I am considering the purchase of either a 2003 I35 or 2003.5 G35 sedan to replace my current G20. I would rather have a G35 because it's more fun to drive, but because I live in New England I am concerned about having a rear-wheel drive car in the winter. A G35x would solve this but isn't going to be financially feasible for me (I'm a college student and will be paying for this one myself with money saved from several summers of work). Is a G35 with VDC going to be able to get me home and up my driveway in the winter or should I just buy an I35 Sport?

 

G35 with snow tires should do you just fine in all but the worst storms. NH storms can get bad, but its not the lack of traction that will be tough for you, its ground clearance. As long as the roads are plowed, and you have winter tires on, you'll be fine.

 

Winter tires also aren't going to be feasible, since I go to school in VA and won't have anywhere to put a set of tires. Ground clearance isn't a problem for the G20 so I can't imagine it would be for the G35. I'm hoping I can get away with just a good set of all season performance tires.

 

WHS^^. G35 with snows is fine. Get the rear driver.
C.

 

I bought my 2003 G35 last October and bought four winter tires after the first few light snow storms. I got the idea that the stock all season tires just wouldn't cut it. Under light to moderate acceleration the car would feel like it was going to fish tail when the weather got cold or if there was a hint of snow. I basically just took it real easy driving to work cause I didn't really want to find out how bad it would be. Since they were used I really don't know how the tires would be if they were new. They have 40% traction left.

Anyways, since I've got the winter tires I haven't had a problem. We've had a very light winter so the tires are probably wearing out faster than normal. Normally in this part of Alberta we get more snow and it's usually a lot colder. On the snowy days, you can only break the rear end loose if you are trying to. The car has been very predictable and I don't have a problem starting at traffic lights, stop signs, on hills etc. Haven't had any really slushy days yet but I don't expect many problems.

If it ends up snowing a lot, I'll probably need to take one of the parents cars to work since the G35 is pretty low to the ground. It's not really a winter car but I think it can handle all but the extreme conditions. I wouldn't be comfortable without the winter tires though. I can't wait for summer...