My 06 coupe is currently at the stealership getting some TSB's performed and other minor things, so I was handed an 07 loaner for the time being...

All the loaners are either journey's or X's, but I was given an 07 journey.
One of my favorite things of the new sedan are the headlights. They just simply look beautiful, very aggressive, yet very classy. The whole front of the car is just mean and muscular, but still keeps its class. Big ups to Infiniti on the design.

The steering on these cars are a tid bit on the stiff side, but the wheel feels very good in my hands. Since the steering is heavy and stiff, it makes it very easy to drive straight and barely even hold the wheel, you point the car, and it stays on track, but on the downside, more effort is required to make spirited turns, which I didnt really like.

The interior is by far the best part of this car. The gauges are very nice, and the screen is nice and bright. My coupe is a 6MT, and I honestly had to get used to an automatic tranny. I went from trying to push a clutch to start the car, and coming upto a light to slow down and reaching for a clutch.

The car, when mashing down the gas on a straightaway, is very quick, much more quicker than my coupe. Ill admit, the automatic is simply easier to drive fast, but with that being said, there is a downfall to that. The auto tranny simply isnt responsive enough for my tastes. I dont know if its the funky sensitive pedal, but there was times last night where I would press the pedal halfway and I would barely receive any throttle. Then I would press it a lil further and the transmission would downshift irratically and lurch forward. I tried the manual mode, but even then the gears simply dont feel "Live" like they do in a 6MT.

With the 6MT, no matter what gear youre in, the car is ready to act upon throttle command. With the auto tranny, it just always feels as if the car second guesses your right foot, and the gears never feel as if they are "Live", they dont seem to feel like they are working in "Real Time". It could be the transmission, the gas pedal, or the ECU, idk what it could be, but it just sucks. The shifts are not smooth at all while driving normally, they just make the car lurch and a bit abrupt, it just doesnt feel good at all. On the other hand, during my beating on the poor loaner, at WOT, the car shifted very quickly and very precisely, and that definitely felt good.

On some twisty roads, I did not feel the least bit comfortable or confident that I could properly apply more throttle without worrying about how much throttle the car would actually apply. It was almost scary not knowing if the car was going to react too fast and send me into a curb. It just seemed as if it was either 30% or WOT, nothing in between. Overall, the car as a whole is very nice, and the motor sounds like my friends Z with a borla, just much quieter, but it sounds very sweet.

Regardless of sucha great car, the automatic transmission really dissapointed me. This wouldnt affect me tho, I would never buy a "Sports Sedan" or a "Sports Coupe" in AT anyways, the manual is simply the way to go, the MT makes the experience. Not only do I feel the MT is 20000% more responsive, my coupe just simply feels Live and in Real Time and just ready to act upon my every throttle command.

One thing I really really loved tho, was the intelligent key. It was just a beautiful thing not having to take it out of my pocket, and it was just pure sex using a button to start the car. All in all, the 07 Sedan is an impressive machine, but when it is my time to cop a 2nd Gen G, wether its the 37 or the G35 Sedan, the 6MT will always be the #1 choice.

 

You're spot on about the throttle around turns. The throttle in the 07's are very touchy due to the nonlinear throttle response (the dealership can fix that with a simple ECU reflash using the 2008 mapping settings) and it certainly takes some extra concentration on the turns.

As for the automatic, I think its an excellent automatic tranny. The thing seems to read my thoughts perfectly. I've tried using manual mode at times but the automatic seems to be able to read my mind and will shift right when I want it to. I've never felt any sort of jerkiness. I'm not quite sure what you mean but jerkiness. Does it jerk when you downshift? That'd be unusual since the automatic rev matches at downshifts so you should never jerk, just lunge forward. Maybe people have dogged it so hard that the tranny acts a little funny, who knows.

 

I never mentioned jerky, but the the lurching of the shifts cause the car to not feel as refined. I know for a fact, that while driving normally, I can shift much more smoothly in my 6MT than the auto. During WOT tho, the auto is sick.

 

yeah i definitely hear you about the throttle...that has been a very common topic in these forums lately and there is actually a fix for it. i found that after the first few weeks with my car though i actually got used to it and love how sensitive it is.

and for the engine "lag" issue, it seems to go away after a few thousand miles. when i first started driving it, i would mash the gas and there would be a 2-3 second delay and then it would go, but now it's anytime anyplace.

 

i agree with you 100% about the differances between the 6MT and the auto!

 

Thanks for the notes, glad you liked it. On the shifting, I don't ever let the auto shift itself (paddles), so I always know when it will shift

Regarding the throttle, it is mildly annoying but you get used to it. I don't ever have a problem in turns, just when trying to react to a traffic light while not spilling coffee.