It looks much the same as before but second generation G35 sedan is dramatically improved.
Sometimes a car starts out so good that it’s hard to envision it being much improved in its second generation, but Infiniti has taken the already excellent G35 sports sedan and made it better inside and out.
Let’s start with the most obvious, which includes a distinctly tauter look and more aggressive stance. Viewed from the side, the G35 retains the long hood-short rear deck shape that gives an appearance more like a coupe than a four-door sedan.
Inside the passenger cabin the changes for 07 are even more evident. The steering wheel remains smallish and thick, as it should be in a sports sedan, but the center stack has rearranged some of the switches and buttons from the previous generation.
There is also something in the center stack that gave me pause the first time I saw it – a large round dial that instantly made me cringe with the thought Infiniti was going down the same infuriating iDrive path as BMW and Mercedes.
You know, the dial in the center console that is supposed to allow the driver to control everything in the car from stem to stern with one button. I won’t bore you here with all the reasons I hate such systems, but I was greatly relieved to learn the Infiniti system is much simpler and controls far fewer functions.
Despite having dimensions that are essentially identical to the first generation G35, the new edition offers more interior space for front seat occupants and the combination of aluminum alloy and African Rosewood coverings on the instrument panel, center console and door panels works quite nicely.
Performance hawks will be most interested to learn Infiniti has given the G35’s standard 3.5 liter V-6 more oomph, with a 306 horsepower rating that leaves no doubt about its muscle when the gas pedal is pushed down. Either a five-speed automatic or a six-speed stick can be mated to the V-6, which is the sole powerplant offering.
Being a rear-driver, the G35 handles corners with impressive aplomb. Infiniti engineers are shooting at the Three Series BMW and, while the German vehicle still has perhaps a mite more steering precision and handling sophistication in a series of tight, closely bunched corners, the G35 is right there.
Which is the point of the new G35 – it is indeed a more compelling alternative to the Bimmer. Spring for the G35 Sport with the six-speed stick shift, add a sunroof, the premium luxury package and XM radio and you will be looking at a sticker price in the neighborhood of $37,000. That’s a solid argument for the G35 if the alternative is the Bimmer.
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