For Those That Have Driven The G37
 

Since the G37 is hitting the dealerships now and people are test driving it, I wanted to create a thread where everyone can post their experiences, thoughts, and opinions. We may as well have everything in one thread as opposed to a gazillion threads from each member.

Post up your thoughts if you've driven the new G Coupe.

All I gota say is OMG. I drove the Journey, Sport package, Navi, Premium package and wow. It was fun! The guy was taking it through the twisties behind the dealership at 75-85mph and it held the whole time. Seeing the brakes in person are crazy. They fill up a 19" rim with no problem. I'm just.... speachless. I'll come back after I change my shorts

The Test Drive!
 

ABQG35C, You are absolutely right about everything. I just went down to the dealership and drove it last night with my GF and OMG, what a great car.

*Note, cars I have driven to compare to this experience are:
My 04 G35 AT (with the below mods in my sig...)
IS350
Honda Accord Coupe
Acura TL
(have NOT driven the 335I yet)

First off, most all of you know about the hard drive in the dash as well as the flash card. I knew there was a flash card to help transport songs back and forth from my computer, but I did not know you could rip your CD's onto drive just by loading them. Also, the sound system is excellent. The sound imaging is very impressive and if you close your eyes, you can't pinpoint where the sound is coming from. I think the center channel speaker helps a lot with that.

Further, the voice navigation feature WITH TOUCHSCREEN is a clutch move in Infiniti's. Not only do I NOT have to use the ghey little joy stick that doesn't work very well, I can opt NOT to use my hands at all and just tell her where to go!!

The reverse camera is a nifty feature that will impress your passengers and could actually help you avoid that low-lying obstical like the bike that little Billy parked right behind your ride as your getting ready to go.

I don't know about your cars, but the A/C in this one was cold. It was a hot day outside and I literally had to turn it down since I was freezing inside the car and it wasn't even on full blast!

I'm 6'3" and the head room is about the same as in my coupe. I was hoping for about 2 inches more and they gave me about 1. Oh well, as long as I fit :biggthumpup:

Seeing the car in person, IMO, is better than the pictures. I was among all of you that had the same general gripes about how it looked compared to the Concept G35/G37 coupe, but this car still puts a smile on your face when you witness its profile. The wheels are beautiful and the huge brake system that compliments them, complete the desire for a full wheel well of eye candy. 19"s btw.

THE DRIVING EXPERIENCE:
Press the start button and the dignified, yet powerful 330hp engine comes to life. The gauges boast hue of deep blue with red accents that instantly catch your eye and tell you that someone actually decided to make an instrument cluster worth paying attention to. The exhaust is smooth and definitely not as loud as our systems, yet still provides a nice note when WOT. Throw, the shifter into DS mode, tap the paddle shifter to lock the system into the manual mode, and you're off.

First thing you notice is the sensitivity of the braking system ready to halt the experience to a safe speed. The steering communicates a confidence to the driver letting you know that even though you may push it into a corner too hard, it will not pull any tricks on you when you're hard on the throttle to exit the turn. I had some doubt in the new G37 suspesion and was questioning the firmness of the ride since I have my set-up 3 inches from the ground and have a very nice handling car. From the rough entrance onto 280 from Steve's Creek in San Jose down the freeway a few miles, and into some twisties, I was pleasantly surprised at how well it handled and how smooth the ride was. Though my gf, whose head was just barely touching the rear window in the back didn't have the same to say when she got out, we were all pleased with the general comfort. The valving of the struts were soft enough to maintain a comfortable ride, yet firm and controlled when a sharp turn was asked of it.

The power of the drive train was wonderful. Off the line, it has good power compared to my ride, but not the raw feeling that I get from the mods I have on my car, (of course the G37 is still stock and a set of dual pop chargers and an exhaust system could help fancy my needs for a less refined driving experience). The mid range seemed to lack where my car pulled, but boy did I like reving to almost 8K RPMs. I always felt like our cars didn't hit the engine note they needed to, but this one does. And for all you automanual drivers out there that miss shifts due to the slow response of the tranny, that problem is definitely solved. The paddle shifters shift extremely quickly and downshift with the same urgent response. If there was one characteristic of the car that I wanted in my life, it was the crisp shifts.

The merge onto the freeway took us to about 100mph without me even hesitating. The ride didn't fluster anyone in the car and no one even bothered to check the speed until I brought it up. Through a twisty road, the grip of the Potenza's was there for you and the balance of the suspension put the power of the rear wheels in a comfortable launch position with less feeling of over steer.

I was sad to have to give the car back to the dealership, but I am thankful to be among the first to drive it since it doesn't come out until the 16th (only 6 more days) and I won't be able to afford it then either :9:

Hope you all get a chance to go experience it for yourself. I loved the car and hope that all of you will too. It's a great compliment to the already legendary G35 coupe and it has the potential to look and perform far beyond it's beginnings.:driving:

?
 

how did the drive compare to your G35? also, how does the new look stack up in contrast to the G35?

