Thats the other thing I was wondering. How is the tranny compared to the earlier (2003-4) Coupes. My clutch is very hard to press, and through the past 3 years, I've gotten a little tired with the lack of leeway in the "sweet spot" of engaging the gears. Is the new 6mt smoother, a la VW/Audi and BMW or still rough?

 

As I said, I have the auto and other than a couple of spins I took on 07 manuals, I don't have much "drive time" on them, but here is what I can offer:

1. The clutch is much softer and easier to engage than the 03-06 models (requires less effort) - a big plus as I know exactly what it felt like on the 04s

2. Engagement point is still a bit odd, but nothing too complex. I had the same problem with the 04 - which I was able to fix with a 5 minute engagement point adjustment on the clutch pedal.

The reason I went with auto this time was my wife who can't drive manuals (and won't learn ). With kids in the works there may be times when we'll need to swap cars. However, as time goes by and her limited use of the G, I think I should have gone the stick route again.

 

The clutch on the 07 6MTs got horrible reviews.

http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/975

http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/c...finitiG35Sport

They went so far as to say that if you are going to buy a G35, get the automatic.

 

If I have to do it again, I would go with IS350. It has much better fit and finish, which is the first I look for. You better check for everything when take delivery, particularly the interior. I made a big mistake for not check the fit and finish, may be I am just unlucky.

 

Unless you are looking at an AWD option, in which case you can not get the IS350. Only the IS250 comes with an AWD option. And if you go with the IS250, you have a much slower car. The IS350/250 is just a Toyota Corolla on roids.

 

The IS is TINY inside!!! not comfy for those of us that are over 6' tall. And like karnidge said, you cant have the AWD with the 350. Oh, and the 350 optioned out is $8k to $10k more

 

You can't get a stick on the IS350 -- huge mistake on the part of Lexus - you should have the option of getting a stick on a "supposed" sports car !!!

 

i drove all the competing choices and narrowed the list to three i'd really buy. Then I made a list of what interested me, found that many competitors did one thing better but none do so many so well. It was obvious that I would have from $5-8k for other things if I bought the G. So I test drove it again and wound it out to 7500 through the gears and noticed I was doing 110 when I thought I was doing 85 and realized what a bargain it was- and traded my 03 that day for the first one in the showroom. NO REGRETS- and grins every time I get in.