i dont understand what you guys are saying about the Gs sound system, my friend has a 04 TL and his sound system sucks A$$, we just installed a 10" sub in his car and it sounds just alittle better then my stock Bose

 

The TL sound system only sounds good when you play a DVD audio CD. When playing a regular CD or radio or satelite, it actually sounds worse than the G35 stereo.

 

I believe him. The Supra are bad handling cars. They are so extremly heavy 3800+ lb. they just do not handle that well.

 

Oh, I meant the price he said he paid, not the Supra comments. I got more than that for my '04.

 

I just recently purchased a 2003.5 G35 6MT sedan for my wife and we already had the 2005 Legacy 2.5GT. I know the 2005 G35 has 38 more hp than our G35 so my comments must be taken with a pinch of salt.

The following are random thoughts that I have on both:

-The Legacy will outperform the G35 in acceleration (hands down even without mods).
-The Legacy feels more nimble around turns.
-The clutch on the Legacy is lighter than the G.
-Clutch engagement on the Legacy is harder than the G due to the AWD setup. You have to slip the clutch a lot more on the Leggy to get spirited shifts.
-The seats in the Legacy will grip you better but they are not even close in comfort (we have the cloth interior on the Leggy).
-The braking in the G35 is better.
-The paint on the G35 is better.
-The Legacy has fewer rattles and squeaks (but the G that we have is 1.5 years older).
-Maintenance on the Legacy is cheaper.
-RWD on the G has a better feel than the AWD in the Legacy.
-On my 2003 G, I don't have a trip computer but on my Legacy I do (maybe the 2005 G has this.
-There has been a lot of talk about the stereos of the TL and the G but believe it or not the stereo on my Legacy (with the $139.00 factory subwoofer) is really good.
-The stock B'Stone RE92s on the Legacy are horrible. But then the Turanzas on the G are not that much better.
-The Legacy is far less flashy than the G. If you fancy sleepers then the Legacy is one of the best ones out there.

Here is how I'll wrap things up:

The G35 (Nissan Skyline) and the Legacy are two extremely popular sport sedans in Japan. Keep in mind in JDM land there are hundreds of cars that are outstanding and these two rank as a couple of the best even in that type of competition. The TL on the other hand is not even offered in Japan. The previous TLs were called Honda Inspires in JDM land but the new Inspire is simply a variant of the US Accord. The TL is a North America only model designed and built here. The TL in my mind is a perfect marketing project. It is exactly what the average North Ameriican buyer wants and Honda in classic fashion has delivered. If you want a true driver's car eliminate the TL from your short list and stick to the Leggy and G. Between those two, if you want the status and the luxury go with the G. If you want a frightenly fast car that is a complete sleeper, buy the Legacy and spend the extra money you saved to buy a bigger intercooler, some aftermarket exhaust components, an ECU retune and a better set of tires and possible a set of sway bars and lowering springs.

I like my Legacy better than my wife's G35 because of the sheer performance of the car, I have the above modifications done and just to give you an idea the car is good for a mid 13 second pass all day long and can autocross with the best of them. All while being almost stock and the cops think it's an Accord!!! However, when we had to go to wedding last weekend with our best outfits on the G35 was a no brainer. There is much more class on the G....

Sorry for this ridiculous long post, I wish you all the best in your decision. Either way you will end up with one of the best cars available on the road today. Enjoy the shopping, it'll be over before you know it!!! :-)

 

Ummm, hate to break it to you, but take them both to the track. The Legacy has no chance against a G35 6MT. Unless its modded, there is no way. I whoop on a friends all the time, he gets mad at me for leaving him in the dust.

 

Is yours a 2005? Keep in mind ours is a 2003.

Anyway, you may be right, it just feels as though the Legacy was faster stock. Keep in mind though, after the minor mods I mentioned the G35 (even a 2005) will get destroyed by a Leg Gt.

Also, you may be a far better driver than your friend. Take his car and give him yours and see what happens. The Legacy is a very wierd car to launch properly.

BTW: Off topic but does anyone know where they got the extra 38 hp from in the 2005 G35. I guess I should do a search!!!

 

there isnt too much of a performace difference between 03 and 05 even though the extra almost 40hp

 

I have friends who do not know much about cars and they would ask the same type of question on a forum. I told him the response he would get and it would be things like this. People that come on here for our experience of owning the car, why we chose it over another and things we liked about the competition probably help someone looking to plop 30k~ make a decision easier.

Obviously this is a G35 website and we all love our cars, but some people don't know everything and would like some help.

