Consumer Reports 07 Best Cars! G and M!
The G35 "really blows the BMW 3-series away at its own game," said David Champion, head of auto testing for Consumer Reports. "It's extremely fast - 306 horsepower, zero-to-60 in 5.4 seconds - really agile handling, great steering, reasonable amount of room inside and really easy to live with on a day-to-day basis".
Oh yea!!!
Oh yea!!!
Originally Posted by G35leander
C&D is an "op ed" type of automotive publication, and they don't claim to be anything else.
CR is all about the numbers - it's no wonder Infiniti wins there -
CR is all about the numbers - it's no wonder Infiniti wins there -
CR win
Ah ... it was nice to see the CR double plus win for the new G/M. One of the criteria seems to be, what the other critics against its win miss, is the change from the previous years review where it came [the G35] very low in the standings. Its improvement to the level that they admire gave the G35 its top standing.
As for all those bimmer fans ... why are they always soooo defensive when it comes to that car? Granted all car magazines should be called BMW4EVER, those magazines should NEVER review any other car, all none BMW owners should be driven off the road and when they meet their eternal reward they will spend thier years trapped in a rusted out '72 Hyundai as is befitting any non-BMW owners fate.
But there are many cars out there, some good some bad, all are different and varied like the folk that buy then. Some buy for status, some for driving ability , some even for its gas mileage.
But to always deride a mag for not includiing the Holy Grail of cars is quite silly.
CR is not an car enthusisast magazine, it does not say it is, its a figures and stats mag..what will hold itself up over the long run, not dissapoint its purchaser, etc. , etc...thus its own view on the auto world. If those who do not like its rating why are they always the loudest to complain. I am sure if a german or american car was included would they still be chaffing at the result? Probably not.
Like my brother who owns the new Land Rover...to paraphrase..."sure the glove compartment door always falls off when I hit a bump but when its not falling apart its a great car! I just love it!"
It takes ALL kinds
As for all those bimmer fans ... why are they always soooo defensive when it comes to that car? Granted all car magazines should be called BMW4EVER, those magazines should NEVER review any other car, all none BMW owners should be driven off the road and when they meet their eternal reward they will spend thier years trapped in a rusted out '72 Hyundai as is befitting any non-BMW owners fate.
But there are many cars out there, some good some bad, all are different and varied like the folk that buy then. Some buy for status, some for driving ability , some even for its gas mileage.
But to always deride a mag for not includiing the Holy Grail of cars is quite silly.
CR is not an car enthusisast magazine, it does not say it is, its a figures and stats mag..what will hold itself up over the long run, not dissapoint its purchaser, etc. , etc...thus its own view on the auto world. If those who do not like its rating why are they always the loudest to complain. I am sure if a german or american car was included would they still be chaffing at the result? Probably not.
Like my brother who owns the new Land Rover...to paraphrase..."sure the glove compartment door always falls off when I hit a bump but when its not falling apart its a great car! I just love it!"
It takes ALL kinds
Originally Posted by fuzzy_logic
There is a G37 site ?! http://www.g37driver.com/
I hope you guys all noticed little video link from the article. Here its direct url
http://www.cnn.com/video/player/play...ce=money&wm=11
It's about how they (CR) test. The fun begins at around 48th second with G35 Jorney with sport tires playing the most prominent role. Enjoy!
P.S.
I just crossed 2000 miles today while on a highway... What a car!!!!!
http://www.cnn.com/video/player/play...ce=money&wm=11
It's about how they (CR) test. The fun begins at around 48th second with G35 Jorney with sport tires playing the most prominent role. Enjoy!
P.S.
I just crossed 2000 miles today while on a highway... What a car!!!!!
Last edited by VirtKing; Mar 2, 2007 at 12:04 AM.
Originally Posted by G35leander
I thought it was 5.1 in the Oct '06 issue. The April issue got 5.5. I wonder if they got the same press car back (Garnet in both issues). The same car running around the automotive press for 4 months would have the crap beat out of it by now. Of course, I'm assuming the tests were 4 months apart based upon the issue in which they appear (could be that C&D kept one on the shelf for a later issue). C&D did mention the synchro in second gear was bad, slowing down the acceleration time.
