Hey everyone, this is my first post. I currently drive a 2001 330ci. I love the car, but I have a problem. I get board/sick of cars pretty quickly. I've had my 330ci for about a year and a half. I just want something different now. I love the looks of the G35 coupe. I test drove one a few months ago, but the salesman was really weird and I didn't get on it too much. I wasn't that impressed with the way it drove, it definitely didn't feel like 280hp. But I think if I was given a chance to drive a little more aggressive I may think differently. The interior is nice, but it didn't blow me away. Has anyone had any interior quality problems so far? Anyone have any comparisons between the two cars, perhaps a previous BMW owner? Any comments would be greatly appreciated. One problem I am having with my 330ci is the leather is wearing and getting dirty pretty badly. I have light gray leather, so I definitely want to get black leather on my G. I have the Nav on my BMW and am pretty sure I want to get it on the G. Any opinions on the two Nav systems? I also have a question about the 2003 vs 2004. I read somehwere that they are changing the dash for 2004, could someone explain? Also, can you get a white on black leather 2003, or just 2004? Sorry for all of the questions, I am just very curious and would like to find out as much as I can.

Thanks,
-Brandon

 

I Still own a 330ci convertable, I love both cars. But i drive the G35 coupe more beacause its WAY faster. My opinion is it hanldes better than the 3 also. I have a 6mt and the car is awesome. I have nav also. The only problem i have with it is you cant change your destination or pretty much control the nav while driving. It has to be at a stop. You can browse and stuff but cant change destinations look for restuarants etc.... But my opinion is Get the G. You can get white on black just go to infiniti's website and check out the combos you can do. Any other questions i guess everyone else will be happy to answer. So good luck

 

RashMan, is your 330cic an auto or stick? I could see you thinking the G was much faster if you were comparing an auto 330 to a 6mt G, but stick vs stick they seemed pretty close. I did see the white/black combo on their website, but I haven't seen a 2003 for sale anywhere with that combo.

What do you think about the quality of the G vs your 330? Ride quality, interior, etc...?

Thanks,
-Brandon

 

It seems most white Gs have the willow interior.

 

I have a white G and black interior...look cool...
I have a question .. should the audio and nav. area be silver or black ? i have all black inside ..
it'a hard to keep the white G clean .. there are some black dot that i can't rip off...

 

Back in GERMANY NURNBERG, I have a 2002 BMW 330 ci M3 bodykit version. I personly think that the G is a lot faster than the 330 ci but since the 330 ci in the US has a little loss of hp, its okay. Haha I like to smoke 330 ci in the paradise...

 

Hello Brandon, I was a 2001 330ci owner for 3 years, the bimmer was a 5spd stick, with SP, PP, DSC-3, rain-sensor wiper, and electric rear-shade, and I just made a switch to a 2004 6MT Coupe.

For the drivetrain, bimmer is more refined, the I-6 engine is buttery smooth, powerful and very good on fuel consumption, but the clutch friction point is kind of high. What the G35 6MT-C has is a more powerful engine, definitely feel the difference, I don't even have to push and already get a few chirps off the straight line starts. The G seems to lay the power down better than the bimmer despite they both have the same rear tire width (245mm), VDC is also a bit less intrusive than the DSC. I was so used to turning the DSC off as soon as I started the engine. However, with DSC off and without the LSD, one of the cold Michelins would spinned from a moderate start, the rear end didn't step out, just made some noise and it won't move, very annoying. Once the tires are warmed, they're fine. The G with the same Pilot Sports seems to lay its power down more evenly, I don't think I hit it hard enough that the LSD had kicked in. But the G is a gas guzzler when compare to the bimmer, so far it is a good 20% less fuel efficient.

In term of driving dynamics, the bimmer feels lighter, but not faster. The G and 330ci accelerates at about the same rate on the low end, I think the G will move faster as the speed increases. Since my 6MT is in the break-in process, I didn't push it that hard to verify. Despite the G heavier weight, it manages to corner flatter and less dramatic than the bimmer. I also like the steering feel and grip better on the G. The 330ci steering is very light, poor centering feel, and doesn't give much road feedback, however, the E36 was better than both the E46 and the G. Overall the G feels sportier, while the bimmer more upscale, personally, G is my preference.

For the interior, since my bimmer is pretty much loaded, I find the bimmer is marginally better in terms of material quality. But like you mentioned before, the leather seats worn out easily, even with black leather, the side blosters were wearing fast. I do prefer the bimmer sport seats as it has seat memory, electric stepless seat back adjustment and leg support extender.

In terms of reliabilty and dealer service, bimmer sucks big time. The major reason why I get rid of the bimmer was a lot of minor problems. None of the dealers I visited can fix it right within 2 visits per issue, and they always managed to make more damage to the paint and/or interior linings. Some of the scratches is fairly deep and difficult to get repainted. Bottomline, the BMW after sales service scared me. I don't have the G long enough to comment on this. For now, a happy 6MT owner.

