In 1 week time my G35 Coupe will be 5 years old. I figure it would be a nice time to write up a 5 year review on this magnificent vehicle and once again give thanks to Nissan/Infiniti engineers and designers.

I purchased my vehicle in November of 2002 as one of the very first 6MT Caribbean Coupes sold in the US. I have been waiting for a Skyline to reach US shores since 1999, went as far as writing to local Nissan dealership that if they ever bring one over I'll buy it. I put down a deposit for the G35 Coupe as soon as the pre-production model was revealed at the NYIAS back in April of 2002. I spent the summer of 2002 creeping around Nissan HQ in Gardena, CA taking spy shots of the G35 Coupe for 3 month until the secutity guards threatened to have me arrested for transpassing. First saw a Caribbean Blue coupe in the parking lot of Nissan HQ in June of 2002, at the time I referred to the color as MaliBlue. Having seen the Brembos on the car I knew I had to buy a 6MT even though I've never driven a clutch vehicle all my life...........


Fast forward 5 years to 2007. I just spent 8 hours washing, claying, detailing, conditioning, waxing, caressing my coupe this past weekend. My back is still sore and my hair smells like carnauba wax. The good news is the car is in like-new condition and I can drag my cheek across the rear bumper and it feels silky smooth. Here is my 5 year review


Exterior Design: 9.7/10 (doors and rear bumper look too tall)
Interior Design: 8/10 (Less plastic surface would be nice)
Built Quality: 7.8/10 (Interior material not very durable)
Comfort: 7/10 (Ride is very good but road noise is poor)
Reliability: 9/10 (Minor problems - window motor) - I wasted $1200 on extended warranty
Performance: 8.5/10 (Track/Touge/AutoX Capable)

Overall rating (not an average): 9/10

Highly recommended for people who love to have a everyday sporty car with drop dead gorgeous styling, more than ample performance, comfortable on long trips, value performance and reliability of an Infiniti.

Things that bothered me:
> High Clutch Engagement - made better through clutch adjustment
> Insufficient Headroom for helmet - manually lowering seat
> Window motors creaking, need replacements - looks like the 3rd set is going
> Engine feels rough after 5000rpm - feels like prolong 5k+ would cause spontaneous engine detonation
> Notchy Transmission - still grinds once awhile. (every other month?)
> Squeaky Brembos - Embarassing cruising around town sometimes.
> Very shallow trunk - I suppose taking out the spare, tools, and remake a new trunk mat would make it more livable. Rear fold down seats are nice though.
> Seatbelt holder rubbing against the seat shoulder - changed in 2005?
> CD Player not capable of MP3 - PAC iPod input.
> NAV DVD drive is slow as hell - Don't use it much locally anyways.


Praises: Endless, I won't even bother trying to type them out. I gave up on trading up to a G37 (don't see the point) and used that money to buy another toy car. I plan on keeping my coupe for a very long time.

Now I am going back out to the garage to run my cheek against the flawless paint surface and sniff the pina colada wax.

 

It's good to know the g is worthy of 5+ year ownership and you're still singing praises.

to your write up. Thanks for the contribution and review!

 

very nice review and agree with everything.

 

how about the annoying "chattering" of the clutch! sounds like a cement truck!!

 

and the whip appeal is ridiculous

 

nice review..i love my G

 

the vibrations through the shifter are pretty bad too, the first time i went WOT with the G the insane amount of vibration freaked me out lol.

 

I'm right there with ya. Got my 03 in May 03 and have no regrets!

 

great review... how many miles you got on her? did you have to change your clutch? oh, and what is your new toy car?

-drp

 

Nice review. I'll be coming up on 5 years in February. Overall, I'm very pleased with my coupe. Only regret was that I went AT

 

My clutch is going strong, no slippage at all. I bought a spare clutch assembly a few years back and now I don't know what to do with it. I fully anticipated the clutch to go out after a couple of years of my newbie driving.

The vibration on the shifter scared the heck out of me the first month of ownership. Now I've gotten used to it all other shifters on the market feels too isolated. I kind of like being able to 'feel' the engine speed through the shift ****.

I bought an used Mercedes SL500 w/ AMG aero for my dad's birthday. He's out of the country so I drive it on the weekends. It's a bit more pricey than the G37 but it's one hell of a car. In terms of luxury and content, it's leagues above anything else I've ever driven. I like having a hardtop convertible beach cruiser in SoCal. It's 85 out today with ocean breeze, perfect for driving down PCH in the SL.

 

Great review. Wrapped it up in a few paragraphs. I agree with many of your points.

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yes, lets talk about trunks space......THERE IS NONE! i want some subs in the back but damn...thats about all that can fit back there!

 

yep...nice write-up

 

Thanks for your great review. As much as I hate all the haters letting me know how much they hate the G, my heart still skips a beat after 2 years of owning one. The lines are timeless.

I'm planning to keep my G for a long time.