Two things
First, even with the sport suspension package, the car sits too high compared to how an A4 looks or a BMW
Second, I hate the 6MT. Specifically changing from 1st to 2nd.
Other than that I like it.

 

yea, I wish it was a C6. Soon will be

 

My G is one of the better car purchases, which I have made. My younger brother purchased a '04 Sedan some 6 months ago. I thought it was a great car. He got it with the Sports Pkg. I was quite impressed with his car. I was even more impressed with the value.

When my BMW convertible was totalled in an accident, last month, it was an easy decision after doing a bit of diligent research. It was going to be a G coupe (my kids are all grown up).

I was planning on moving back to one of the larger BMW's in 5 years, as a retirement car. I have had the larger BMW's when the kids were young. They ride and drive well.

However, now I am seriously considering a larger Infiniti. Infiniti has struck a chord with me. The Infiniti product can only get better and with time and the public will realize the same.

I love my Infiniti 'G35'.

 

That must be the reason why Inifiniti tops all the lists in Consumer Reports. I cannot say anything bad about Lexus, but BMW's are not a well rated car unless you buy a 3 series, and that is just average.

I listen to the unbiased opinions of a non profit organization, not sure where you are getting your info.

Consumer Reports put out a ratings chart for the cars with the least amount of problems in cars 6 months old, 3 and 5 years old. The top two cars finished like this.

6 months old #1 Lexus #2 Infiniti.
3 years old #1 Infiniti #2 Lexus.
5 years old #1 Infiniti #2 Lexus.

They finish #1 above Lexus, Acura, Toyota, Nissan, Honda. You can find BMW near the bottom of the list with VW, Audi, and about 20 American Cars.

Hows that for recognition. The only bad thing Consumer Reports said about the G35 was the oddly placed seat conrols and that the back end tended to slip. Well Yeeee Haaaaw, that made me want to buy it even more.

 

Sing it brother!

 

sister

 

Bose stereo, paint, but no regrets.

 

You know, I am always talking to people who drive older model Infiniti's, J30, Q45 etc, and without exception, everyone has nothing but praise for the quality of the car, even after 100,000 miles in some cases. So far, I think the car is still pretty damned solid IMO! And as far as the comment about better name recognition, that is changing with all the new designs that have come around in recent years!

 

I love my G!! It is definitely the best car I have owned. I love the horsepower and its agility. The only thing I wish that it had was prism-projector headlights like the newer maxima, the trunk was lighter and would pop open, and dual exhaust. I can see myself staying with the Infinit brand for a long time. I might get a coupe eventually-just to say to myself that I owned one, and then move onto the M45, by then any bugs and styling (rear lights) with the "M" would have worked their way out.

 

Having moved to G35 from a BMW 540i which seemed to be in the shop every other week and cost me $$$$, my G35 has been a dream car so far. But then again, it's still almost brand new and I don't know how it's going to be in a year or two. So far, I love my G35! I just wished it was lowered from factory and the stereo sounded better.

 

I agree with you but there is an issue here. Consumer Reports has the BMW 3 series with poor reliability scores especially when you consider that 2002-04s should not have a lot of problems. In fact, they have a black X next to the BMW and say "be wary of models with an X".
OK, so what is a CR recommended pick? The BMW 3 series. The only real comparison is with the 330 last year. Feature for feature, about 10K more, less reliable, has fewer safety features and has arguably no advantage in performance, but CR rates it about the same as the G. There seem to have been impressed by the BMW name and ignore their own data. But that's OK, I am happy with a more reliable, faster, bigger car for less money that looks better.

 

I hope you don't mean the seat controls... ;-)

Anyhoo, when I was shopping for a car exactly one year ago, I had 2 cars at the top of my list - Audi A4 1.8t and BMW 330i (used). I did some research and found 3 comparison tests where the G35 sedan came up on top. Thats what initially sparked my interest. After that, I read up on reviews and saw a lot more positive reviews. Thus the G35 sedan was added to my list. After my week of calling up dealers and having them call me back, the G35 was the best value for the buck. I really wanted a 330i ZHP (new), but that was out of my price range even with the 2400 dealer incentive (quoted at 39k and change), and Audi's shoddy reliability was always on the back of my mind. I found the perfect used 330i, but the dealer said something along the lines of "there is also this couple looking at it", so I said something like "well, let them have it" (not that I wasn't interested in the car, but being southern california, there are a ton of used 330is). So, after a few test drives, I got a G35.

The part that still amazes me was that I was complemented on my car twice within 1 month of ownership. The first complement was from a Porsche driver. He thought I was going into his home theater store, but I was really going to the surf shop next door. The second complement was from a security guard at Whole Foods (fancy high end organic grocery store).

Granted, I bought this car last year when (I presume) it wasn't as popular as it is now. I think it was an excellent buy. Infiniti definately stole a potential 3-series BMW buyer.

(As a side note, the dealers in Beverly Hills where much better than other dealers. Beverly Hills BMW and Beverly Hills Porsche/Audi gave me quotes right away. The Auto Gallery, Woodland Hills, never gave me a quote on the Audi. Auto Gallery was the dealer CarsDirect refered me to. Anyway, I kept on pressing him for a quote so he started talking about 2003 A4s... I ended that conversation as soon as he did that.)

 

Not disappointed, but design aspects I would change:
Daytime running lights.
Improved seats.
The trunk opening thing.
Storage space where any one space can hold something bigger than a pack of gum.
The dipstick.
A way to dim or shut off the stupid REV light.
I'm sorry but I like the MT and have no problems with the paint at all. I admit it is probably not harder than the rocks that seem to be flying around New Jersey all the time, but ...

 

I fixed everything that I thought was poor - especially the bose sound with one $60 upgrade. My engine feels like a million bucks and drive it for fun about half it's miles. I may keep this thing for 15 years even if I buy another car in 8 or 10.

The only other thing I need is a lightweight trunk liner from B-quiet (thanks DAVEO for the article in the new SportsZ Magazine) and perhaps I'll spend some time getting myself an X-brace fabricated.

 

After I had my 2004 for a bit, I went and test drove the 2005 BMW 330i, Audi A4, and Lexus IS300. My G35 was a better performing sport sedan than any of them, by far. The Audi maybe had a better interior, the BMW looked better, the Lexus had better build quality... but I bought my car to DRIVE. And after almost 2 years with this car, it still stands up and ROCKS when I want it to