Now with almost 700 miles on my S I have begun to explore its capabilities. I knew that moving the stick to the left put the car in DS mode so that it held gears til higher revs that in D mode (depending on how far the gas pedal is depressed or speed or something), and that it downshifts to the "right" gear for the speed carried under braking before a turn.

But somehow I had totally missed the fact that the paddles on the S will shift up or down through the gears whenever they are used, without the consul stick having to be moved to the left slot. I did it this morning on a 35 mph entry sweeper onto an empty bit of freeway, and got on it. With the car under a bit of pressure it was solid, shifted fast and smooth and sooo sweet sounding.

While I almost never bothered with the manual mode on my 2002.5, I can see myself using the paddles on the 07.

NO MT COMMENTS PLS!- I have to commute in the Wash DC area! Besides, I am having long discussions with Ms. Nav at lease til we get to know each other. .

 

DS mode? This a sport only thing?

 

That is on all the 07 AT G35 cars. The X we tested had it. When you slide the auto shifter over the dash indicator will then go from D (drive) to DS (drive sport) which means in the DS mode it will shift more aggressively.

 

I have only driven my S so I don't know. The drive indicator - in the red patch between the speedo and tach- shows D or DS depending on the stick position, and a gear number when the trans is shifted via the paddles.

 

same with the regular G35 only no paddles. When it is in DS mode if you start shifting, it it will stay in the manumatic mode and display the gears until you return it to drive.

 

There seems to be a big discrepancy among members about this AT. I had an '07 G35S all week; and using the manumatic and/or shift paddles; shifting was abrupt [especially from 2-3 gears] slow to respond at times and rev-matching was sporadic [not to mention that one of the shifer paddles were loose ]. This is exactly how my '05 works as well; which is why I stated earlier that I have a hard time believing that this AT is new.

Don’t get me wrong, it's not a bad AT, it's just not very sporty at times especially compared to the 335i's AT that I drove, and really does not utilize this great engine properly IMO. Perhaps other that have driven other offerings can chime in here as well.

 

I suspect it depends on conditions- engine speed, gear, throttle position. I haven't played with it much at all- but the time I did on it hard out of a tight ~35 mph sweeper, up 2-3-4 to about 100 it compared well with the 335i I drove.

I have no problem admitting/agreeing/declairing that the 335 AT/engine combination is fast/sweet and likely as it gets up and down the gears- and can't imagine why anyone would want a manual in that car.

On the other hand, I know that I am unlikely to use the paddles all that much cause its not a whole lot more effective than just stomping on it and and then too I tend it reserve playing for the other car.

 

The shifts on the 07 AT G35 are still very slow and laggy. I saw some improvement over the 03-06 AT, but not that significant.

 

Paddle shifting is soooo much fun....Do you have any trouble finding the paddles being that they're on the steering column and not on the wheel??

C.

 

No problem. The paddles are large and seem to fall to hand, er, finger, naturally- in reach even when turning. In another posst someone complained about sloppuy feel and slowness. Mine are not at all loose- they have a precision feel. Shift speed seems to vary with throttle position, can be slow or fast but all in all the trans is not up to the 335s for speed and smoothness, so
Infiniti has another bogie to chase.

 

+1, on my test drive I had the same impressions. THe paddles were very precise and in a great location. Wished very much that I could get them and that steering wheel on my x

 

<---- Envious here. I wish I could have magnesium paddle shifters on my 6MT.