I still love it, and am very pleased with my decision. My second choice was probably a TL, but knew I wanted "sport" more than luxury interior. If the TL was RWD it probably would have been a very tough choice. But it wasn't.

I don't use the auto headlights, cause they cycle in my garage. On other cars I've had, there was a delay... so if the sensor detected dark, it would wait about 10 seconds before turning on the lights... like when pulling into a garage. This would be nice not to cycle the HIDS unnecessarily.

The 6MT comes with sports tuned suspension standard, and it is very compliant and comfortable at the same time... no concerns or wishes otherwise, even after a couple 12+ hour roadtrips. Nice balance.

The interior has grown on me immensely (not that I ever hated it) - but wish there was better than I've-been-drinking-all-night-****-yellow lighting. I really liked the TL interior, but couldn't do the FWD thing. Once you drive a nicely balanced RWD layout... well... you miss that feel. In fact, if the car hadn't been "freshened" for 2005, I probably would not have gotten a G35. Damn that stone interior looks good.

I reset my bass and treble every time I get in the car to +3. It only takes a few seconds, but still annoying. They (Clarion) have got to fix that problem. MP3s play great, and XM is quite nice. The functionality of that damn DISP button is horrible.

Too bad the 6MT didn't at least come with the Intellikey door locks, even if they couldn't do the keyless start due to it being a manual tranny. Wish it had the seat entry/exit feature, too... loved that feature on past cars.

Love the Nav - can't see ever getting another vehicle without it. Hmmm... gotta splice in that VSS switch. Wish it had the ability to control/set some vehicle user functions, like on other Nissan NAV vehicles.

I wish the center console storage/drinkholder thing had a slot for a pen. I leave the divider in place, and a pen won't lay down.

Not too crazy about the gas cover. Wish it was spring loaded with a solenoid.

I wish the heated seat switches were better designed - with both high and low settings having an "on" light, and the actual switch being momentary that resets when the car is off. I'll turn it on during a cold morning, and forget that it's on next time I get in the car. Or a passenger will turn it on, and it will stay on until I notice it was left on. I can also remember a few times when the switch was accidently turned on - maybe needs a different location.

I really like the 18" wheels... the OEM Turanza tires have a treadwear of 140... so I can't wait to see how long they last.

It does seem that all of a sudden everybody wants to race. I drive a very twisty 4 lane road several times a day, and people are always challenging me on it. Hmph.

Infiniti did really well... The really important stuff they got right (performance). Now gotta save my pennies for that Skyline GT-R coming out in a couple of years...

<homer voice>
Mmmmm... Skyliiiine....
</homer voice>

 

Good to hear that your G is working out well for you. I think there is always something that can be improved upon, and our G's are no exception. But the bottom line is that we all still get that big smile / grin on our faces when we hit the road!

 

I have had my car for about 5 months now and still have the stupid grin on my face everytime I hit WOT! Makes me wanna buy another one!

 

Nice write up. Congrats on the purchase.

Isn't it better to trade the $0.37 cents in for a stamp? Then, it wont rattle.

 

Many people have said that this is a setting which can be changed by the dealer. You might look into that if it's a pet peeve. I asked my dealer and they told me it wasn't possible, but that was during the same visit they told me they couldn't reproduce my seat pop. I guess they never actually sat in the seat

 

I've also had my 6mt for 3 months. Mine is an '03 model though.

My observations:

Performance is great. Way better power than my old '93 BMW 325i.

Interior and trunk space is great. A BMW 5 series space for less than 3 series money.

Lots of toys. My copy has all the toys a guy could expect in a car (except maybe sat nav). Curiously the passenger seat is not height adjustable, which really po's my Mrs since she is only 5'-2" tall. She feels so small in this car. Oh well!

The interior has definitely not grown on me. I can see is becoming dated quite quickly, and the quality is not exactly high. It has more than it's share of squeeks and ratles. I had an '05 X as a loaner yesterday and was much more impressed with the quality of its interior. Way nicer choice of materials, more substantial materials and not so many materials of different textures.

