2007 Motor Trend Car of the Year: Testing and Finalists
Go on, start the revolution without me
By Angus MacKenzie
The original Infiniti G35 was a bit like that first CD from New York hipsters, the Strokes: a surprise hit right out of the box. In rock-music terms, then, G35 gen-two is the automotive equivalent of that difficult second album. You know, the one where the fans' expectations and the bands' delivery don't quite meet.
We're big fans of the original G35--we made it our 2003 COTY, after all--and it's fair to say we expected big things from the new one. For the most part, Infiniti's 3 Series fighter delivers. It's fast, for a start, easily capable of nailing 60 mph in under 6.0 seconds and the quarter mile in 13.8. On the Hyundai/Kia Proving Ground, only the Jaguar XKR and Porsche Cayman bested it at our speed checkpoints. It's entertaining on the handling track, too: Switch off the traction control, and it'll corner like a drift king, all opposite lock and the rear tires on fire. It's a helluva sport sedan for the money. And yet...
Nissan's 3.5-liter V-6 might be punchy, but it's a gruff old lump, sending lots of vibrations back through the shift lever of our six-speed manual tester. Worse, the engine's tendency to "hang" between shifts (to help meet emissions) and the sudden bite of the clutch made the G35 difficult to drive smoothly at slow to middling speeds.
There's something to be said about not messing with success, but in the case of the new G35's design, Nissan has taken it a nit too literally. Every exterior panel is new, with complex curves and carefully wrought surfaces, but at a glance it's hard to tell the new car from the old one, although there's been a noticeable attempt to make the interior richer and more upscale looking.
It's deliberately evolutionary, this new G35; a safety play. But to win COTY this time, Nissan needed something more revolutionary.
| 2007 Infiniti G35 |
| Base price range | $32,150-$34,650 |
| Price as tested | $34,050 (S) |
| Vehicle layout | Front engine, RWD, 5-pass, 4-door sedan |
| Engine | 3.5L/306-hp/268-lb-ft DOHC 24-valve V-6 |
| Transmission | 6-speed manual |
| Curb weight (f/r dist) | 3604 lb (53/47%) |
| Wheelbase | 112.2 in |
| Length x width x height | 187.0 x 69.8 x 57.2 in |
| 0-60 mph | 5.3 sec |
| Quarter mile | 13.8 sec @ 102.7 mph |
| Braking, 60-0 mph | 111 ft |
| 600-foot slalom | 66.9 mph, avg |
| Lateral acceleration | 0.88 g, avg |
| MT figure eight | 25.9 sec @ 0.69 g, avg |
| EPA city/hwy fuel econ | 19/27 mpg |
| Sum Up | Refinement. That's the word most judges used to describe the new G35's missing ingredient. |
| Bet you didn't know | The G35 was the third quickest car in this year's COTY testing, after the Jaguar XKR and Porsche Cayman S. |
...>>next page