I'm not surprised at all they tend to hate both G35 and Maxima and always bring up their shortcomings and praise their cars. Sad but true I don tpay them any attention with their "gods gift to man" attittudes" over their.

Without sounding like I am drinking G35 KoolAib (B/C believe me I don't)...I will say these briefs:

* I drove the TL type S when I was test driving everything last spring...and it handled like a 1985 Chevy Celebrity...that was it for me.

* While the new Acura, may have distanced it self a lot more from the Accord (b/c the old TLs were basically accords...and priced very close to one...they leased out at under $300/Mo for God's sake), Front wheel drive and torque steer up the a$$ is no way to drive a car with 270 hp.

* I could care less about the touch screen NAV, but I do wish that you could accept all the responsibility for a crash and still use it after moving...although you can use some features which they obviously don't know about on the TL forum.

* If you have the NAV in the G35 you never see that stupid trade mark analog clock so it's not an issue.

* If Nissan had it's head out of it a$$ all the controls would not be set up for the Nissan Skyline Japan version of our car which is why everything is set up as if you were driving from the right side of the car like in Japan...I am sure Nissan will change that.

* We should have hood shocks...for the 10 lbs they'll add.

* We should have a left side gas tank that locks.

* Nissan needs to change it's vendor for Rotors...if I don't drive my car or my wife's Maxima for 5 days straight you can put the car in drive and it won't move...b/c the rotors are welded to the pads. I just put my Moda R 6 Rims with 245/45 ZR 17 Kumhos back on...to get my Winter Rims/Tires off I had to get under the car and kick the $hit out of the tires...they were literally welded onto the rotors...3 out of 4 of them at least. This is sad and very controllable.

* Other than that the car is perfect...and the interior, IMHO is fine as is...plenty of room front and back and the sound system is awesome...at least with the Bose.

John
03.5 G35 14.2 @ 96
02 Maxima SE 14.5 @ 95 (Wife's)
87 Mustang GT 13.2 @ 107

I can't comment on how the 2004 TL drives, but before I bought my G35 last September, I test drove a 2003 TL and TL-S.

I actually liked how the TL drove, though I didn't do any hard driving with the salesperson with me. A quieter, smoother ride, than my G35. I thought the TL-S was too harsh. My non-sports G35 is in between for ride comfort.

But this was last August when Acura was still being all secret about the 2004s, and that makes a person hesitant because you hate to buy a car a month before a new model, possibly much better, comes out.

I would have been a harder decision if they had had the color I wanted with Navigation at the time. They didn't, then a dealer found my second choice color G35 the next month, and 6600 miles later, I'm happy with my choice.

2004 Sedan/DVD Navigation/Desert Platinum/Willow

Prior to purchasing my 04 premium G35x, I test drove about a dozen vehicles (I like car shopping). Lincoln, A6, Cadillac, Avalon, TL, Maxima, S Type ... you name it. I was willing to spend the bucks if I liked it, had a Saab 95 to trade in. Can give you a run down on em all, but the TL was in the final short list, it's a nice car, but here's why I didn't choose it:

1. Back seat (knee) space on the TL is definately smaller than the G (my son's 6'+ like me). G b/s space was second only to the Avalon;
2. Front seats were high enough that when I sat in the back I felt seperated from the front, not a lot, but enough to make me think about it;
3. Felt more cramped in the driver seat than the G;
4. Torque steer. I like my car to jump when I tell it but I don't really need 270 horses;
5. Suspension was too stiff (sporty) for me, the Saab had a nice S/L balance (for me) and the G was closer to what I was used to (though I may yet get softer shocks in it);
6. NAV, I'd never use it anyway;
7. Bluetooth, had no value for me;
8. Voice system, had way too much frustration with these in the past to even want one;
9. Body style, I have yet to find anyone, and I mean anyone, who didn't like the looks of the G. I liked it better than the TL;
10. Finally, I have had too much bad experience with first model year cars. I do not want to be a beta tester ever again!


... to Infiniti and beyond....!

I totally forgot about this til I read the above post-- the seat on the TL. My knees were touching the steering column, no matter what I did. It was slightly disconcerting. Maybe my body's just weird ( 6'3"), but I couldn't get a good, comfortably yet aggressive (read: not laid ALL the way back in the rear of the car) sitting position for the life of me.