C&D always will be partial to BMWs. A well-crafted, continuous marketing campaign driving the brand of the ultimate driving machine works on automotive elite journalists just like the general auto-enthusiast public. Of course, good product is required for the image to take root; and BMW has that in spades. BMW definitely makes great cars; but less creature comforts for more money is a tough trade-off to consider for getting that silky straight six with flat torque curve and debatably better steering feel and brake feel. I could have sworn C&D complained a bit about the steering on the latest 3 series when it first came out - feeling too light compared to the last generation. Now, in this comparison, C&D says the G steering feels too heavy compared the the light, but oh so communicative steering of the BMW. That proves that C&D accepts BMW as the benchmark - even when it changes against their original opinion of what great steering is supposed to feel like. If the G doesn't feel exactly like the BMW, then it is, therefore, inferior and "less refined" in the areas where it's different. It was interesting they didn't slam the G's brakes, however. In the Oct issue, they thought the pedal felt "long", or something like that. After driving the G, I actually thought the BMW brakes were "grabby" when I almost put the sales guy through the windshield the first time I hit the pedal. Anyway, the April issue rated the brakes on both cars the same.
C&D is an "op ed" type of automotive publication, and they don't claim to be anything else. Those guys are smitten by the teutonic aura that is BMW. They make an entertaining read that generates lots of buzz and interest around differing, if not controversial, opinions - that's why it's #1 (kinda like Fox News' The O'reilly Factor).
CR is all about the numbers - it's no wonder Infiniti wins there - Great, but not quite superior, product for thousands less at comparable option levels. If you make the sports sedan buy using your head, pick Infiniti. If you use your soul, pick BMW, provided your soul always wins over value/dollar financial sense, or you may get buyer's remorse after the novelty wears off (if it ever does - any BMW drivers lurking on this site care to provide insight here?).
C&D always will be partial to BMWs. A well-crafted, continuous marketing campaign driving the brand of the ultimate driving machine works on automotive elite journalists just like the general auto-enthusiast public. Of course, good product is required for the image to take root; and BMW has that in spades. BMW definitely makes great cars; but less creature comforts for more money is a tough trade-off to consider for getting that silky straight six with flat torque curve and debatably better steering feel and brake feel. I could have sworn C&D complained a bit about the steering on the latest 3 series when it first came out - feeling too light compared to the last generation. Now, in this comparison, C&D says the G steering feels too heavy compared the the light, but oh so communicative steering of the BMW. That proves that C&D accepts BMW as the benchmark - even when it changes against their original opinion of what great steering is supposed to feel like. If the G doesn't feel exactly like the BMW, then it is, therefore, inferior and "less refined" in the areas where it's different. It was interesting they didn't slam the G's brakes, however. In the Oct issue, they thought the pedal felt "long", or something like that. After driving the G, I actually thought the BMW brakes were "grabby" when I almost put the sales guy through the windshield the first time I hit the pedal. Anyway, the April issue rated the brakes on both cars the same.
C&D is an "op ed" type of automotive publication, and they don't claim to be anything else. Those guys are smitten by the teutonic aura that is BMW. They make an entertaining read that generates lots of buzz and interest around differing, if not controversial, opinions - that's why it's #1 (kinda like Fox News' The O'reilly Factor).
CR is all about the numbers - it's no wonder Infiniti wins there - Great, but not quite superior, product for thousands less at comparable option levels. If you make the sports sedan buy using your head, pick Infiniti. If you use your soul, pick BMW, provided your soul always wins over value/dollar financial sense, or you may get buyer's remorse after the novelty wears off (if it ever does - any BMW drivers lurking on this site care to provide insight here?).
Well man you nailed it almost everywhere, except for your closing comments...I definitely disagree that the BMW has more soul than the G35... while the coupe IS a little beast, the sedan does all things worse than the G. Its front and sides look about as good as the G's, but that UGGGGLY backend kills the car utterly. The handling might be a little better, but I believe that that trade off is without a doubt worth it when you consider how MUCH extra room the car has because it's significantly bigger than the BMW...I'm a young single guy not a family man but the extra room is an amazing surprise.
Also, I disagree with the continually perpetuated "aura" myth of BMW...I think BMW's are very conservative, overdone, unoriginal and 'sheep mentality' type choices. Yeah the 335ci will look tight for the next few months...maybe a year or so if you hook it up nice...but soon, there will be sooo many 3 seriess on the road..the car will be the default choice for everyone, and that will make it lose all of its value...at least for me.
