As with any two cars ... drive them BOTH first ... only then will you truly have the proper input to complete your decision.

You can only take an on-paper analysis so far ...

<font color=blue>2003 G35 Coupe 6MT - diamond graphite / graphite leather - premium - nav</font color=blue>

 

2005 G35 - 3.5l V6 - 295hp
Pontiac GTO - 5.7l V8 - 350hp

Of course by comparison, GTO is faster but 5.7l only 350hp?
The car will pee ur gas out every few days considering the high gas prices these days

 

G35 almost looks like the batmobile... GTO almost looks like a boat.

having said that, gas is another major issue... also i've got a fetish for RWD turbo V6's...ever since i got to ride in a friends grand national i was sold. then a ride in a supra... and to top it off i got to take a porshe to prom...(wait a sec, their all wheel huh?) heh

moral of this story, dont get the boat!

 

What an insult!!! The T-bird looks like the batmobile, not a G35. You need to stop smoking that $hit, because your coming off like a ghetto thug! Does "Dagg" own a G, because there are some nice SUV's with spinners out there!

"What if there is no tomorrow....There wasn't one today!!!" Bill Murray
'04 OB/GL Prem.Pkg./Sport.Pkg/Splash

 

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr>

But the Grand Prix is a fwd car with sub-par handling. :\<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr>



That is inaccurate. GTO is a RWD car. I wish people will give accurate information instead of just saying what they like. It's really embrassing.

Skidpad performance varies from tester to tester. I am sure with some mods the GTO will have .90+ handling with no problem. Best bang for the buck will be the GTO especially the 05 version and it will be much cheaper to mod domestic.

Nissan will edge out in reliability. Nissan is no Lexus but their record shows they are better than Pontiac.

As for turning heads. When G35c first came out, yea it was a great looking car but just like the bmw 3 series it's slowly wearing out. I personally think the 350z has a more aggressive stand.

 

Honestly, I like the GTO, the styling is good for an American car, the power is definitely there, and the interior is pretty good. You can't argue with 350hp, and 400hp will be even better. The downside is that the GTO will likely to be less reliable than the G35, heavier, lower handling, and worse gas milage.

Still, for those seeking a reborn American muscle car, the GTO is a great choice. If you like to cruise on highways and drag occassionally, the GTO is a pretty good car at a very good price. The G35 offers 'some' more refinement, a peace of mind reliability/quality, and excellent handling to boot.

They are two different cars, and IMO they both do excellent jobs in their perspective category.

 

Forgetting HP, I think the GTO is a generic looking 2-door American car no more exciting than a Chevy Monte Carlo. They had a great opportunity to revive the GTO with something really exciting and instead produced a rather bland car that is fast. Ford seems to understand that better considering the '05 Mustang and new Ford GT at least mixed performance with style.

If you are looking for acceleration alone then the GTO is a good buy. However I don't think you can compare the GTO to the G35 Coupe in regard to style and class. Completely different league.

2003 G35c/5AT/BS-Graphite/Prem/Aero/Splash/NISMO sway bars/JWT Popcharger/Z-Tube

 

Got my numbers from Road and Track.

I am a little biased towards the Grand Prix. I had a 98 GTP before I got my G and I loved it. The FWD actually didn't handle too bad, though they would certainly have to change up to a RWD if they ever put LS1 power to it. And the handling really wasn't too bad considering its size... and a few mods.

Having said that, I don't that there is anything comparably priced on the road right now that I would trade my G for.

 

the GTO may be a 5.7 ls1 but corvettes got 29 mpg on the fwy~. im sure GTO's are similar~.

14.478 stock lacr

APR v5.0 chip
DBA slotted rotors 12.6
Greddy Turbo Timer III
Samco TBB
BBS CH 19X8.5

 

Man a LS2 I wounder how much that will weight. and eat gas. I have heard many ls1 and ls6 owners geting only 11-15 mpg on the freeway. If that car gets an ls2 does that mean all the LS1 cars and trucks get an ls2 upgrade?

 

Car and driver got a <A HREF="http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=3&article_id=7360&page_numb er=4">0.88g</A> for the GTO. It probably depends on the tires too. I know this article says it has BF Goodrich tires, (not sure how good they are), but I know I've seen GTOs with Eagle Crap RS-A tires. It may do better with Pilot Sports.

As for fuel economy, the LS1 will not **** away gas. It actually gets pretty good gas mileage. Much better than the G anyways. That engine is barely breathing at cruising speed. If you get the 6MT anyways. The auto GTO really is begging for a 5 speed. The 4AT GTO gets crappy mileage, as evident by its gas guzzler surcharge, making the 4AT more expensive than the 6MT, even though the 6MT is an extra cost option.

My supercharged Pontiac GTP even gets better fuel economy than my G35. I think its because at 70mph, the G35 is at 2500rpm, while my GTP is barely 2000rpm.

I'm averaging barely 20mpg in mixed driving (mostly highway) in the G35, but I'm averaging greater than 24 in the GTP under same driving conditions. (I alternate driving the two to work). Though I have much more fun driving the G

Anyways, I was also torn between getting the G and the GTO. I decided on the G, because I wanted things like Navi, Sunroof, Dual Zone Climate, Heated Seats, etc...

 

You should read peoples post accurately before you get upset about them giving inaccurate information. If you'll reread it, you'll notice he said Grand Prix, not GTO. :-)

 

Motortrend - Road Test: 2004 Pontiac GTO: "Maximum handling grip--0.80 g--doesn't set any performance standards, but the GTO's real-world useability does."

Car and Driver - : Pontiac GTO "Yet the GTO pulled 0.88 g on the skidpad, a testament to its fundamental balance and stability."

Road and Track- Taken from their GTO test data panel : "Skidpad 0.81g"
http://www.roadandtrack.com/assets/d...3200311617.pdf

Pontiac website - GTO page : "with cornering power to generate .86 lateral Gs."

So anyways it looks like there is some conflicting data here. Make what you will of it.

 

GTO is a heavy car (3800lb+)..
It will have LS2 for 2005, 400hp, and possibly displacement on demand (4 cylinders shut off on highways to save fuel).
It's a good muscle car, but it won't outhandle a lighter G35 coupe, unless you put some money into suspension, even then it might not be as good. It's based on old Holden platform...