Drove the IS 350 & G35 today

[4DOORFUN]

I finally drove the G35 today an hour after driving the IS 350. Both cars handle very well and are fast enough for my needs so I am not going to get into that.

The first thing that entered my mind while sitting in the Lexus was how cramped I felt. I'm coming from a 2000 Mustang GT, and I felt more cramped in the Lexus. It's really not more cramped, but it just felt that way while sitting in the driver's seat. I think the lack of driver visability is the cause. The side and rear window views are really poor. The rear view is blocked by the headrests and the rear side windows are very narrow by design. I really liked the car in every other way, but it is small inside. You can sit in the back seat, but you need to sit very upright. Rear seat head room is actually very good because Lexus put the seats very low to the ground. Leg room of course is limited to anyone under 5' 9" in my opinion. If you have a tall torso and shorter legs, you will be comfortable in the back seat. Kids will be comfortable as well.

The G35 interior is far more spacious. Enough said on that. I liked the G35 very much, but is there any way to change that horrible orange gauge cluster? I simply don't know what Infiniti was thinking on that one. It's so bad, it might be a deal killer for me. I liked every thing else about the G35.

[ABQ_G35]

I went into my '04 G35 from a 2000 GT, so I know the cramped feeling. At first, the orange lighting seemed weird to me as well, but after a few days, it was fine, and I find it much easier on my eyes than the green the GT had, don't blow the deal because of that, you'll enjoy the G!

[InTgr8r]

My initial impresion on the orange was similar.

I came from a Passat & loved the VW colors...

I have grown to appreciate the orange though ..
It's very functional, easy to read at night..
& your eyes don't have to adjust when look back up.

[perry05G35]

I haven't seen anyone change their gauge cluster lighting on the board so I don't think there is a kit out there for the G35 but I know how you feel about the orange color but then I realized there are other luxury car manufactures with orange too (BMW 528i) that don't look so good ours is very bright real leds I think...

[jimmyc13]

If you liked the G that much, you could always just dim the dash a bit so it doesn't show as much...not sure how it could be a deal killer. I wasn't 100% crazy about the orange either, but it's grown on me. I have seen on this forum though, some guys who have applied different color films to their dash (blue)....but I think it's labor intensive, since it's applied internally. Cost is cheap, but time & patience is a virtue. I actually looked really good when I saw it. He even broke down how much it cost & how many hours he spent on it. Try searching for it, or perhaps someone else will chime in on your thread & point you in the right direction. Good luck!

[Teeter]

Originally Posted by inTgr8r

My initial impresion on the orange was similar.

I came from a Passat & loved the VW colors...

I have grown to appreciate the orange though ..
It's very functional, easy to read at night..
& your eyes don't have to adjust when look back up.

Funny, I had a Passat and loved the color scheme as well. Very "jet plane-ish". That said, I've never given the G dashboard a second thought. It's fine. -T

[PotomacG]

IMHO, the orange beats the dark red cluster of the '02 Audi A6 I drove in recently. I don't know what Audi is doing today, but the dark red is horrible. I think the orange is easy on the eyes at night.

[harley01]

The new Mustang allows you to change the color of the dash lights, though I don;t think they are LEDs. It would be cool if you could select different colors since I'm not crazy about the orange. I'm betting the 07s will use a different color.

[kajoob]

I think I am the only person alive that absolutely loves the amber color of the gauges, it was one of the "pluses" when I was out looking for new cars. I guess there's no accounting for taste. hehe

[Corgidog]

Originally Posted by kajoob

I think I am the only person alive that absolutely loves the amber color of the gauges, it was one of the "pluses" when I was out looking for new cars. I guess there's no accounting for taste. hehe

You got company. I really love the color of the gauges in my G.

[absolutg]

i wasn't a huge fan of the orange guages at first, but i LOVE them now. so great when you are driving around at night. very very easy on the eyes.

[SpeedSTARs]

Originally Posted by absolutg

i wasn't a huge fan of the orange guages at first, but i LOVE them now. so great when you are driving around at night. very very easy on the eyes.

^^^Same here... The pictures illustrated in the magazines made them orange gauges look cheap; which doesn't do any justice for the physical product. I totally dig the orange.

Maybe the next step nissan should invest in is multi color instrument cluster lighting like the 2005 Mustang (produced by Delphi) or the Scion TC-2004 Pontiac GTO. That way the customer has his/her choice in color preferences.

How about white gauges with UV lighting where the white clusters glow bluish white.

[skeleton_cru]

Originally Posted by perry05G35

I haven't seen anyone change their gauge cluster lighting on the board

There have been a few guys that have changed the lighting inside the G. Note: it was a DYI project and VERY labor intensive. They replaced LED lights on the circuit boards and had to remove the amber film from the back of the gauges. The result was impressive.

Like most here, I was a little skeptical about the amber gauges, but I have grown to really appreciate the color. It is very easy on the eyes.

[kki000]

Leg room of course is limited to anyone under 5' 9" in my opinion.

im 5'6, its a problem for me, or for anyone with legs for that matter. is350 is very very very small. back seat is useless.

[Texan1]

Originally Posted by kajoob

I think I am the only person alive that absolutely loves the amber color of the gauges, it was one of the "pluses" when I was out looking for new cars. I guess there's no accounting for taste. hehe

Nope--I love it too.