I love the choice I made buying the G. The car is a beast.
Consumer Reports 07 Best Cars! G and M!
Sedan, $30,000 to $40,000
Infiniti G35
Cost: $35,000 to $39,000
The G35 is available in rear-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive.
The G35 "really blows the BMW 3-series away at its own game," said David Champion, head of auto testing for Consumer Reports. "It's extremely fast - 306 horsepower, zero-to-60 in 5.4 seconds - really agile handling, great steering, reasonable amount of room inside and really easy to live with on a day-to-day basis."
Its reliability has also been excellent, Champion said,
Infiniti G35
Cost: $35,000 to $39,000
The G35 is available in rear-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive.
The G35 "really blows the BMW 3-series away at its own game," said David Champion, head of auto testing for Consumer Reports. "It's extremely fast - 306 horsepower, zero-to-60 in 5.4 seconds - really agile handling, great steering, reasonable amount of room inside and really easy to live with on a day-to-day basis."
Its reliability has also been excellent, Champion said,
I actuallly trust Consumer Reports reviews over Car and Driver and Motor Trend because of a few things which consumer reports states in this issue:
Consumer Reports doesn't take advertising money like the other two magazines, so they can be truthful without fear of upsetting any clients.
The other two magazines are sometimes given special cars outfitted by dealerships knowing that these cars will be tested and written about whereas CR buys cars just like you and me an doesn't tip off dealerships that cars will be tested in any way.
CR keeps the cars for months and runs them through the most rigorous and thorough testing of any publication. The cars are lent out to staff members who take them home and use them in real world situations such as picking up groceries, taking the kids to soccer practice, etc. The other two publications sometimes only have the vehicles for a few weeks and sometimes even just a few days.
So in the last C&D issue with the BMW vs G35, it's interesting reading, but I don't take it too seriously. What's more telling is that in CR, right off the bat it mentions both the G35 and M series cars as best in it's respective classes and doesn't mention BMW.
Consumer Reports doesn't take advertising money like the other two magazines, so they can be truthful without fear of upsetting any clients.
The other two magazines are sometimes given special cars outfitted by dealerships knowing that these cars will be tested and written about whereas CR buys cars just like you and me an doesn't tip off dealerships that cars will be tested in any way.
CR keeps the cars for months and runs them through the most rigorous and thorough testing of any publication. The cars are lent out to staff members who take them home and use them in real world situations such as picking up groceries, taking the kids to soccer practice, etc. The other two publications sometimes only have the vehicles for a few weeks and sometimes even just a few days.
So in the last C&D issue with the BMW vs G35, it's interesting reading, but I don't take it too seriously. What's more telling is that in CR, right off the bat it mentions both the G35 and M series cars as best in it's respective classes and doesn't mention BMW.
Originally Posted by cnugs127
So in the last C&D issue with the BMW vs G35, it's interesting reading, but I don't take it too seriously. What's more telling is that in CR, right off the bat it mentions both the G35 and M series cars as best in it's respective classes and doesn't mention BMW.
The one thing that always bothers me about C&R and their comparsions, it seems they do not compare apples to apples. For the BMW vs. the G story, the G costs less by over $1700, offers more in feautures, more hp and better performance. Yet an 'intangible' item like the refinement is listed as to the win for BMW.
Oh well, I voted with my wallet.
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 30,233
Likes: 175
From: Rothesay, New Brunswick, Canada
Originally Posted by BuddyG
Sedan, $30,000 to $40,000
Infiniti G35
Cost: $35,000 to $39,000
The G35 is available in rear-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive.
The G35 "really blows the BMW 3-series away at its own game," said David Champion, head of auto testing for Consumer Reports. "It's extremely fast - 306 horsepower, zero-to-60 in 5.4 seconds - really agile handling, great steering, reasonable amount of room inside and really easy to live with on a day-to-day basis."
Its reliability has also been excellent, Champion said,
Infiniti G35
Cost: $35,000 to $39,000
The G35 is available in rear-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive.
The G35 "really blows the BMW 3-series away at its own game," said David Champion, head of auto testing for Consumer Reports. "It's extremely fast - 306 horsepower, zero-to-60 in 5.4 seconds - really agile handling, great steering, reasonable amount of room inside and really easy to live with on a day-to-day basis."
Its reliability has also been excellent, Champion said,




