I'm waiting for some reviews for 05' G35 sedan. Is anyone test-drive or purchase it? Can you tell me the difference between 04's and 05's. I got a quote $1500 off from INVOICE for 04 G35. then it's going to be $4~5K or more difference between the two models. So I just want to make sure that 05 is worth $5k difference...

you really feel more horsepower and torque than previous model? What about seat comport?
interior? exterior?
Big difference?

 

I test drove an 05 G35 sedan--very nice. It felt a bit quicker than some of the 04's I have driven--but not by much. I ended up buying a 5A/T 03.5 black/tan premium sedan with sport susp. and rear aero pkg. from an individual--around 3500 below retail. I love this car! It has 22kmi and 2yrs and 38k mi left on warranty. The car is immaculate--spotless clean interior,smooth sheetmetal, shiny paint, nonsmoker, no accidents, no paintwork--The only negative is a small nick in corner of windshield(fixed) and a few permanent bug guts on front bumper--only noticeable at night under bright lights. I may put an aero kit front bumper on it soon. The car is fast and an eye catcher--definitely a fine example of the non doggie door original sedan.
To answer your question--interior comfort/style is not that much different, has a nice front bumper, tail lights not as nice as original, intelligent key is nice--but it does not feel (seat of the pants) faster than the 260hp version. My car seems a bit quicker than some non sport suspension 04s I test drove, so maybe the sport 05 may feel a bit quicker--not sure--I drove a 17" wheel model. Thing I like about the original black model is the sills match the body--they are all body colored for 05. The 05 looks luxury-sport and the original looks sport-luxury. I think at the point where the 05 would show a difference is on the top end--and at that point you are doing some unsafe stuff out their on the road. I may post pics later. Either way you will love the car--but remember budget for tires--door fee is around $1000 for all four corners. One final note--the 05 exhaust idle/rev sound is Very nice, sophisticated, refined, germanic--left a big impression--like the 03/04 but with a bit xtra aural quality.

 

I test drove one today, and the OTD price is close to 39K with premium, sport, and aero packages.(not much bargain because these cars are too new) I really love the new stuffs on the 05, especailly the intelligent key, wheels, leather, materials and the font hood, but the current deals on the 04 G35 are very good, especially when the differences between the 04 and 05 isn't that great.

If you are going to drive it for 10 years, get the 05. If you are only going to keep it for a few years, get the 04.

P.S. when you can get a base, cloth model of 04 G35 for less than 25K, a loaded 05 is really expensive at this time.

 

Vsix- I didn't know you could get the 04 G in cloth. I know in Canada they only came in leather.

2005 G35X Auto
Lakeshore Slate/Stone interior
(Delivery date Dec.6th)

 

Vsix - I understand what you're saying (that if you are going to keep the car a long time, get the better stuff), but I would actually give the exact opposite advice based on the depreciation of the cars.

If you are going to keep it for 10 years, I would get the '04. In ten years the depreciation will be a wash between the two. However, if you are only going to keep it a few years, I would get the '05 - the '04 already has one year of built in depreciation. Even saving $5K over an '05 won't make up for the depreciation hit you are going to take the second you drive it off the lot.

Just my opinion.
-Rich

____________________________
2004 Infiniti G35x Black/Black
2000 BMW Orient Blue 323Ci - Gone

 

I see plenty of cloth model today at the dealer ships, and they are great value if you bargain. I think you can get it easily for 24K.

richpike, I have heard that the new G35 will be out in 06 or 07, which is pretty much 3~4 years later. So, I'm not sure about the depreciation matter... Anyways, life is short, get whatever you love most !

(I can't get the 05 just because I can't afford it.

P.S. drove the 04 with sport package, which is much better than a 05 standard with premium package. And yes, the brakes on the 05 feels more soild, while the 04 feels very sensitive, to me. (I'm an owner of A4 and Matrix). the 04's steering wheel is much lighter than the 05's (to me, again) too.