It does have it's pro: the touch-screen, voice-activated nav (With a 42% accuracy rate. Wow.), and blue-tooth. That's the end. You'll never see a TL driver laud its driving capabilities over the G, only its interior accouterments. I personally don't like touch-screens (ikcy screens after a while, and I end up hitting the letter next to the intended one), and I don't use a blue-tooth enabled phone. But that's just me... I'm sure they're happy with their purchase, as would I have been if I'd gotten a car for comfy factor instead of drive. But then I would've gotten a Lexus.

G

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

The problem for me is that Lexus doesn't seem to have a direct competitor to the G35. The ES series is front wheel drive, and really is just a luxury version of the Camry. (Like the I35 is of the Maxima). The IS300, which I never drove, is a little on the small side for me, and the GS300 is at least $6000 more than the G35, and felt underpowered compared to the G35 and even the 2003 TL.

Of course, I test drove the used GS300 (2001 model) before I had considered spending $35000 on a car. At the time, I was looking at the rare used G35 since I wanted to keep my purchase under $30000.

I also drove a 2001? BMW 328. Actually didn't seem as small inside as I would have expected, but they were asking $30,000 for it too. I figure that, if I'm going to have to go at least 100 miles for service, I wanted a more reliable brand than the BMW.

The G35 was a step down in size for me, as is, since I was going from a 1995 Taurus. I notice this especially in the trunk, and the lack of room in the front seat when I have a passenger. (For example, if I carry a camera on a road trip, etc). But part of that is the center console that is traditional in this type of car.

I probably should stop by some Acura dealership sometime, while driving my pickup (would they take me seriously as a customer if I showed up in a 2004 G35?) and just see how the 2004 TL drives. At least I would be comparing current versions.

The price difference isn't as advantagous for the TL anymore. I could get the comparable car for only about $800 cheaper.

2004 Sedan/DVD Navigation/Desert Platinum/Willow

I was told by a salesman that we don't have hood shocks because the hood is made of aluminum (to save weight in the front) and it isn't strong enough to have hood shocks. Sounded reasonable when he told me but maybe it was just baloney

2003.5 5AT Sedan Black/Black Premium/Winter Packages

GeoBau,
I sat in a TL at the NM Auto Show last week, I don't think it's just you! I am very sensitive to seating problems in a car, I have a prosthetic leg, an it felt weird to me on that side anyway! LOL, funny, the Acura guy there said there ws no torque steer problem, "we took care of that" guy also checking out the car told me "he must have driven a G35 instead" LOL!


Brilliant Silver/Graphite/Chrome Wheels '04 Sedan/5AT

Id never really looked into the TL untill i saw this link becuase when i heard it was FWD i didn't even want to compare it with the G. Now that ive done a little research, i can see its a really nice, lot of nice features, but still FWD and lacking torque at that. Both are great cars, if the G had a little nicer interior id take it over a RWD drive TL though.

2004 Sedan
Black/Willow
Premium w/ splash guards
Clear Corners, Z-tube

Yes, their interior's pretty luxurious and their navi is a touch screen. But if you guys have tried a touchscreen, you'll notice how dirty it looks after tapping the screen a few times...........fingerprints all over the screen. Personally, I think Nissan made a good decision to not utilize a touch screen.

Certified Window Tint & Detailing Specialist
3M / Venture Paint Protection Film Dealer
Madico Window Film Dealer
syu@machiii.net

Well, since Lexus has been selling the ES 300 (3rd gen) since 2002 and the IS 300 since 2001, it seems INFINITI does not have the direct competitor, not the other way around.

The G35 sedan is a "tweener" 10 inches longer than it's competition (the 3 and IS are 176 inches long) and only 3-4 inches shorter than the GS or E class but clearly not those cars competition.
The TL is the same way, not battling directly but going inbetween the size of the 3/IS/C and 5/GS/E class.

It's not an Acura.

yea..its an infiniti..deal with it..hahaha..



GGG Member Signup

they are just pissed that they can't do doughnuts in their FWD lol

same thing when i was a maxima owner, it was the GTP pontiac guys that kept talking **** all the time

watch in a couple years when the TL comes out in RWD how all of a sudden it will be the greatest thing since refined petro...and thier RWD will be superior and more innnovative than anyone elses too...lol

2003.5 DP 5AT Sedan (E-thing but Nav)
14.2 @ 97.18
Injen CAI
10 Wire Hyper-Ground
Crawford Plenum (V4)
UR Crank Pulley
Polk ex-3500 Tweeter Upgrade/Shock Sensor/H-Liner Under Hood