I am going through a midlife crisis (a little late, I am acutally 60) and want either a new Z or the G35. Probably Auto, but not set in stone. Base unit in the G and the Enthusiasts model in the Z. Any comments or opionions would be greatly appreciated.

 

Personally, I think the "mid life crisis" would seemingly be more apparent in the Z.

The G would emphasize some class and refinement, which I am sure at your age you have more of than a 20 year old.

Take care

 

Well, I refuse to believe I bought my G35C at 51 due to a mid-life crisis, but who knows - Freud might have disagreed. At any rate, I did drive a similarly equipped 350Z (6MT with all the goodies including Nav) prior to committing to the Infiniti. It was admittedly only a 10 minute test drive, but by the seat of my pants I percieved no performance advantage in the Z even after flooring the accelerator from an near stop up to about 60 MPH and throwing it fairly hard into a few corners. Most magazine tests seem to get as good or better skidpad numbers for the G35C, and I know there's supposed to be a couple of tenths 0-60 time advantage on the Z, but on the test cars I drove I can't say I noticed any difference in either respect.

What I did notice:

-The Z's interior seemed a lot cheaper. The seats were pretty undistinguished looking cloth (it was a track version I believe), and the Nav screen's plastic cover seemed almost unbelievably cheap and flimsy for a $35K car. The rest of the interior materials also looked a lot cheaper to me than the G (which is not exactly an exemplary interior itself, quality-wise).

-There was much more noise from the engine compartment in the Z, and it was not a sound I enjoyed at all, unlike the exhaust, which I do (on both cars).

-The strut brace in the luggage area on the Z takes a serious chunk out of its useful storage area, which is minimal to begin with.

-The Infiniti warranty is 4 years vs 3 for the Z, and the Infiniti dealer network is much more upscale and professional in general.

-This is just a personal preference, but I don't like many aspects of the Z's styling (especially the knife blade-like taillights), whereas I love the looks from almost every angle on the G35C.

Ultimately it comes down to personal taste, because mechanically the cars are nearly identical, and the differences that do exist otherwise are plain to see. For me, the test drive in the Z was a very strong affirmation that I was on the right track with my plan to buy the G. I'm totally thrilled with it now that I have it.

 

I did drive both. I was lucky enough to have a salesman that let it be known that if was ok to drive the Z to the handling limit's as much as I wanted. I absolutely loved the car and wanted it right then and their. But the no back seat thing prevented me from getting it. It had much sharper reflex's than the coupe and had a much harder ride quality, but that's what made it more fun to drive hard vs the 4 test drives I took in the coupe. The coupe is better looking, has a softer ride quality. But for me when the coupes didn't perform as well hard at the limit with that softer suspension and headroom clearance problems becausee I have a really tall torso, that killed it to. I bought the sedan instead. If I could have overcome the headroom issue, I would have just bought Tein coilovers for the coupe and gotten my stiffer suspension. I'd get the car that offers you the ride quality to can live with in the long term and especailly on LONG drives, ..........back seats can be handy, and as mentioned, the coupe does look the best.

Ivry 6mt sed
Crawford Pleneum
Injen CAI
22" resonator
Cusco sway bars
350Z springs&struts
Enkei RPM2

 

another 50+ G owner here.... we looked at the Z originally but there were too many missing items like a sunroof and a backseat, and not much in the way of appointments. When I first saw the G35C, it was the best of both worlds, performance, and an acceptable amount of luxury. From that point on, I never reconsidered a Z. Both have terrific looks, but the G was for me.
There are still a few amenities missing for a $35K car that are available even in less expensive American cars. The 2-way power passenger seat should be 6-way and both front seats should have a power recline feature, but they are comfortable and, all-in-all the interior is much nicer than the Z. And I was surprised they didn't have a memory function for seat positions, outside mirrors, and radio pre-sets. Oh well...
Both are great cars, but IMHO the G shows more all around class.

Laser Red 6MT / Premium / Full Aero<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small"><EM>Edited by OHG35 on 08/31/03 08:11 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

No Midlife Crisis here. I am pushing 65, and have never owned a sedan (my wife has and does) but not me. I have had Boss 302s, GTOs, TransAms, a 944 and etc. My last car was a rare Lexus SC300 with a 5MT. Anyway my current G35C (Baged as a 350GT) 6MT, is another in a line of "my kind of car". I also looked at the 350Z, but for me, the G was the right car, for the right $. BTW, my other ride is a 1999 Harley Low Rider. I've ridden since my 30s. As I said, no Midlife Crises here, just more of the same.

Lou

 

Thanks everyone. After perusing the Z forums, there seem to be many more complaints about the car and dealers than on this forum. Therefore...a G it will be. ( I have driven both and liked each for what it offered). Now comes the hard part...what color and auto or 6mt?

 

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

The G would emphasize some class and refinement, which I am sure at your age you have more of than a 20 year old.

<hr></blockquote>
It's that kind of comment that sets the Young Persons of America's civil rights movement back years!

MOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMY!!!

All kidding aside, what color do you like? I love black, but given the chance, I would go to Twilight Blue for a while to check it out. The Black on these cars looks like a million bucks when it's clean... and $.50 when it's dirty. Tradeoffs, egh...

G

2003.5 Black w/ Willow G35
Premium / Sport / Aero / Winter / Navi / Tint

 

I love black, but it is high maintenance. I think the red looks pretty good though I usually don't like red cars. Too many silvers on the road though it is also a great color. Every red that I have seen has really snapped my head around to look. I will probably get the auto and red. If I wanted the stick I think I would get the Z.

 

I drive through this L.A.Traffic EVERYDAY but it still didnt deter me from getting the 6mt! I love it, and i have 0 regrets. Only thing i could ask for is more open road

 

Secondchildhood,you are right that you see more complaints on the Z boards but remember that these boards especially www.my350z.com are much more active than this one.If you pose the same question there the possible responses would be pro 350Z.BTW,I'm 54 and have owned sports cars all my adult life so my mid-life crisis started when I was 18.
I too drove both cars but prefer the look of the Z and don't need a back seats when I'm in a "sporty mood".You can't go wrong with either.

2003.5 G35
2003 350Z
2003 Murano SL

 

I tried both before coming to the conclusion that the G35 coupe fit more of my immediate needs. A few of things that drove it home for me;

1) Felt the Z had a greater rear blind spot. Something about where the roofline comes down and your position in the car.

2) The G has a somewhat useful backseat. Not for long trips, but hey works ok for lunch runs or whatever.

3) The G has a touch more storage area. Although according to my wife it's still not enough for getting groceries or going a shopping spree -- she'll take the Tahoe -- ok by me

4) Location of the power plug points.

Don't think you can go wrong with either, just what you can best live with day-in day-out.

Good luck.

 

Laser Red is a great pick, and I have the graphite interior, but willow is popular as well. Give the 6MT serious thought. It's a blast to drive and there are other extras with the 6MT you should think about... brembo's, 18" wheels, performance tires, LSD... Enjoy!

Laser Red 6MT / Premium / Full Aero

 

you dont have to get a 6mt to get the 18's and teh LSD those come with the wheel and tire package but i do agree the 6mt is probaly more fun. but i still enjoy my auto. And if i am having this much fun with my atuo u should 2.

good luck