As with all things in the Toyota/Lexus lineup, the IS350 is a tough car to fault... But it'll cost ya.. remember that you ALWAYS get what you pay for.. what kind of G are you selling?

 

'05 G35x w/all options including Factory XM and front chin spoiler, rear spoiler. As I said I'm waiting until I see the new G37 next month then I'll decide on what to do w/this one. But one way or another I'm dumping this one.

 

I have a similar configuration... fully loaded including navi but no rear wing and I'd assume no front chin spoiler unless that's how it comes.. I too am waiting for the '07 G37 to get an idea of what will be out there and then in the spring of 2007 I'll probably end up getting the G37 or IS350.. Although I wonder.. if you're not happy with this G what makes you think you'll be happy with the next version? If I were to get the G37 or IS350 it'd just be for the extra engine power (you can never have enough imo!) and a more intuitive navigation system. Otherwise I'm pretty happy with what I've got.

 

I'm happy w/the looks, drive train and that's about it. The interior is the cheapest POS I've seen on ANY $40K car available - there are $20K cars w/better assembled interiors. Rattles/squeaks/pops/snaps up-the-*** even on perfectly smooth roads, gas mileage of a Freight Train....and of course the Sound system - I can keep going and going. Granted no car is perfect; I have an '05 RX330 and it has had some issues, but they are far in-between and for the most part the RX is worth it's 45K price. This car is not even close.

To answer your question, here is what I'm looking for to stay w/Infiniti:

- An interior assembled, and with quality materials that is worthy of the it's $40K price tag, and is in-line w/the competition [IS350 - Audi A4, ect]

- A real Sound System - if staying w/Bose, use the DTS system in the M, not the best system out there, but a world better than this transistor radio currently installed

- How about a real radio display. I mean come on, this is the best Infiniti can do...? Ever see displays on cell phones that are free..? It looks like Infiniti ripped this display out of an '80s Coleco hand-help football game.

- How about gas mileage of at least 20 MPG when not being driven hard

- Move the friggen seat controls including the memory and place/design them how every other manufacturer figured out how to.

- Get rid of the constant rattles/pops/squeaks. Better assembly and softer high quality materials will go a long way for this issue.

- The Navi system was State-of-the-art 4 years ago, time for a real upgrade.

...and for god sake change the color of the backlighting - no one, NO ONE likes the cheep looking orange...

 

Bose makes great PC speakers...LOL I love mine!

 

Nice - I think the speakerphone on my cell is Bose..

 

well, the car is a $30,000 car to start, so that is where you should rank the interior against. My 05X gets 20mpg combined on around town driving, and 25-26 on the highway at 70-75mph cruise...that is what freight trains get? Must be one of those new electric hybrid diesels. I will have to admit the occasional squeeks/rattles bother me though. Sound system is not as bad as everyone makes it out to be - factory Sirius sounds great in mine. Nav with birdseye and the joystick is still good for me....I dont really like touchscreens anyway - would be cool to get rid of the Lawyer screen at the startup though and be able to enter addresses while moving. I will have to compare it to the Nav in my Mazdaspeed 6 when it gets here in a month or so. The Nav in the MS6 has a wireless controller that anyone in the car can use to alter the
Nav functions, and it also comes out the top of the dash like the G.

 

Ok, the Acura TSX is $30K to start, along w/the new Jetta - both of these cars offer a much better interiror, assembly/design and material-wise. Granted they do not have nearly the power of the G35, but again I paid $40K so I expect more power. Including better audio systems and an up-to-date Navi. I'll give you the birds-eye view is nice, but there are others out that offer this as well.

I, as many others here are no where near your gas milage. I'm glad to see your getting decent gas milage , but I'm referring to MPG - you must have the Canadian spec G35 in Km/h

 

When I was in the IS350 and BMW 330xi and I thought the interiors were nice but I didn't think they were TOO much better than the G. One of the biggest annoyances with both cars (the BMW in particular) is the sorry "cup holders". I might be a special needs case here but whenever I go on a long day trip I always bring a 1 liter bottle of water with me as I do when I go to the gym. I can't imagine this bottle would fit in the IS350 or 330xi cup holders. The G35 interior is of a lesser quality, I agree, but it's not a Kia either. I'd say it's on par with our '04 Accord.

The sound system again is average but so are all Bose sound systems. We have an '04 Avalanche that has a crappy Bose system and I don't know what the Accord uses but it's not that great either so I bet it's probably Bose. Bose just sucks, period. That's why Lexus uses Mark Levinson.

I agree that the display needs to be replaced with something more fitting of an entry level luxury sedan but Infiniti took the entry level part seriously and the radio display is the end result of that. It's fresh from the Nissan parts bin. I don't remember the IS350's radio display but I know the BMW one was nice.