 

"One final note--the 05 exhaust idle/rev sound is Very nice, sophisticated, refined, germanic--left a big impression--like the 03/04 but with a bit xtra aural quality."

get a yipe, replace pre-muffler with straight pipe and even with stock muffler, you'll be right there :-)

with weight gain to 3512lbs(from infiniti site), the power to weight ratio isn't that great from the 04s from what i remember.............hey your money, drive an 04 and 05 back to back, then whip out that checkbook...........


04 6mt Sedan / stock airbox mod / z-tube / k&n panel filter / crank pulley / 18" r/h c2s / s-tein springs

 

What's the weight for 04 AT G35 sedan?

 

100+ pounds lighter


<font color=orange>SBC PARK</font color=orange>

 

Thanks!

 

Where did the extra weight come from?

~Jahan

 

Whats this new intelligent key feature?

G35x Black on black on black, premium, spoiler
tints, clear corners, keepin it simple

 

First off, thanks for this board; as I'm a complete newbie here. I'm finally returning to Nissans after many years in the Honda camp (at least for Nissan's excellent sedans).
Second, everyone has great input so far; and following is my take.

Sorry if I sound like a salesman, but drive both and buy what you prefer. All the pricing and depreciation differences are real, but only truly matter on paper (plus the G35 is so relatively new to the US market that no one truly knows the depreciation until a few more years). If 4-5K US spread out over 5 years is that huge of a difference, then you can just buy one with fewer toys (my personal bias, as I buy my cars for performance/safety reasons and have little desire for luxury).
I drove both an 04 and 05 Sedan 5AT with just sport package and sunroof (exactly how I like my cars). I went with the 05 for 2 main reasons.
1) It's for my wife, so I chose it because of the gentler brakes.
2) Again, it's for my wife, so I chose the softer styling.
I don't feel any real increase in acceleration, nor could I feel any handling/ride differences. In fact, I felt that the 04 which I drove had slightly better tires (even comparing 215-55-17 vs 235-45-18). If anything, the 04 might have a slight advantage in handling as the vehicle weight and wheel/tire combo are a little lighter and thus a little quicker to change directions. Bigger is only better up to a point, and then acceleration suffers. You might get better steering response with ultra low profile tires, but then that is also very tire specific and greatly affected by pressures, etc.
Seat comfort was the same for base leather sedans w/o premium.
Interior: I prefer the 05 interior because of the real Al trim. I prefer cheap black plastic over anything "faux". As a matter of fact, I prefer the cloth seats on 04 base models because they hold my kids safety seats better. Although I would prefer the Maxima's interior over the G35's, I could really car less.
Exterior: Too subjective to judge. I personally prefer the 03-04's lines but I like the 05's tail lamps. Again, not a big deal for me as I prefer to drive my cars not look at them much at idle.
If I bought the car for myself I might have gone with an 04 G35x or at least an 04 6MT.
Lastly, there's only a 4-5K "difference" if you just have to buy right now. If you wait another 10-11 months, then the same rule will apply to 05 vs 06.
Cheers.

 

hey, lyleluong, did you try the 05 sedan withOUT the sports package? It is very different from ones with it. I tried the o5 sedan without sports package, the steering wheels are a lot heavier! and it makes u feel like driving a german car!

But, I still prefer the sportier feeling with that sport package.

 

Nope, I only drove the 04 5AT Sedan with sport package at the dealer. The sport package was a concession that my wife made for me since we did not get a 6MT (it's her car, afterall - although I get to borrow it anytime I want). Like I mentioned, for myself I would have bought an 04 6MT or x and added toys. The only thing that I really like better on the 05 are the tail lamps, and even then how often do I notice my own tail lamps? I do like the fact that 05 sedan sport package comes with VLSD. IMHO 04 Coupe wheels look better, 05 sport wheels look a little too rice for my taste.