell you!!! I walked in there with jeans and a polo and the salesman asked me if I was lost!

^^ I had a similar experience, but I chalked it up to the specific dealership. My friend and I walked in with jeans and 10 salesmen sitting at their desk were just looking at us while we sat in the car, walked around, etc. No one would help us. When I finally starting asking "good" quesitons to one sales guy, he was short (and exposed his ignorance on the vehicle itself) with his responses, and didn't even try and talk me into buying one.

I had a much better experience at another dealership.

[omd316]

i always find it funny how in each forum for each respective car ( acura , lexus , infiniti ) everyone tries so hard to prove why their cars are the best overall ... for someone attempting to buy a car these forums sure arent a good place to be reading ... in the acura and lexus forums infinitis arent up to par .. in the infiniti forum lexus and acura arent up to par .. stop being such fan boys to the ones who argue without reasoning ... one guy said lexus isnt as trust worthy with the engine ... honestly the lexus engine is more reliable then any of these cars in this class , even people at the acura forum admit to that much ... and i know acuras are amazing engines built by honda but they have been having quite a few problems if you do the research .. the least reliable engine here is the infiniti . .. no doubt say what you want and FLAME ON

[mishap]

My brother's IS350 and my '06 G Sedan


I recommended the car to him and helped him negotiate months before I got my G. It's a good car but it just didn't fit my situation.

Reasons he went w/ the IS:
1. Auto transmission for his wifey
2. Toyota quality - although his has some rattles as well
3. Straight line speed - (Replaced a turbo Maxima and turbo Integra w/ this)
4. Looks
5. Still cheaper than a Bimmer.
6. Techno gimmicks...start button, LED gauges that sweep, etc.

Reasons I went w/ the G:
1. Bullet proof VQ (More FI options if I get the itch). Good luck trying to power 2 sets of injectors (1 set direct) w/ an E-Manage
2. Cheaper (10k+ less...that's 30%) and I have more options. He doesn't even have HID's.
3. Manual transmission
4. Size (tired of driving a tiny car as my only car - Prelude). He also has a runabout Protege5 for hauling.
5. FM platform means cheaper parts from Z's.
6. Not the first model year of a car (tend to have more problems)

Housemate rocks an '06 TL 6spd w/ Brembos. No nav and he still paid 4k+ more than me. He's taken it back half a dozen times for rattles and some brake issues but otherwise a pretty good car. Destroys my car on mileage of course.

[SPEEED]

One word: Rear seat space.

[fecurtis]

I test drove the 335i, IS350 and the G35 Sport. The IS350 was only $4000 more than the G, and it had dumb options that I didn't want like parking sensors so it would've been even cheaper.

Exterior wise, the IS350 is one aggressive looking car, but its bark is worse than its bite. I wanted something really sporty and the Lexus seemed more like a cruiser, suspension too soft (which is wonderful if thats what you're looking for). And I felt the interior was a bit bland aside from the easy to read gauges. I was also put off by the lack of available XM Live Traffic Update (although I've since learned its useless in DC since it tells me that I'm screwed and that every back route is congested).

The service I got at both dealerships was excellent and picking between the three cars was quite difficult as they all had their respected ups and downs. In the end I went with the G and I've been happy every since.

My opinion though is that you really can't go wrong with either 3 of them. All of them are excellent cars, just depends on which car fits what you want best. I'm 23, I could careless about how the backseats are, I won't be sitting back there.