The folks at Enterprise switched me from the Seville to the FX35.

First impression - I am in love with the exhaust note - totally addictive. The sedan's is a tad deeper and quieter. The FX is closer the 350Z. I was stomping on the throttle at every opportunity just to hear the sound.

On to other things.. the transmission is different from the Sedan on two counts. First, it seems to hold the gears a little longer. Second, the manumatic seems to behave more like the Coupe than the sedan.

The handling is pretty sharp - close to the Sedan. No body roll to speak of - if anything, less than the non-sports suspension Sedan though it is firmer. The Sedan ofcourse is much lighter and feels like it more responsive.

The interior is nicer than the sedan - real Aluminum trim and center area. Noise levels are lower - ofcourse it is higher off the ground so it could be just that am hearing less road noise.

I am little more afraid of pushing the FX - I feel it will tip over that much more easily compared to the sedan.

All in all, a great vehicle. If I wanted an SUV, I would get the FX. I love the looks and the character. I think Infiniti certainly made the right choice in making its vehicles distinctive and full of character.

G35S AT / Ivory Pearl and Black

 

We have both a 2003 FX35 (loaded with Prem, Sport, and Tech packages) and a 2004.5 G35 Sedan 5AT...love them both! The FX is very sporty...very aggresive looks, handling, and speed, and it's very cool with all the goodies of the Tech package. My wife's fav feature is the Intelligent Key System -- no using a key; just the RF remote, and our 2-year-old loves the DVD player. The Navi system and rear-view camera are neat features as well. I like those 20" wheels and like rajanb mentioned, the exhaust note is very similar to the 350Z or G35 Coupe. However, my G35's sound is a bit closer now that I add the Z tube and K&N filter...a MAJOR difference in sound and power, IMHO. In addtion, as discussed on another thread, Infiniti has now changed the 2004.5 G35 Sedan's 5AT manumatic transmission to act like that of the FX and G35 Coupe, where it automatically downshifts for you (and it displays it correctly as such in the M mode), so you'll always start out shifting in 1st gear while in M mode from a stop. I was very happy they updated it; I didn't like the other way and thought it was just unintuitive.

I was so impressed by the FX35 (and then after driving the G35 as a loaner car) that I chose the 2004.5 G35 Sedan as my new company car. We used to be a Lexus family; I guess we're an Infiniti family now ;-)




2004.5 Infiniti G35 Sedan 5AT Black/Willow - Prem, R. Spoiler, Navi, Infiniti Sport Wheels
(basically Sport Package w/o stiffer suspension), Darkest Tint (this is FL afterall), XM Sat, Z Tube, K&N Filter<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small"><EM>Edited by bsgoren on 05/22/04 10:10 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

bsgoren,
Driving both vehicles daily, do you find a marked difference in the noise levels between the G and FX? What about the handling - body roll, turn in etc?

It also seems as if the FX is a little tighter, perhaps because it is quieter. Thoughts?

G35S AT / Ivory Pearl and Black<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small"><EM>Edited by rajanb on 05/23/04 04:48 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

The FX35 handles very well; I am certainly not afraid of a rollover; it's very stable. I think it handles like the G35 but with an extra 600 lbs...tight and manuverable. The FX35 is more than 4,000 lbs. and feels it!

As far as the sound goes, the FX35's stock exhaust note is more "throaty" and apparent than the stock G35, but both vehicles are fairly quiet IMHO; however, the FX35's engine/exhaust note can be easily heard when driving (then again, we either have Elmo playing on DVD for our 2-year-old or if I'm alone in the FX35, the music is up loud). Last night, my wife and I went on a movie date and had the music playing at a medium to soft level, and I noted to myself just how quiet the G35 was. With the Z tube and K&N filter in now, my G35 is definitely louder, especially above 3,500 rpm; when I get in the 4,000-6,000 rpm range, it sounds down-right mean ;-) I think these basic mods really do add a few HP and changes the engine/exhaust sounds. Because my wife mainly drives the FX35 and we use it as an SUV (with DVD movies entertaining our 2-year-old in the back), I wouldn't add any mods to it, but I bet there's some very interesting ones out there ;-) Personally, I think the FX35 sounds mean enough and it's fast enough for it's size and weight. It's faster than the the Lexus RX330, the Acura MDX, the VW Taureg, and even faster than the Porsche Cayanne and Cayanne S!!!!! What more do you want? ;-)

Although in the same price range and similar features, the FX35 is just in a class of it's own right now; if you just want a great SUV, then I recommend going for the loaded Acura MDX. That's the other vehicle we looked at before buying the FX35; the MDX is a great SUV, but it's not a "Sports" SUV and it's based on the front-wheel drive Honda Odessy minivan platform (which always seems to win all the minivan comparison tests). I think there's supposed to be a few more entries in this new Crossover SUV class within the next 1-3 years to compete with the FX35, but for now, it still remains #1 in it's own Crossover class (with all the latest high-tech goodies ;-).

All in all, both my wife and I are very impressed and happy with both Infinitis; I don't think you can go wrong, plus they definitely have a unique styling appeal. We get A LOT of positive comments from strangers on both vehicles.




2004.5 Infiniti G35 Sedan 5AT Black/Willow - Prem, R. Spoiler, Navi, Infiniti Sport Wheels
(basically Sport Package w/o stiffer suspension), Darkest Tint (this is FL afterall), Z Tube, K&N Filter

 

You mentioned they made this improvement in the 2004.5's. My 2003.5 G35 shifts down automatically while in the M mode. I can have it in 5 and come to a stop- it will run the gears back up to 5.

 

Yes, they changed the MM mode for the 2004.5 model, so it acts the way it should. Just like the G35 Coupe and FX35/45, the G35 Sedan's MM mode will always recognize the downshifts all the way to 1st gear so you'll start out shifting manually in 1st.




2004.5 Infiniti G35 Sedan 5AT Black/Willow - Prem, R. Spoiler, Navi, Infiniti Sport Wheels
(basically Sport Package w/o stiffer suspension), Darkest Tint (this is FL afterall), Z Tube, K&N Filter