I currently own an 04 G35 coupe and have very much enjoyed my experience in the last couple of years owning it (bought it used).

I am however in the market for a new car. I have looked at a few vehicles so far with a broad price range. I want something that I can drive in winter (I have driven my g coupe through a couple of Minnesota winters just fine - snow tires of course).

So far I have looked at:

-G37 - familiar, looks great, good price tag
-370x - similar to G, nice body lines, even better price tag, less luxury
-Lexus IS-F - great HP, reliability, descent maintenance cost, nice styling
-GTR - what more can I say, expensive to maintain, prob not the best daily driver
-BMW M3 - havent owned a German car before and expensive to maintain
-Audi S5 - same as above

So without hazing me too much for my choices and maybe lending a guiding eye through my thinking, what seems to be the practical choice?

Also is there something I am missing that I should wait for like a newer styled G coupe?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

My opinion....

G37- I like, really nice car with backseat.
370Z- I like, really nice car without a backseat.
IS-F- I like, don't know to much about it, hear there really nice as well.
GTR- enough said.
M3-2010? fast..
S5- looks good, bout all that I know.

Point being if I were able to get one (GTR not practical), probably a fully loaded Z. Or M3

 

thought u get 4 yrs of free maintenance if you buy the beemer.

 

I guess I didnt realize that BMW offered that. I just read up on it though which makes the new M3 even that much more interesting.

Yes I am looking at the 2010 M3 to clarify.

The only thing I am not too fond of on the BMW is the interior styling... its just never wowed me. That is one thing that makes me lean towards either the IS-F or the G37.

 

i love bmw's interiors they style them well. very simple yet classy.

 

Thanks for the advice everyone. I am going to go and test out the new g37 this weekend to see how that fits. Any thoughts if I should wait a year or so to see if any new features or models come out in any of these cars? I would hate to buy now just to miss out on an opportunity to get the latest and greatest model.

 

There's always something new around the corner every year for each of these cars, so buy something if it has the features that you need and you like it. All the cars you mentioned are great, and I've driven each and every one of them.

2010 G37 feels like a fat pig compared to 2003 car (which I still have), but the power is fantastic and the interior is top notch, great daily driver.

370z is a brutish sports car, the auto-blip on the 6MT works amazingly well. It feels like less of a fat pig than G37, but it's less practical. I'd choose the G37 over this.

IS-F, Great toyota reliability (assuming gas pedal doesn't stick ), but the downside is that it only come with an automatic slushbox. Power also feels very good.

GT-R, *drool*, it's a freaking super car. Crazy expensive to maintain, but the performance is out of this world. I don't know how a 4000 lb car corners like it does, but it's basically the ingenuity of engineering beating the laws of physics into submission with a gnarly branch. I normally drive a tiny little <2000lb car, and you feel the nimbleness. In the GT-R, you turn into a corner, mash the throttle, and somehow the machinery works magic and makes you just as fast without any of the drama.

M3: Excellent handling, the best suspension of all the cars which you mention, great power band in the engine, but it's very high strung and expensive to maintain if you keep it past the warranty. It's also way too expensive for what it is.

S5: Not as sporty as the other cars, BMW analogue would be the 335i, but still pretty damn nice. The appearance and materials quality inside and out is top notch. The engine has a lot of grunt, but the car is freaking heavy, and it feels it in turns. Understeers a lot. Quattro AWD is nice if you ever drive in snow. I love the looks of this car, if I was buying a daily driver, it's among the top ones (3500 lb towing capacity, I could tow my track car to the track with this )

You're clearly looking at sporty cars. Have you considered keeping your current G as a practical car and buying a frivolous, fun, impractical sports car?

 

Having driven a G37 and putting 300+ miles on my friend's V8 M3 coupe (so he could return from a trip with the 1200 miles breakin service completed... best favor I ever had the privilege to do!) there's no way I could justify that much money for that car.

Yes. It's the nicest, fastest car I've ever driven, but at twice the price of a G37, I just cannot see spending $30,000+ more for it. If $30,000 has any value to you, you just can't buy a new M3. That said, if I had to drive one car the rest of my life and not pay a thing to acquire or maintain it, the M3 would be it.

I haven't driven the IS-F, GT-R, S5 or 370Z, so I will not comment on them.

 

If I were in the market for a new ride I'd look at the '10 NISMO 370Z, that's one kick azz fun/fast ride....Nissan finally go this one right!
Gary

 

my vote goes for the nismo 370z too

 

+ 1..

 

Thank you all for your advice. I am going to check into the nismo z and yes I am looking for sporty. I have had so much fun in my G35 that it almost makes sense for me to stick with this brand although I have never married myself to one particular brand (went from Honda to Subaru to Infiniti) so who knows. I am going to do some more research and see if there are any cars I might be missing. I am also going to impatiently wait until it warms up a bit since dealers are not too fond of letting you take any of these cars off the lot in the Minnesota snow.

 

I am leaning towards the G37. Should I go right for the 2010 models or is the 2009 model just as good.

 

^really? A G37?? When you have GTR, M3, IS-F, and S5 on your list..or were those apart of the "wish list"

 

get audi s6 i drove that car and still am in shock of the power and torque it generates from that v10.