Just got back from opening night at the Orange County, CA Auto Show. It runs through Sunday, Oct 8. I didn't bring a camera, but there wasn't much that you haven't seen in pics online already. (Half-price tickets at ARCO stations.)

They have two '07 sedans, a silver Sport with Graphite interior and a metallic grey (like Lakeshore Slate, but more grey) G35x with the wheat or stone interior. Neither one had the optional rosewood trim (of course, not offered on the Sport). The Silver one was available to sit in, the G35x was on a rotating stand and not available for sitting.

My impressions from spending total of about 15 minutes in the Sport model: The seats are great! Better leather than in the earlier models, though far from Lexus quality, much more support from the upper side bolsters, incredibly adjustable in every direction, power inflation of the side bolsters on both the seat bottom and the upper sides, power lumbar support adjustment (but no vertical adjustment of the lumbar), and manual front thigh extensions. Easy to find a comfortable driving position.

The Washi aluminum is okay, not great. I'd want to see the Rosewood before deciding, but I would want the Sport, so it's a moot point. I'm interested in knowing if we can add the Rosewood aftermarket without too much trouble. The only area where I saw a fit problem with the interior trim was where the aluminum on the door meets the aluminum that runs across the dash. I would have liked to see a smoother transition there.

Most of the interior materials were of higher quality than in the earlier sedans, and the whole impression was an upgrade. The upper dash material has a flat, textured finish, which feels good to the touch. The only really cheap piece is the cover over the cupholders. It is about the same as the one on the current sedan, which means lightweight and kinda flimsy feeling.

Favorite features of the new interior, aside from the seats: The power adjustment for the dash, both for up-down and for reach (very upscale feeling), the large magnesium and leather paddle shifters, the new colors and the overall layout of the instruments, the 7 inch screen (non-navi equipped) for the audio and trip computer features and operation of the multi-controller, the artistic layout of the center dash controls and the clock, which is very visible now.

I liked what I saw of the light interior on the G35x. The two-tone treatment of light and dark vinyls on the doors and dash looked quite nice.

The impression was of a well conceived upgrade and I think most of us will be quite happy. Just don't make the mistake of walking straight to the neighboring Audi display and climbing into an A6, like I did. Different class of car and probably the nicest interior in the show. But other makers are moving ahead on interior design as well. Some of the upscale Camrys and even the new Saturn Aura have some nice interior touches, believe it or not.

Rear seat room is about like the current sedan. I'm a bit over six foot, and I was able to sit in back behind the front seat after adjusting it for myself, though my size 13 shoes were a tight fit under the seat.

The exterior looks very good. Very recognizable as a G sedan, but updated. Maybe a bit less distinctive than the old sedan, and more generally attractive to a larger market. I really like the front view of the Sport model. The non-Sport looks good, too, but I love the new lower air dam on the Sport. The sweeping line on the side of the car that drops behind the rear wheel is very subtle and shouldn't bother anyone, while looking distinctive. I liked the rear as well. The chrome spoiler will have to grow on most people. It isn't very noticeable on the Silver model, but much more so on the grey car. The chrome gets full of fingerprints really easily when you use it to close the trunk, but there is still the handle on the inside of the trunk lid, so you can avoid touching the chrome.

That's about it. If you're in So Cal and can't wait a month, it is worth making the trip to Anaheim.

 

Nice Review.I always thought that plastic peice around the clock looked kind of cheap in pictures, does it look better in person?

 

Yep, I liked the design of that area. Not cheap at all.

 

Also if youve been in a Lexus IS.....how does the quality of the interior compare between the 2?

 

The Lexus is nicer. I haven't studied the Lexus closely, but I drove the IS 250 and 350 a couple weeks ago at an event. The Lexus tries a lot harder to look upscale, and tends to be flashier, but the materials on the Lexus appear to be higher quality. Of course, the rear seat room on the Lexus is unacceptably small for me.

 

1st new information in a while.

Thanks!

 

Well, I haven't seen an X yet, has anyone else?

 

Great review Boomer, thanks for posting.

 

definitely nice looking at the small features. nice post

 

Nice post Boomer23, thanks. I'm hoping the South Florida International Auto Show in Miami will have the '07. I now have hope that it will. Starts this weekend but I won't get by until the next.

 

Good post, thanks.

No photos? How could you go to an autoshow without a digital camera?

 

+1 or at least a camera phone.

 

Yeah, irresponsible not to bring a camera, huh? And my hobby is digital photography! I was just excited to get there after dinner with the wife and wanted to see cars, not shoot pictures of them. Sorry. I'm sure that someone else on here will go tonight or over the weekend with a camera.

By the way, BMW had both the 328i and the 335i coupes, but no 3 series sedans for comparison to the G. They had a lot of the more upscale Bimmers, like the M5 and M6, a 7 series and the Z4, but only an '04 330i sedan to advertise their CPO program. The new 3 series coupes were nice, roomy in the driver's seat, very good looking and clearly bigger cars than the old coupes. Recent Bimmer interiors don't do much for me. I sure don't lust after them. Very businesslike, of course, but the styling doesn't speak to me and I want more of a tech look. And the cupholders on the coupes that slide out of slots in the dash are crappy. The one meant for the driver is almost right in front of the passenger, so you have to reach in front of your passenger with hot coffee in your hand? And the passenger one is too small for any real cup to fit. Weird.

Acura had the new TL-S. I'm not impressed. I didn't like the black finish wheels. The interior is familiar TL stuff, slightly more cushy than the new G and a bit roomier in the back seat due to the fwd.
Enough rambling.

 

Someone on FA just reminded me that I saw three RCA jacks in the center armrest on the G35 Sport. Also, I was fiddling with the multi-controller and the video screen, changing the radio stations and selecting CDs, checking the trip computer out, etc. At one point, I saw a message like "video selection will resume when vehicle is stationary." Not an exact quote, but something like that. This was with a non-navi unit, remember, all of the new sedans have video screens. Pretty interesting, huh?

 

Just as I had hoped: Wii/PS3/Xbox 360 when you're stuck in traffic!