We are looking at purchasing a 2007 G35 Journey or G35x AWD. If we get the Journey, we could afford to get more options than we could on the AWD. We live in the midwest and the winters aren't very harsh. 3 or 4 times a year we get some snow, so I'm not too concerned about that, but I was curious about how the RWD is in the rain (and the occasional light snow)? Does the traction control work well enough to make it comfortable to drive in the rain (and some light snow - 1 inch or less)?

Thank you for your help.

 

if it is anything like the VCD system on prior models, than it is a very good system (in my opinion)...obviously nothing compared to AWD ... i wish i had AWD in my coupe though

 

In the rain you're fine, 1" of snow will be another question, comfortable..... I would say no, can you do it, yes.

 

My sport handles well in the rain, with one caveat. Under acceleration, it's REALLY easy to break the back end loose. And don't misunderstand, I don't mean flooring it when you'd expect a problem; on some back roads that are admittedly low on traction, I literally have to idle off from a stop in the rain. And when passing someone (same road), the tires spun to the point that I couldn't pass.

Again, this is on a very old and slick road. On a regular concrete / asphalt road, have not had the same level of problem - but you're putting down 300+ HP to the back wheels, and in the rain you need to do so gently...

 

I noticed the same thing the other night running down to the drugstore. It was raining, road was wet, I was coming back home and was stopped at the light waiting to turn right into our subdivison, I turned and pulled off, not hard mind you, and the slip light came on. I was like WTF? I've got 9.5" new tires on the rear! Never had anything like that happen with my '03 Sedan.

 

Even with the traction control? Does it really allow the wheels to spin that much?

 

If all you're dealing with is rain and a little light snow, I wouldn't opt for the awd. Seems like a waste to me. The rear wheel drive is fine w/ the vdc and limited slip diff at least in the previous gen Gs. Just make sure you get a good set of tires. Tires can make or break how the car handles in dry or wet conditions. And regardless of what type of 4 wheel drive, all-wheel drive system someone has, your best defense if common sense while driving.

Light snow?? I would invest in some good snow tires just to be sure.

 

I wonder if the vdc in the 07s are the same as previous years...maybe just updated to some extent.

 

Checking tirerack the Goodyear Eagle Tires that come on the Journey model don't have a great rating for wet traction only 5.8 and snow is only 4.7.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....nSpeedRating=V

The Sport tires Bridgestone's have a much better rating in wet traction with a score of 8.0 N/A for snow.

 

Any tire, no matter the capability will have a rating of 0.0 if the one behind the wheel lacks the intelligence to adjust their driving habits accordingly to the weather

I think you'll be fine

 

The traction control is very helpful if you want to avoid getting sideways, but the AWD is probably a better choice in your weather conditions. my 2 cents.

 

Yes, even with the traction control (the tires spin, VDC stops it, tires spin again...). The passing incident was with VDC off as an experiment - one I won't repeat...

 

Maybe I should qualify my question. In the past I have owned several compact trucks (RWD, poor stock tires, no traction control, & no weight in the rear). These are about the worst possible vehicle for wet or snowy roads. My wife and I trade off vehicles and our other vehicle is a 2006 Hummer H3 (AWD, traction control, huge tires, a lot of weight, & not much power). This vehicle has about the best traction in ANY kind of weather. I'm not concerned about me driving the G35 because of my truck experience, but I just want to make sure that it is a little closer to the H3 end of the range than the truck end for when my wire drives it.

Our situation is that if we get the Journey, we can get the Premium, Nav, & Tech packages, but if we get the AWD, we could probably only get the Premium package. Is the AWD worth not getting the Nav and Tech packages?

Thank you very much for all of you responses and help so far.

 

I think the new vdc allows a little more freedom than previous gen.

 

My experience in the snow so far is that I can attest to the fact that the car will get a tiny bit sideways. But I can guarantee that by the time you start to counter-steer, the car has already sorted itself out.

It's like someone has cuffed you in the head for getting out of line. Which is sort of what it feels like as the car gets out of shape: a feeling of braking, the car straightens out, and a glance at the dash at the flashing "slip" light means you've been bad

In the type of weather we see (read: lots of snow one day, +5*C the next, repeat) the AWD simply has no substitute.