I agree chasis dynamics are a very difficult thing to quantify.

Skid pad numbers are of value, but....
They do not tell you a thing about what it's like to hit a dip in the pavement on a hard bender at speed.
Does the car suck it up & hold the line.. OR does it throw you into under/oversteer?
THAT'S what chasis dynamics are about.....

I've spent a lot of time & effort on my G & it's handling;
many different products & various combinations of springs, shocks sways, VRT strut bar, Quaife rear dif.... etc.

I simply could not believe the difference between my car and the 335 chasis.
This was testing most of the afternoon, in 3 different 335s AT & MT, going back and forth between my car, over the same route.

Subjective? ... yes, somewhat.
But I know how I felt taking some of those white knuckle corners in my G, that the 335 didn't even bink at.

Do I love my G? ~~~ you better believe it!
Is Infiniti an amazing bang for the buck product? ~~~ absolutely
Do I think the 335 is worth the extra $ ? ~~~ yes!!!

 

I agree with you, well, on the way you look at the comparison.

Has anyone here driven a "lowly" E90 325i, no sport package and with Steptronic? We're talking only 185 ft. lbs. torque. The thing is a dream to drive! The numbers are very deceiving in that case. But as far as paying that much for a 325i, not for me. That's a real-life decision--do you want a loaded new G35S, or a fairly loaded upcoming 328i sedan. The 328 I believe will be 220/200, up slightly from the 325. There really is no direct comparison in trying to match up the HP's and the prices.....

 

Drove a 335 6-speed sport, non-nav yesterday. I agree. Just to clarify, I drove the sport model with those sweet seats !

The 335 is way more capable out of the box. Man that motor is sweeeeeeet. The steering, brakes and chassis are quite different from the G. The interior is very well put together. Damn if I didn't want to put a deposit down.
The car felt planted, easy to drive, and quick. Really fun to drive. BMW nailed it. This engine is just what the doctor ordered.

The 2007 G is a huge improvement, and goes a long way torwards closing the gap, from an interior perspective. Example, the new seats and steering wheel are very nice in the new G, way better than any other Nissan product available in the US. The center console doesn't feel like it could crack apart in your hands. The steering wheel and gauges feel more 2006 than 1996.
The headliner is fit to be put in a $30k plus car, as opposed to the mouse hair in the previous gen. The 07 still uses the "soon to be shiney" leather that was used in 05-06-
I still like the fact that Infiniti isn't BMW. That is appealing to me.

At the end of the day, a 6-speed fully loaded will continue to be 5-10k less than a similarly equipped 335.

The NET:
The G feels like it will be about 95% of what the BMW is. At the limit, it's clear that the Bimmer is far superior. The E92 is just way more direct, with little if any slop in the controls. Powerwise, the Bimmer is now more appealing. Add a chip, who knows could be able to whip an E46 M.
The German aftermarket is more to my taste than the Japanese aftermarket.

I still think the G is a great value and continues to be more of a hot-rod in terms of approach. The E92 comes off as well thought out and very refined- A car which you want to drive for a long time. Now if only I could get over the stigma that comes with driving a Bimmer....

 

Nice write-up about the 335i; and this dude can rip into automibiles at times: http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=2204

 

Wow, he hit the nail on the head. I was blown away by the suspension tuning as well. After the test drive, the saleman pointed out that we were running on runflats. I would have expected howling and a harsh ride. Not once.

 

The runflats preformed well except for the harshness of the stiff side walls.
I'd love to see what a set of PS2s would be like

 

Ya, this was quite the statement: "...And if you forego satellite navigation, there won’t be anything to remind you of those “other” BMW’s."

Too bad the interior will.

 

I'd like to have it a little more driver oriented,
but I don't mind it.
It's clean & simple, easy to find the control you want & materials are very nice.

But, yeah the style is a little off.

 

I think the placement of most controls are spot on. The plastics that are exposed are high quality. I think the worst Bimmer today is the 5-series, in terms of interior design. Though the door handles on the X5 are pretty f'ing bad too. That being said, the 3 series uses a similar odd shaped door pull as well. Other than the door pulls, I'd say the interior of the new E92 was slick. If you like gadgets, the latest versions of i-Drive are much improved, particularly on the 5 series and 3 series.
Then again, the simple nature of the non-nav cars is somewhat refreshing.
Not a fan of the tail-lights, the rest of the car is pretty sharp. The backend is a bit Banglized.

 

The 3-series interior is ok, spartan but purposful; what really does it in is when you get into an interior like the S4 - which just blows it away.

As for the suspension; well I've talked about that. To say I like it would be an understatement.

 

The S4 interior is pretty sweet- Everything is where you'd expect it to be and it looks great-Interesting considering they have used essentially the same design since 2001-

Here is another rather negative view of the interior from a design perspective:

http://blogs.edmunds.com/.ee941ca

 

but the 335i is not in dealers just yet. So I am told by local BMW dealers.

 

Must be local dealers in you're in the U.S or Canada. They are at every dealership here and every major city in the U.S afaik. I've actually seen a few driving around already too.

 

in that case, might have to test drive one when I get the call from the dealer.

 

A lot of that can be said for many cars. Lack of interior storage space; hello G35. What glovebox? Flimsy cupholders, bane of my existence and sadly most cars cupholders suck. But ya, the 3 interior has never been great, just good enough.