I have been looking at this car for a couple months now. I have learned alot from this site good and bad about the car.

Should I get a sport?
I don't care about the seats (would rather have more comfort 6'3" 220)
paddle shifters cool factor
I plan on getting the 18's anyway
is limited diff worth is (what is the value of this dollar and performance wise)

2nd my wife doesn't like the look. she like the cts better.

I know i should control my wife but I can't

I don't like the cts because it lacks the tech that the g has

What other cars did you consider before getting a G?

My wife called today while she was driving and suggested a bmw 750 since she saw it on the freeway and liked it. I said that sounds great if we had 120K.

Anyways thanks for answering my 20 questions in advance.

 

Get the sport. Its a Rocket. I try to keep it below 4K RPMs and it never seems to happen. This car is Damn fast.

 

LoLAHAHAHA @ your wife. I love women.

The CTS is a nice car and depending on your financial situation, I might be willing to appease her if I were you if you were looking for a specific type of payment plan that Cadillac could help you with...american is cheaper.

If money is not a problem and you dont' need AWD, I think you might prefer the IS 350. It's faster and more comfortable, though it gives up a bit in the technology department.

Overall I'd be pretty focused on how comfortable you are in the car...there aren't many entry level luxury sedans today that aren't fabulous (G35/IS350/335i) so you can't really go wrong with any of them, unless the seating is uncomfortable.

 

LOL - my wife says stuff like that all the time. "That's a nice car". "Yes honey, that's the V12 version of the Merc convertible, about $125k..." She also wanted me to look for a "fun" third car for about $8k - our ideas of "fun" differ slightly...

Anyway, the LSD is pretty useful so far on a car that's putting down 300+ HP; I'd guess that the non-Sports can incinerate one tire (note - this isn't a poke, different people care about different things). This is especially true around slow corners when you get back on it quickly, although the Sport will slide quickly too.

If you care about controlling what gear the car is in, the paddles make it very easy. I use them about 99% of the time. And, probably because I own one, I like the "pissed-off shark" front end of the S models.

 

Time for an honest moment: you should not be factoring your wife into this decision if she likes both the CTS and 750iL and doesn't understand the difference. No Offense, but if you listen to her and get a CTS, she's off doing the next thing and your stuck driving a mistake for years and then in about 4 months as you grind your teeth in silent disappointment over buying a heap of garbage in a CTS you will casually drive past a just washed G35 in Ivory Pearl on your way to dinner and your wife will turn to you and say " Ohhhh that's beautiful, What kind of car is that?" and that's when it hits you.

It's like her asking your opinion on perfume, and then 4 months later are you really going to remember that perfume over the next one she buys?

I'm saying this because I almost fell into the same trap of letting her opinion on "My" car carry weight until I had a good friend give me this exact conversation, and you know what... she absolutely loves this car more then the BMW 335i she prefered when I took her on the first dealership trip.

I know this is a G35 forum, but here's what I would recommend looking at:

1.) G35
2.) BMW 335i or, go with a 328i if you don't care about the extra performance
3.) Lexus IS 350 or go with an IS 250 if you don't care about the extra performance
4.) Acura TL, maybe the Type-S but it's not much faster then the base and it's IMO uglier, so stick with the base TL
5.) Audi A4 w/ Quattro

The one thing I have to say is don't fall victim to a CTS which is just another American piece of garbage which will feel like a 10 year old beat on rental car after 18 months of ownership. It really is a piece of crap and does not settle in well, it seams really nice for 1-2 years and then it starts unraveling. it's competition is more along the lines of a Kia. In the past 10 years I've never met a satisifed Cadillac owner, the company is in the shizzer. And anyone who is big on Cadillacs has never driven a German or Japanese car for an extended period of time... they just don't know. Put them in an Audi for 4 months and they will never set foot in a Crapillac again.

 

Buy your wife an LV or Coach handbag (less than $1K) and then tell her that you want to make the decision on cars.

If you plan to keep the car for long term, probably best to look into Lexus or Acura. Otherwise, BMW is a worthy choice - I don't know why people say "buy BMW if you don't care about performance".

Lexus IS will probably be a bit too small for you. Acura TL is going to be redesigned soon and is FWD. G35 it is.

 

If you read my post, i said get the 335i or the 328 if you don't care about performance, meaning the 335i vs. the 328i that's what I'm refering to, not BMW in general. the 335i is definitly on par when it comes to performance.

PS - Same goes for my statement of IS350 vs IS250.

 

That CTS just seems like an old fart car.... sorry.
But the design is already looking tired. JMO.

 

yeah my bad. A comma before "or" will make it clearer, though.

 

I updated the post. Sorry... I've, never; been" good: with,. spelling or , ; :, ... ,,, punctuation?!; ?

 

I had the same thing, my wife was not feeling the G at first either, she was pushing me to get a 5 series, but now every time we leave the house, she's like "we're not taking your car?!?"

Back to the topic, all the cars that kring posted are the "usual suspects", try them all and see what you like best.

 

Go test drive both the AWD and the Sport. This will serve two purposes:

1. It will answer all your questions
2. After test driving the cars you will get this new "ability" that will force you to control your wife...



My point is: Test drive the car - after that, nothing else will matter. Not even your wife's opinion.

 

I tried G35 Sport AT, Journey, and finally bought the G35X. The Sport was a little too stiff for my liking. The G35X gave teh added security for slippery stuff. Test them all and make your own decision. I also drove
TL Type S (nice ride, but can't match performance);
IS 350 (too small in back seat and less fun to drive)
335i (too small in back, not the same pull from the line, slightly better carving, but not $10K worth and Nav? Forget German "Irk"-onomics!)

Let your wife try the Navi in the CTS and the G35. She'll go for the G35 easy - it just works. Just tell her to say "Destination Street Address" then answer the questions. TOO SWEET!!!

 

ASSUMPTIVE CLOSE:

Come back and post pics of your NEW G!! LOL.

 

Well if she makes you get a CTS, just look for a good deal on a used 2004-2005 CTS-V. You should be able to find a nice one for around the same price as a new G35.

400hp and a six speed manual ain't all that bad.