Man Driver Elite, you should get a job editing for Car and Driver. Very good write up!

Dang, that's exactly what I was thinking. Wow, Elite missed his calling as a writer. Great read!!

I test drove a black on black (loaded) today at Clearlake Infiniti and it left me SPEECHLESS. I asked the salesman to drive it first, so I could see what the backseat felt like. (he took it to a new level hehe) He drove it like we were in the Indy 500. :eek: AWESOME!! I love the paddle shifters and I personally thought it felt much more lightweight and definitely QUICKER than my 04 auto. I am IN LOVE!!! :HEART:

I Just Test Drove a G37 Coupe...
 

...and it was awesome! :driving:

http://www.derrich.com/2007/08/11/te...37-coupe-g37s/

Driver Elite Reviews hit the stands, get your copies for free right here. Just kidding :-). You must be really calm under pressure to be thinking of all that stuff while being one of the first to drive the car at 100 mph with GF in the back and salesman in the passenger seat.

If you ask me, that makes you even better than the C&D, Mototrend etc.

wow i just read your review Driver elite and i must say thank you. You have really put the urge in me to test drive this car. Good work!

I'm still confused on if I wanna get the 5at or a 6mt. I'm driving a 91 integra Auto right now.. and when the AC is on, the car is slower, way slower so in return that made me want the MT because the gear ratio's give you "more power" than the auto's..

But! Driving the 5at on the G37, you couldnt even tell the AC was on. The dealer giggled and said, "When you have 330hp, you can have all 4 people in this car and the AC on, and still feel like no one's in the car"

I want a 6mt but I'm thinking, what if I start feeling "lazy" and dont wanna shift since i'm so use to not having to shift now with my current car. IDK..

Perfrmancewise the numbers are identical... within 1 tenth 0-60 between the two best reviews and identical 1/4 mile. The dyno on the Sedan rated the auto just 2 hp below the MT at peak. I am guessing that will also be the case or very similar in the coupe. The AT comes with a high stall torque converted that is noticeable in manual mode onthe auto. The 6MT however as you know gives you the fun of having a clutch. It's all about preference at this point.

I know! I've just been driving AT since day one (learned how to first drive a manual trans) that i'm afraid i'm "lazy" now and not sure if I'm up to the task of the manual. but IDK.. lol. DAMNIT!

Nice review.
How does the roadand wind noise compare with other G's over the concrete expansion joints and at highway speeds?

Drove a black on black journey fully loaded in Santa Monica on wednesday. I couldn't have put it better than driver elite has. It's a great ride. What stood out most to me was Much much more tech gadgets, the better handling and acceleration, and the large break pads. The body is ok for me, I still am reminded of the original concept and am still disappointed they didnt stick to this design.

I few things I will add, the shifting is so much more crisp and responsive in manual mode than the G35. Also you can either shift using the paddle shifters or the stick shift and what is different is you push the stick in this time instead of out like in the G35's.

The seats controls have much more options which is nice. There is a frame outline of your car in the backup camera that helps you additionally when you back into your space. There is RCA jacks in addition to the ipod jack but it's pretty useless considering you have to be in park to use this, I was also warned that if this was tampered with, infiniti would void your warranty. One thing that I noticed is that the navigation seemed stationary when driving. Someone else complained on this board of how the newer navigation systems are not giving you some type of real time position, etc. I'm not sure how I feel about this yet. Getting into the backseat of the car is much easier now as the release lever is on the shoulder of the seat not the middle of the back of the seat, though the one touch button still moves the seat slow. At 6'0 I will say the G37 did lose headroom in the back. Another thing that I question is why there is a compact flash slot, why not SD or USB? Also the Ipod interface connector I was told cannot be managed by the controls on the steering wheel, I was not informed wether or not it could be managed from the dash either.

There are some great improvements on this car though I'm personally still on the fence. I have been informed that a fully loaded journey would not be available until late September. Also, no lease structures have been provided so no negotiating yet.

i test drove a full loaded sport model with the paddle shifters yesterday. I'm too lazy right now to write in detail but overall, all the new bells in whistle that come with the technology package, adjustable side bolsters, flash drive, audio/vid inputs, nice navi, better ergonomics, rear view camera, etc. . .made me sooo damn jealous. the streets were packed with traffic, so i barely was able to push it hard when i finally got on the highway. . .in all honesty, as far as power wise, i coudl barely tell the difference between this and the vq35. i'm thinking its cause i'm only used to driving a manual, and so i'm going to wait until they got a manual tranny ready for a test run. besides that, the new coupe is soooo clean. huge calipers and rotors. my friend with me though said cause of the new curves in the body, it looks very feminine, and that my 05 sedan looks alot more aggresive and 'masculine.' basically he said it looks like a girl's car. take that however you want to, but i found it funny. ultimate wish is to take that interior/seats and all teh gadgets and put it in my G. thats all i want. i'll keep the same engine, tranny, body, brakes. . .i just want the interior.