Even after it's oil change service, the engine noise has not abated like the service guys said it might. The engine is still way noisier/dronier at part throttle than I expected given the unanimous praise this engine has received, though when spanked the engine/exhaust noise is glorious. I was eagerly awaiting the opportunity to drive a different G35 and after having the '05 X loaner I found it to be WAY more refined and quiet. I really liked the sounds coming from under the hood, which is not something I can say about my '03 6mt. The service manager says they found nothing wrong under the bonnet, so it must just be that the '03's or the 6mt's are noisier than the '05's or auto's. Can anyone else share their experiences?

Gear change is awaiting a transmission fluid change. Up until now the 1-2 shift has been quite crunchy when cold. Having read other threads, I've heard other similar comments. Here's hoping the fluid change makes a difference.

Suspension is great when you're in the mood for aggressive driving, a touch on the firm side when you're not (maybe i'm just getting old!). Overall a nice compromise. I do think about the suspension shaking the car to bits over the long haul though!

Overall the car is hard to beat at the price and is definitely a keeper.

 

Nice informative write up. As posted above there will always be things in others cars that we wish we had and vise-versa. Or of course...this or that could be changed/improved. Overall Im loving my '05 G, but Ive only had it for 3 days. Ive worked on a few for customers and it helped me dramitically make my decision.

The TL and the Cadillac CTS (Sport/Luxury) were in the running against my G. I didnt want to deal with the wheel hop and torque steer of another FWD car, so it helped rule out the TL although other features as well as price was definately appealing. The CTS had the most features of the three and with all the deal/consumer incentives ended up being the cheapest to purchase. When I finally did go with my wife to look into them firther I was seriously dissapointed with the interior. I felt like I was in a Chevy Cavalier but with leather and other higher end features. The plastic panels/pieces were very low quality for a $45K sticker car.

In summary I have to admit, I have absolutely no regrets with my choice on the G.

 

I too have noticed an NVH difference between the 03/04's and the 05 sedans. While shopping for my 05, I had the chance to drive an 04 6MT, and then a week later drive an 05 6MT. The 05 had less road noise, and the gear shift vibrated less in the upper RPM's. My guess is that the 100+lb gain from 04 to 05 is at least partially due to additional sound deadening. And the vibration reduction could be attributed to the strengthing of various drivetrain components said to be made for 05.

I am kind of surprised that technical or specific information like this is not readily available from Nissan. Or at least, maybe I've missed the link? Having spent many years in the Mustang world, I got used to just about every change being either published or discovered by a mag or web site. Maybe due to the larger aftermarket?

 

I have had my 3 for over 2 months now, and I'm loving it. I drove a 2004 G as a loaner a few weeks ago, and I didn't like it. I loved the engine and the speed, but the interior of the 2004 wasnt as nice.

So far I love everything about my G, except for the fact that the dumb head wont scroll my mp3's names. :/

And I agree, going WOT is awesome. I have a HUGE smile everytime I drive it.

 

Excellent review!

I have to admit that I too am "in love" with my G and have yet to find anything that I didn't expect or don't like. And I'm pretty picky when it comes to my cars.

I handle the vehicle leases for my company, and we've had an '04 sedan in the fleet for about a year. The guy who had been driving it retired, so it's back in the garage almost full time. So I've had a chance to drive both it and my '05 back-to-back for comparison purposes.

I really liked the '04 ... and after driving it for about a week, that cemented in my mind that I wanted my own. And then after seeing the upgrades for '05 ... and then driving it, I was sold.

Like others, I contemplated the TL and a few others to even include the ES ... and yes that was a very short lived thought ... and when it came down to the performance, features, quality, pricing ... and the absolute fun-factor that the G35 offers ... it was a no-brainer what I wanted to have.

Yup ... this is a keeper!!!