No experience on the Nav as I don't have it on both cars.

In summary, things I don't like about the G are:
- auto headlight setting, it just placed in the wrong position, in fact, delete this useless feature
- high seating postition (same as the 330ci)
- lack of seat memory and electric seat back adjustment
- no auto mirror tilt in reverse gear
- lack of fuel consumption display and high fuel consumption
- lots of brake dust, 330ci is the same

What I like the G over the 330ci
- better door and window closing, no need to slam to get the door shut
- sportier ride, flatter corning, powerful Brembos, shorter shifts, better steering feel
- softer perforated leather seating surface
- lots of storage space
- more responsive auto dimmer mirror, the bimmer's were so slow and completely useless in well lit city streets
- marginally more head room

-- VWan

2004 6MT - Red

 

My 330 ci is an auto. And to vwan if you have gotten the Nav you would have the gas consumption, total miles to empty just like the bmw.

I say get the G, you will like it. I recomend it to everyone. Its one sweet *** ride.

 

i have white w/ black... yeah its lil hard to find one... but its not impossible...

my aunt had a E46 330ci, she wanted to test drive my G35 so i let her, i asked her if it felt lot faster than 330ci n she said it feels faster but not much... (her 330ci was manual, my G is an auto)

mashibee: if you didnt get performance pkg, it should be black, if you did get the pkg... uh... i denno what to say...


<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small"><EM>Edited by xkoraznboix on 09/09/03 11:54 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

Hi Rashman, I know the G Nav displays the fuel consumption info, but I would prefer a small display for this and not needed to get the Nav. The way bimmer did it with a simple display best suits my taste. I don't get the Nav is because I don't really have a need for one, I can use the monry for other upgrades. Just a personal preference.

I would also recommend the G35 Coupe over the 330ci, it is more certainly more fun.

2004 6MT - Red

 

Vwan....thank you very much for your extremely thorough comparison. And thanks to everyone else for their input so far.
I have a few other questions. First, with the white on black guys(hmm, that just doesnt sound right), are your cars 2003 or 2004 models? What about storage and comfort levels of the G compared to the 330ci? Also, has anyone came across any rattles or anything annoying like that?

My 330ci has had quite a few annoying little rattles that really **** me off considering its a $40k+ car. I think I may have had the last straw this morning too. I was getting out of my car to go to work. In the armrest, there is a small storage area where I put my ID badge for work. I coudn't open it. I pushed in the button, banged it, moved it all around and it still wouldn't open. I have no idea what happened...but I think it's a sign. Thanks for all of your replies and assitance.

-Brandon

 

I spend a large part of my college days in a 330ci, so I can offer an opinion if you'd like. The G has more storage room, and in terms of comfort, I like the G coupe over the 3. That's also because I'm 6'3", and every little inch helps.

Rattles? Hahahah. Funny. Everyone who comes on here and says "Why does your G rattle?? No $30K+ car should rattle, the Bimmer's don't" should come read your post [img]/w3timages/icons/wink.gif[/img] There are two or three known rattles, BUT there are also corresponding TSBs to take care of them. The first rattle to emerge for most is the passenger-side door. The next is perhaps on the rear shelf, and the last is usually the driver's door (window regulator). Like I said, they've all got TSBs, and you can wipe out all three before you even leave the dealership by saying "double-pad both doors, perform the TSB on the rear deck, and make sure my window regulator isn't loose" Tada. Good luck with your decision!

G

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

 

I have both a 01 330ci 5spd and a 03 G35c 6spd. The bimmer feels lower to the ground and lighter, and also felt faster than my G at the beginning. Now that I have 6k miles on my G, the G definately feels and is faster. One thing I can't stand on the bimmer is the long throws, they feel 3x longer than the short throw shifter on the G. A few features I miss on the G is complete power seats, memory seats, side mirror going down when in reverse. I don't have NAV on either so I can't compare. The leather in the G seems much softer than the bimmer, both are black. I haven't had any interior problems, and its nice to get away from that annoying rear deck speaker rattle in the bimmer.

With all that said, I only drive the bimmer when I don't want to put miles on the G. Definately worth the move to the G.

2003.5 CB Coupe 6MT
Pics

 

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

The 330ci steering is very light, poor centering feel, and doesn't give much road feedback, however, the E36 was better than both the E46 and the G

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Interesting. I had an E36 ('95 325is/Sport/5MT) and find the G35C's steering to be much better than the BMW. The 325 had a strong tendency to wander all over the road even after a proper wheel alignment. It was in general a much "busier" car to steer. The G tracks like a slot car by comparison, and takes less steering input to keep it going straight. I greatly prefer it to the BMW in this regard.