The V6 used in the G is a no frills, raw power engine. Refinement is better left to the Lexus' and BMWs of the world. Infiniti's goal with the G was clearly sport over luxury otherwise the exhaust note wouldn't be audible in the car 99.9% of the time. So with that, gas mileage will no doubt suck. Don't expect this to get any better in the near future...

I agree with the seat controls being in a bad spot... this is one of those "Distinctly Infiniti" traits and while I definitely like the emblem stiched into the seatbacks, the seat controls can get the hell out... also, has anyone else had the problem of losing things in the "pit of no return" between the driver's seat and the center console? I can't even begin to tell you what I've lost down there and it's impossible to reach because of the ginormous plastic casing of the seat controls. I've also noticed that "larger" people have a problem riding in my front passenger seat because it's difficult for them to adjust the controls under their leg. My suggestion is to hit up a Bally's because I'm not getting a cruise liner just to accommodate those of us who indulge in Angus diet. That being said, I do hate those seat controls.

Ah the rattles, pop, squeaks and miscellaneous noises heard in the car... crank up that crappy Bose system and they go away. Seriously though, Infiniti is near the top in quality and I have the music on most of the time so I don't notice any of the pops or squeaks... the rattles were fixed with a TSB.

The navigation system leaves A LOT to be desired and while I haven't experienced the new navi they are using in the M I think it is still thumbstick based and just as policed as the current one. If navi is important, skip the stock one and get an aftermarket portable navi or go with a different brand because Nissan/Infiniti have a long way to go before they get this right.

I wouldn't mind a change from the orange... it's not bad because I dim it quite a bit at night but blue (Acura RL style) or something more like the 3 series would be a welcome change.

The REAL things Infiniti needs to work on:

- Improving our craptastic side impact ratings.

- The spastic traction control system that comes on when it's not needed (I've read this is a real bitch in the IS350).

- Better seat design with higher quality heated seats and the addition of ventilated seats. They should also relocate the heated seat controls to the door or high dash.

- Put in an aux input for ipod control. Apple's website says that it's coming soon but how soon before it becomes too late... the IS350 and 330xi already won me over by having it...

- Make the headlights bi-xenon.

- Offer heated seats in the rear like the Maxima.

Honestly, if BMW didn't screw up the lack of power in the 330xi, I'd be driving one right now. But... they did and so I have my G35... I'm not complaining on the money savings...

 

Stop picking up fat chicks.

Just kidding.
The seat controls don't bother me at all. I kinda like where they are. And I like the seats themselves, very comfy.
I do like the blue guages of the Acura TSX, and reall am not a fan of the orange.
The Bose stereo is really crappy, the display is terrible. With XM it won't scroll to tell you the whole name of the band, or song. I don't know why they didn't integrate it with the nav/info system like they did with the Maxima. At least an LCD screen would be better. And my cellphone is the Razor phone, so I have it play different songs when it rings. Constantly when I am driving I think my cell phone is ringing because the stereo's midrange sounds as cheap as the speaker on my cellphone.
I really don't have any squeeks, rattles, or pops, and I think the interior quality is fine.
The heated seat controls could be in a better spot, like under the stereo area, and should be adjustable like the Audi's, with a dial going from 1 to 6 instead of just "Hot" and "Warm". Other than that I love the G! I have no problems with the Nav unit either (except pressing "I agree" everytime).

 

I love the orange backlighting color. It looked "cheep" on the 03-04 G35 simply by virtue of the gauge design; the newer design in the 05 and later G35, as well as in the new M, looks much nicer.

 

I too perfer the orange lighting, its more luxury like compared to the blue and white going in in the TL. So far I haven't found much fault in my 06 sedan. But I have to agree with everyone about the bose system, it's terrible in general, my 01 v6 accord's stock system sqeezes pass the bose because it actually has nice clean clear mids and highs.

As for the interior, I can tell for a fact that the IS350 leather is amazing compared to the G. In comparision to the TL, I don't know, my friend picked up his 06 TL with nav a week before mine, so this weekend we'll trade cars for some seat time.

 

Bose is crap, no question. The stock drivers suck, and the Clarion head unit is horrible.

The nav is old technology.

I wasn't too dissappointed with my G35 until I picked up a loaded Lexus GX470 last week. NOW I know what the fuss is about... the Levinson radio, the excellent Nav, the fit and finish. It just works.

If I didn't value the sporty performance of the G35 so highly, I'd be sending it off to the orphanage.

 

hahaha.. nice. and what would you replace it with? Btw, what year Lexus SUV did you get? I was checking out a new GX but I couldn't reason the price.. especially next to the Land Cruiser!

 

As I said, for $40K I expect the complete package - not perfection. My RX330 gives me the complete package, and my G35 is in the same market, and it falls way short. What I'm hoping for is that they transform this G35 like the did w/the M -and we'll see in a few weeks how they did.

...and the Mark Levinson on the RX330 can only be heard to appreciate - for you'll never wnat to leave the vehilce. It's that good...