Avalon's are old people's cars. Nothing wrong with that, but if you want to look and feel old, buy an Avalon.

 

The GS300 was on my list because its a great car. I love driving it, but I couldn't imagine paying 40 grand for a car that has 225HP. No one understood what I meant when I said, its not enough car for the money. All in all, I could not be happy with a slug.

 

The Cadillac CTS is also worth a look.

 

I looked at the CTS myself, and I was surprised at how much I liked it. But, if you're gonna get the CTS, you have to get the CTS-V, and that's well into the 50s.

I guess it depends on what you want at the end. My friend was in this exact situation, and he bought a Mitsu Evo VIII I drove that down Sunset Blvd. to the beach late at night and managed to scare the crap out of myself. That car is serious fast. But you also have to really drive it, I mean, I couldn't see myself in it as a daily driver or on a long roadie. But if it's performance you want, you need to look at the Evo and the Subaru WRX STi.

I would recommend the OP drive the IS300 once. It doesn't have the horsies the G35 does, but it is an absolute blast to drive. A friend of mine had one and it was a sad day when that lease ended, I can tell you.

 

Altima SE-R???

 

This might sound crazy, but I was actually thinking of the TSX as well. Sure the power is not there, only 200 hp, but it's a 2.4, 4 cylinder. Save TONS on gas, acceleration is descent, but handling is exceptional. Everything is standard, and with navi, it comes out to $29K.

- Leather
_ Homelink
- Vechile stability control
- Bose audio
- side mirror blinkers
- auto-dimming mirror
- voice command (audio, climate control, navi)
- xenon headlights


Just something to think about as well...

 

If you're going to compare the G35 to a Leuxs it cant be the ES it will have to be the IS.

 

I test drove the TSX after it first came out. I was really quite impressed with it and suggested to my brother that he go for a test drive as well.

Next thing I know, he bought one! It has great balance, and the MT quipped car is really quite peppy. For a smaller FWD, it's a good consideration.

 

Yea, its a great car, but i wisht the TSX had a V6 putting out around 250-260hp

 

The TSX is to little car for 29000.00. The IS300 is to little car for what Lexus is charging. The GS300 is slow with 225 HP(I know the 05 changed) and it is pricey but way comfortable! I may have sacrificed sporty speed for volumes of luxury had the GS300 been in my price range. Of course, I was getting pricing from JM Lexus in Margate, Florida. They advertise that they are the low price leader. My thought on that is that the low price is on your trade and the high price is on their product. In my opinion, the G is more car for the money than any of the competition has offered yet.
The BMW dealers are doing plenty of business here in So. Florida and I did not think any of them offered fair pricing. I looked at a 325 with 11000 miles on it, dealer said it had never been registered and wanted sticker less 2000. To me , with 11000 miles, the car is pre-owned , used, whatever. Their pricing is way to high for my pocketbook and again, no performance comparison to the G.

 

All the G35 has on an es330 is power, the es is a much more refined car.

 

What? That car is much smaller than a G35, a cramped interior, and not even that nice IMO.

 

FYI -

JM Lexus typically does in fact have the best deals (if you know how to 'wheel & deal' that is )...JM is of course a part of JM Family Enterprises which owns SE Toyota, the largest Toyota/Lexus distributor in the U.S. Their prices should and are the best around due to the volume of cars they import. I've purchased 3 Lexus vehicles from them in the past and no other S. FL Lexus dealer could get close to their price (except maybe Lexus of Kendall) and just as important, their level of service and customer satisfaction. Put simply...JM Lexus is #1; too bad all car dealers (including the local S. FL Infiniti dealers) don't offer the level of service JM does...it's what puts them head-and-shoulders above the rest. I've told my Infiniti dealer's service dept. many times that they should send a couple of the service reps down to JM Lexus "as spies" to learn a few things and come back to implement what they saw and experienced at JM.

All that being said, I can say that we are an Infiniti family (for now anyhow ) because of the value, sportiness and "fun factor" of the new Infiniti's offer over Lexus, BMW, and Mercedes. Infiniti service is better than most and getting better each time I visit my dealer, but it's still not up to par with JM Lexus...sorry. We have an '03 FX35 loaded with Prem., Sport, and Tech packages and my '04.5 G35 of course. We're not married to Infiniti and wouldn't mind having another Lexus, but for now, we love our cars.

And, BTW - NickK6...you cannot compare the Lexus ES330 with a G35 Sedan, since the ES330 is a FWD-Toyota Camry-based entry-lux "old fart" sedan and the G35 Sedan as you know, is an entry lux RWD sport sedan, based on the 350Z...not exactly close! The Lexus IS300, however is their RWD entry lux sports sedan which does compete with the Infiniti G35 Sedan.

 

The G35/Tl are kind of odd to competitors b/c of size. They are significantly bigger than cars in their class, i.e the cars u mentioned. They are smaller than cars the next class up.
If the ES is a tarted up Camry by what u researched, the TL is a tarted up Accord (And the TL is built in Ohio) and the G35 is a tarted up 350Z. Each company has done a great job making them different from their cheaper relatives.

It depends on what you value. I think the TL sells well b/c it mixes the sport of the G35 some with the luxury of the ES 330 some. THe G35 is the sporties but least luxurious. THe ES is the most luxurious but the least sportiest.

Do you plan to mod? The ES has nothing, the TL is nearly as bad. The G35 has an aftermarket.

The ES is the most reliable, the G35 next, the TL is way behind these cars.

You want to save money, buy a TSX. Its below any of these cars mentioned but is very well built and loaded. Its the Euro Accord, a fine car.

The next Avalon is out, with a new 3.5 V-6 with 280hp. Its a baby LS 430 now. The next IS 250/350 comes this fall.

A lot of good choices out there.

 

1SICLEX: wow you actually go on a form and give useful info? Better than altimas.net where you just **** everyone off