2006 Infiniti G35 Coupe review – Nips and Tucks on Infiniti’s Hot Model
(Yeah, 2006 is definite used-car territory now. I originally wrote this article in 2006.)
Infiniti doesn’t need to do much to maintain interest in their popular G35 Coupe. Three years after its debut, it shows little signs of aging. It still has power above and beyond every competitor in its class and the roads are crawling with them. So, how to improve on this solid groundwork for 2006? Apparently you tweak the headlights and taillights and otherwise leave well enough alone.oem software dealer asks Buy cheap software “oem Microsoft Office”
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Same engine, tasteful exterior updates
With a standing power advantage, Infiniti apparently saw no reason to touch the smooth VQ35DE V6 engine, which still puts out 298 hp (or 280 hp if you opt for the automatic). The signature exhaust note is also unchanged. The G Coupe sounds good as-is, with a distinctive growl that can be identified a block away.
The exterior alterations are so subtle that only a car geek will notice. Here’s your geek study guide: soft contours have been added to the taillight lenses, framing the circular array of LEDs. The round white backup lights have been replaced with subtler wedge shapes in a more subdued shade. A slight tweak to a useless design element within the headlight is so unnoticeable one has to wonder why they bothered.
To give the G35 Coupe a welcome, albeit moderate, infusion of aggressiveness, Infiniti molded an edgier new front fascia and chiseled side sills. These will now come in the Sport-Tuned Suspension Package along with a limited slip differential, flashy forged 19-inch wheels, sport-tuned suspension and some “sport” interior trim gimmicks. The finishing touch is a new rear spoiler, available from the factory with underbody air diffusers in the Aero Package, or individually from the dealership.
Infiniti left their three wheel offerings untouched. That’s fine by us, as the 18-inch wheels in the Performance Tire and Wheel Package and 19-inchers with the Sport-Tuned Suspension Package are among the most attractive OEM wheels on the market. The base model’s 17-inch 6-spoke alloys look too small in the G’s oversized wheel arches, but with almost half of all G Coupes wearing this size, Infiniti can hardly afford to get rid of them.
Unfortunately, the only notable interior update is a new Infiniti Intelligent Key option on automatic models. An electronic key fob stays in your pocket while you unlock the car with a tiny button on the handle and start the engine with a big button where the ignition used to be. This is a convenient feature as long as you don’t start the car with the key on you and then let someone else drive off with the car without you in it. There’s no discernible reason not to offer Intelligent Key on the manual, but they don’t.
The dash and trim materials still aren’t of great quality and the dash design, with a frumpy muffin top dissecting the lower and upper dashes, is not appealing. Infiniti is making us wait for the all-new G Coupe for an interior makeover.
Don’t judge on looks alone
Without a skid pad or track we were unable to perform our standard tests on the G, so our current observations come solely from real-world driving. The carryover forged-aluminum multi-link front and rear suspension does a decent job of mitigating the car’s size and weight over our mountain test road. With a wheelbase of 112.2 inches, the same length as its G35 Sedan sibling, the Coupe can’t be called dainty. Our 6MT model, weighing 3,524 pounds, is even heavier than the auto by 19 pounds.
Beefy anti-roll bars at the front and back prevent all that ballast from feeling too hefty, and the G Coupe stays mostly flat around corners. Turn-in response is prompt, but like most contemporary cars it pushes near the limit.
Though the G35 feels responsive and agile, the driver’s experience is distant from the car’s actions. The steering is a little too light and effortless. There is hardly any feedback through the wheel and navigating the road’s curves felt more like playing Gran Turismo. The lack of direct feel makes you timid at first, only gradually pushing harder into the curves when you realize that the G has been doing what you ask without incident.
Even with 298 hp and full control of the horses with the manual trans, the G doesn’t feel that fast. Each horse has to haul 11.8 pounds, not an especially light load. While the 260 pound-feet of torque is plenty of grunt, the engine doesn’t spring to action like you’d expect because of Infiniti’s ECU programming. The ECU prevents the throttle from opening all the way when you first floor it, leaving some extra scoot in its back pocket for higher in the rev range where it can give the impression that power is growing with revs. The effect isn’t gratifying. Just give us the power up front, please.
The short-throw manual shifter isn’t terribly notable. Throws feel neither too short nor too long and the shifter has an average weight to it. It somehow manages to be faultless without being great. The clutch is light, but the engagement point feels somewhat high. Nissan has a tendency to hang the engine’s revs for about two seconds too long right in the middle of your shift, making a smooth transition nearly impossible. Why they do this, we don’t know, but they should stop.
Road noise levels are higher than you’d expect on a luxury vehicle. On the highway most bumps can be felt, reminding you that the G35 is intended to be a sport coupe with some luxuriousness rather than a luxury coupe with some sportiness. Hitting just the right kind of bump sends a loud, hollow-sounding reverberance through the cabin. Nothing will make you more aware of how annoying this is than driving on Los Angeles’ poorly built and ill-maintained freeways. The G35 is going to be a more enjoyable everyday car in areas with generous road maintenance budgets.
Looks or personality?
With attractive, though minor changes to the G, Infiniti has decided to stay close to the original formula that seems to be working for them. But given the G’s flaws in handling, ride and interior, it’s apparent that those more concerned with outward appearances than performance will continue to snap up this car.
Though still relatively early in the G Coupe’s first life cycle, we wish they could’ve improved it more. Maybe the next generation coupe will bring Infiniti closer to their target, the elusive combination of great handling and interior quality embodied in the BMW 3-series. We can expect an all-new G sometime in 2007 as a 2008 model.