Took the G35X out for a test drive. The car I drove had no wood trim, only the steel.

Pro's

Handles curves very well - car feels planted unlike the M35X I drove some time ago which seemed to have a confused suspension
Steering wheel feels amazing - very thick and solid, definately the feel of a driver's car.
Accelleration is powerful but not mind blowing - I'm not sure you could chirp four tires with AWD in this car (mind you I didn't brake torque). For some reason the car didn't pull as hard as I would have expected on paper. Feels more like a 5.8 second car than whatever it is
Guages are very easy on the eyes, stereo and gadgets are fantastic - class leading

Con's

Ride is VERY stiff. Almost to the point of discomfort. And I like a stiff ride. (Have Tokico shocks and H&R springs on my TL Type S - my car with 16 inch winters feels more comfortable than this car with 17 inch all seasons - maybe the PSI was set to high in the tester???)
Didn't give me a luxury feeling. This is very personal. There is no single thing I can point to about the car that I would complain about but it still feels like an entry level luxury car - maybe I'm biased by my drive of the GS last week.
Engine is still a bit loud on heavy throttle. Not bad but the sound isn't as appealing as my Acura to me - again, could be personal.

So there we have it.

G35X too hard, GS350AWD too soft. Where's baby bear going to go next???

 

From what I have seen so far, 5.8 for the x actually sounds about right.

 

I agree, the sound is no where near as pleasing as Honda's. But that torque...it's to die for.

I acutally find my G35x to have a much softer ride than i expected...but i'm pleased with that

 

Weird that we have a totally different experience on the harshness.

I've driven an 05 g35x and it was much softer. I'm going to call the dealer and ask about psi.

 

It's happened b4 that tires were left at shipping psi, even after PDI

 

My wife and I both drove the 07 X and found the ride very good not harsh at all.

 

I drove the '07 sport which would be even firmer than the X. Ride was not at all harsh and noticeably softer than my G coupe. As others have said were the tires inflated to spec?

We came off a '99 TL (previous generation) and the ride is much softer than the G. However the handling is so far away from the G it is like comparing a Sunfire to the TL. You have the S and maybe newer generation so that may not be a fair comparison.

 

That would put it 0.6 seconds slower than the RWD. Does that make sense???

What was the difference in the 06?

 

There has been different numbers posted by various mags and so forth, but I would say 5.6 has been the norm for the RWD. I would think that there would be roughly a .02 second difference the RWD and the AWD. Merely guessing though.

 

There is always a wide variation on 1/4's based on the tester. The recent test time for a 5AT sport on Motorweek for example was 5.7 0-60 and 14.2 1/4. C&D had 5.2 for a 6mt sport. The X will no doubt be 2-6 10's behind an RW AT due to additional weight although launch traction would be better.

 

Update - I contacted the sales person.

PSI was set to 37 on all four corners (vs 32-34 recommended). This probably explains some of the harshness.

Bottom line, going to have to test it again.

In the meantime though, it appears that wheat interior with a black steering wheel and dash is just a promotional picture fantasy....that's too bad!

 

I have the wheat interior with black dash & steering wheel.

why is it just fantacy? No longer avail for 07?

 

well you said it youself... the G35 is an entry level luxury car and is "supposed" to be compared to the Lexus IS but the IS350 is much higher in price and smaller in size so i totally understand why you would compare it to the GS.