I am glad a lot of the members all added their feedback in, I am sure this guy appreciates the information. Sorry for my rant...I get tired of reposts too, but if you are on a newer car forum, its going to happen as people start looking for cars and go to the internet for information.


My car has tons of rattles But I love her anyways!

 

Hmm haven't raced him in my 2005 yet. My 2004 was the one he got to see the tail lights of.

 

There is no way Legacy is faster on the strait line, maybe 0-20 or 30 because of the awd launch.

 

I'm a happy camper at this point with a 2004 G35 Auto with 17000 miles.

I really don't know at this point what I would do for my next car. Go slightly bigger, in the M sized car?

Go cheaper, since over $30K is over $30K

I did test drive the 2003 TL, and of the regular and the TL-S, I would have bought the TL. The TL-S was too harsh to me, but the G35 with normal suspension had a ride between the two. I don't know how the 2004+ TL compares between the 2 2003s, since I didn't want to wait anymore.

Anyway, I guess I got interested in a new car when I first saw the G35 on a used car lot. It can be hard to go with a different car than your initial choice.

 

I'd bet the Subie feels a lot faster when that turbo finally snaps in. That's the difference between a 2.0 4 cyl being force fed vs the much bigger V6 that pushes on a constant torque curve all the way up. I personally like them both as sleeper cars that both came from nowhere to establish themselves. Sheeet, I remember not long ago when my top two performance sedan choices were the Maxima or a used 328i ... ouch!

 

I'll keep it fairly short. Obviously, I bought the G35:

Acura TL 6MT: Gorgeous interior, outstanding fit and finish, quality, expensive-looking materials, excellent ergonomics. Good deal for the cash -- I was quoted $33.5K for the car with Navi. But I was underwhelmed with the test drive. The car exhibited a surprising amount of torque steer and plowed like the FWD souped-up Accord it is. The engine felt weaker than I expected, particularly down low. No soul. Excellent shifter and clutch. But a really nice luxury appliance that had some pop.
Legacy 2.5 GT Limited Wagon 5MT/5AT: Semi-cheap interior compared with the '05 G35 and TL. Really not in the same class luxury-wise. But quality materials and simple, good ergonomics with decent materials in the interior. The Limited model has leather, an in-dash six-CD changer, four-way heated seats (just two-way on the G35), and the biggest multi-pane sunroof I've ever seen. 5MT model has a notchy, disappointing shifter and tricky clutch but goes like stink; 5AT has steering-wheel shifters and a good manumatic mode, but is a poor match for the turbo motor. It felt much slower than the 5MT. Not much turbo lag, good torque down low. Tons of character and a ball to drive. Quoted $28K flat for the 5MT model with everything in the world on it during a no-rebate/no-incentive period. Take off another $2000 in current factory cash/dealer incentives. It's sort of the anti-TL: Fit and finish aren't quite up to Acura standards, but the car has so much personality and is such fun to drive you hardly notice. One final note: The car is turbocharged and significant (50 horsepower and more) bumps via increased boost are just an ECU reflash away. Deserved reputation for bulletproof construction; the drivetrain is over-engineered.
G35 Sedan 6MT/5AT: Slots between the Acura and Subie in fun-to-drive and character. Substantially improved '05 interior trumps the Subie (earlier models IMHO were in the same league, possibly worse) but still lags the Acura. Excellent, short-throw 6MT shifter has a precise, direct action and good (some would say too good) feedback. Clutch is light but tricky to engage, similar to the Subaru. Both cars rate a distant second to the Acura in this area. 5AT is extremely well done, with nifty rev-matching feature and quick, crisp shifts. RWD is a huge plus for me living in the Sun Belt; would be a big minus if I lived toward the Rust Belt instead. Not as rare as the Subie but you won't see yourself coming and going all day as in the TL. Good value; paid $32K for 6MT, Premium C and splash guards. You'll pay a grand or more less with current $1K dealer incentive.

They're all quality cars IMHO. People here get themselves so caught up in defending their own purchase decision that they tend to bash anything that's not a G35, but that's ill-informed and smacks of cluelessness, inexperience, stupidity or all three. I don't think you can go wrong with any of these cars. If you were debating about buying an Ion, yeah, I'd let the bashing go then.

Good luck!

PS - This was short?

 

Main reason not to consider the Subie -- no xenons. Those headlights were important to me.

On the other hand, I'm starting to think I should have waited for the new Mazdaspeed 6 -- only give up 10 hp, and get an AWD stick (live up north, must have AWD). Wife is considering one.