Infiniti G37 Coupe test drive
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-HOW DOES IT LOOK?
I always liked the look of the Infiniti G35 coupe.
And I thought, when I first saw pictures of it, that the new G37 was just an updated, slightly melted down version of the 1st generation.
But the new car does look striking in person.
Very classy and just aggressive enough. A really good looking car.
-HOW IS IT INSIDE?
The interior is much better than the previous version. Soft plastics are used almost everywhere. And everything feels very solid and well put together.
I am not too crazy about the “brushed aluminum trim”. Somehow, it just doesn’t look that special.
It just looks like they put aluminum where the wood trim should be . Which is just what it is.
Another small complaint I have is with the bluish purple color on the dials. It just doesn’t look classy.
They should have been white all over.
The back seats are surprisingly roomy.
I did drive the car with 4 people on board around town and nobody complained.
But I wouldn’t drive them up to San Francisco…
One amazing feature is the USB plug for your iPod.
Which allows you to control it from the touchscreen, or the steering wheel.
With this on board, you don’t really need the CD player anymore. And even less the built in Hard drive.
But again, the colors used on the display make the whole thing look a bit cheap.
Every single designs, shapes have gradated color schemes. Simple is always classier.
This looks too much like a cheap video game. 
-HOW DOES IT DRIVE?
-Ride.
The ride is about perfect for me. Firm, but never harsh. Smoother than the Nissan Z, but still firm enough to feel great.
-Steering.
Again, the steering feels great. Just a little bit firm. But with plenty of feedback.
It just makes you want to drive…
-Engine
I have nothing bad to say about this engine. It is great in every car I tested it in. Nissans or Infinitis.
In this model, it seems to have a double personality that fits the car perfectly.
It is Lexus quiet at cruising speed, but sounds like a race car when you push it.
-Transmission.
This car has Infiniti’s new 7 speed automatic.
And it is really smooth a pretty quick. Altought there is still just a little bit of lag when you push it. But once you do, it’ll downshift 2 gears and you will feel the power of the mighty 330hp, pronto.
I did average over 21MPG during my week with the car. Including about 35% highway. Strict city driving got around 17.5MPG.
And I was driving the X, AWD version of this car. So the regular RWD version should be even better.
-SO?
I think the G37 should be on everyone’s list when looking for a luxury coupe.
It looks great, drives great, and comes from one of the most reliable brands sold in the US.
You really cannot go wrong.
The base 2009 Coupe starts at $36 700. But various packages quickly push the price past $40 000.
Its closest competition, the BMW 328 Coupe Auto starts at $2000 more. And leather is $1300 extra.
Plus it has a smaller engine with 100hp less.
Even though it is quite expensive, the G37 is a good deal compared to its competition.
I really like this car a lot especially w/ the awd option and rear back up camera. The only Infiniti I drove was the EX35 and loved every minute of it. It is smooth, solid and powerful for such a little machine.
I feel the dynamics are a bit different than the X3
as far as road response, but I would still take ANY brand new Infiniti!
woody
http://www.thecarnerds.com
I actually liked the previous gen G series better. This one looks a little to fem for me. I could see women liking it more so than men. Just my opinion. Although more expensive, the 3 series coupe looks much much better.
By the way, I wonder whats going to happen to the CTS coupe with all of the generals woes. I haven’t heard much talk about it any more.
I had an ’08 G37S and only kept it for about 4months. It was nice and all but Vince, I’m surprised you talk about the roomy back seat. I got in the back once to clean the rear window and couldn’t imagine having to ride back there. There is absolutely NO headroom in the back with the sunroof. Also, with the black interior on the sport pkg, it has off white stitching on the seats which really looks good, however, Infiniti did not put it on the back seats! That smacks of cost-cutting to me and is inexcuseable for a car that costs north of 45k sticker. I had all the toys except the radar cruise and while the car was nice enough, To me at least it just lacked personality. I also agree with your comments on the gauges. The Violet color is too much and when you use the Non’nav system on the screen, it does look cheap and old video-game looking. I left the Nav on always. Since I had an ’08, I had the 5spd tranny and maybe because I had the sport pkg, I was lucky to get 21 mpg on the hwy so maybe the 7 spd really does help. Also, Infiniti’s paint in ’08 was horrible, very thin and scratched super easily. I know they offer the “self healing” paint now so hopefully that’s better, but my car was black and came from the dealer with many, many scratches. I even had them take it somewhere besides the dealer to try to get them out but to no avail. One last gripe for me was the rediculously shallow and narrow trunk! Hope whoever buys one of these can put their luggage in the back seat because you won’t get much in there. OK, one more gripe. With the sport pkg, the suspension was so tight that at low speeds, if the road had any dips in the asphalt, like at a stop light, you had to fight the wheel to keep it in a straight line, otherwise the car would try to follow the indentations in the road. Not a huge big deal, but still, I would’ve thought Infiniti would have a more finessed suspension. Anyway, It’s a nice car, don’t get me wrong, but it just wasn’t for me.
Vince, Is it worth the extra $ over a Nissan Z?
-I think it is worth the extra money over the Z if you need 4 seats and a less sporty ride.
-I didn’t notice problems about the car trying to follow indentations in the road. I see a bit with the EX I’m driving now. And it was a bigger problem with the Rogue.
-If a car has paint problems at the dealer, you’re not supposed to buy it.
-I got well over 27mpg on the freeway alone. Not great but not bad for such a powerful car.
Better prepare in advance for it’s memorial when the Genesis Coupe arrives, but like BMW, I think the badge alone has given it a safety blanket.
I know this is just picking one of the smallest features and talking about it, but…
The USB connection is a very cool feature!
Those small memory sticks now hold 16 GB of memory, which is somewhere around 5000+ songs. I found one for sale for maybe $60 and the price is dropping. With the cars built-in interface and the ability to cycle through songs with buttons on the steering wheel, who needs an I-pod sitting in plain sight in the car? And, why have a hard drive installed? Hard drives have been known to go bad and the replacement cost would most likely be high.
USB should be an option on all cars.
“I had an ’08 G37S and only kept it for about 4months”
Yeah, you had it in your dreams. Buy one first and then give us a fair review.
This car is a hands down winner!
nissan and infiniti build the best cars…..period