based on value and performance it seems like it is no brainer... the G hands down.

but some say otherwise..... http://www.caranddriver.com/idealbb/...?topicID=65677

the forums in Car and Driver do not have any respect for Infiniti, to much respect for BMW and Mercedes.

 

Hmmm... Read Car and Driver Jan 04 and March 04... Granted these articles are for the 2004 G but very favorable!

You know how these forums are... don't limit your decision to info you find on forums! Test experts have valuable info!

 

THe S60R is a great car IMO. The interior takes some getting used to, but the black dash with the blue gauges looks great. I looked at them before I got my 05 X and, to me, I liked the way the G drove better. That's just my opinion. Also, when I was looking, a comparably equipped S60R AWD was almost 49K. Not worth the 12K+ premium over the G. I don't regret my decision at all.

 

If you like the Volvo, check out their tourist/diplomat plan. You get a trip to Sweden (sometimes for two), a night in a hotel and pick up your brand new Volvo built to your specifications. You take possession and drive it around Europe if you want, or just leave it at the track in Gothenburg. They ship it back and you pick it up at your dealer. Believe it or not, the price is usually lower than what you get by negotiating with the dealer. Also, the price is given to you in black and white on their website. You just go in, ask for the guy who does these deals and you order your options, etc and all the other salesmen just leave you alone. That alone is worth it!

 

S60R with auto trans loses about 40 ft lbs of torque compared to the S60R in a manual. I think the specs are manual 300 hp and 295 torque and auto 300 hp and only 255 torque. Many complants on swedespeed (volvo forum) about the lack of power on the auto. I had looked at a S60R and was turned off to the 5 cylinder eng, poor turning radius, turbo loses power in warm weather, and suspension problems with the soft med firm shock settings. Plus the style is like 6 yrs old already and the AWD comes only with summer performance tires like the G so you have to buy winter tires to enjoy AWD in the snow, as AWD with summer tires is still dangerous.

 

Spend some time over at http://www.swedespeed.com/ and you'll see the S-60R has it's share of problems - more and more serious than the G in my opinon.

I also looked at the S60R as well as the V70R and the S40 T5 before I bought the G.

S60R is a great ride IMO. I didn't bite because I was unsure of the reliability and didn't want to take the chance. I was overseas and could have gotten a great deal through the military's overseas car sales program. I passed and have no regrets. Oddly, I have never seen one on the road outside of the dealer, but I live in BFT so I'm not surprised.

If Volvo made a 15 passenger suburban-like brick then there would be 20 at every stoplight down here...

 

S60R is a great car ... I'm just not sure who's buying it. It's another one of those sleeper cars where nobody knows how nice it is. Unfortunately, it's price when optioned up is way too high for a volvo ... it's S4 territory at those dollars. One final thing I noticed, is there were plenty of used S60Rs with low mileage available, which tells me that owners weren't loving them and were just trading them back in for something else

 

It is a no brainer from here anyway........
Volvos don't interest me in the slightest.

C.

 

I drove the S60R before getting my 05X. The Volvo has the ponies to be sure and I liked the manual, but have you seen the turning radius of that thing? It's huge, like 24 feet or so. Also the handling is like a front wheel drive (since it is adapted from a front wheel drive car) I seem to recall like a 75:25 front wheel bias in the AWD. Lastly the reliability of Volvos put me off as well, not to mention the price.

Again in the end, a no brainer for the G.

 

I was actually at the Chicago Auto Show, sitting in the cabin of an S60R, wondering how I could possibly live in such cramped quarters when I spied the G35 sitting directly across from the Volvo booth.

The rest is history....

For similar-sized cars, the Infiniti fits my 6'5" frame with ample room, whereas the Volvo had no headroom, shoulder room, or even enough room to slide a credit card behind the driver's seat when reclined to a (semi) comfortable driving position.

 

I just sold a 2004 S60R for my 05 G35 6MT. We put over 50,000 miles on the R so we got to know it pretty well. The car is a good GT but is not the sports sedan that the G is. The power delivery is not nearly as smooth, there is a definite rush when the turbo kicks in, and it is nice to have 40 more ft-lbs. of tourque.

Reasons we sold the R.

1. POOR service. the Volvo techs did not know how to fix the R. It has a bunch of high tech stuff and the techs really did not have a clue. The front tires also rubbed and they could not figure it out.

2. As stated before the turning radius SUCKS, a Dodge RAM 1500 is better.

The G is a good car, and we like it alot. We are doing a couple of mods to give some more kick.

The R has it's good points, it is just that the G wins overall.

Ray

 

I 2 have spent some time in both cars. The R is a great car but the price fully optioned is well over 40K. And as far as driving dynamics go the front wheel bias is evident when you put it through it's paces. And good luck getting any more performance out of the R without spending $$$$. The G35x gets my vote.

 

Not a fan of the Haldex-

 

Strongly considered one, but just not for me. In Austin, I don't really need AWD and long term reliability concerned me.

Interestingly enough, one got on my *** today to play. I turned onto a street that is long, straight and pretty empty, and we took it up to 100. I slowly pulled away - probably a car length or 2 for that distance. I was kind of surprised - I could tell it was a manual, and most reviews put it at 14 flat/101 mph...

 

As a Volvo fan and owner of two turbo sedans...I can agree that the tech support and sticker prices are in need of improvement. But for all the people spending 7-15 grand on FI sets ups for their Gs.......geez...just get a turbo car from the beginning. For about 4-5 grand you could have that volvo pushing tons more hp. I do like the quality of the parts in the swedish car over the japanese G.

sean