First Drive: Infiniti G37 Coupe (IGN.com)
07-29-2007, 06:48 AM
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First Drive: Infiniti G37 Coupe (IGN.com)
First Drive: Infiniti G37 Coupe
Does bigger equal better? We think so.
July 27, 2007 - Articles about Infiniti's new G37 coupe are hitting the newsstands right about now, and they all pretty much say the same thing: this 3 Series fighter is a very important vehicle for Infiniti, and its design is evolutionary rather than revolutionary. Now that we got that obligatory statement out of the way, we can talk about the time we had with the car.
Yes, we recently had a chance to drive the new U.S.-spec Skyline coupe (this car will be called the Skyline in Japan), and the car is every bit as good as you think. It's not the GT-R-like rocket many Nissan fans are hoping it to be; our initial driving impressions show that the coupe feels just like the sedan. But if you remember our last review of the new G35 sedan, we claimed that - RS4 aside - it was one of the best overall cars we've ever driven in terms of sheer performance and overall comfort. So saying that the G37 is just like a G35 - only with two less doors - isn't a bad thing at all.
The new G37 carries forth the slightly more bulbous look introduced by the all-new G35 sedan. Where the sedan looks pretty good both in photos and in person, we've got to say that the G37 isn't exactly a photogenic ride. To be honest, we were kind of letdown when we first saw the new G coupe. If you can imagine the old G35 coupe as a Crazy-era Liv Tyler, the G37 is younger sister Mia. The same basic look is there, but the older and smaller model is just way hotter. In person, the G37 doesn't look as lumpy as it does in photos, and we're sure that in time its looks will grow on us.
The car's name alone - specifically the "7" at the very end - should tell you that this Infiniti coupe gets a bigger and better engine: the all-new VQ37. This 3.7 liter V6 has a longer stroke and a higher compression ratio compared to the new VQ35HR, and thanks to new technologies like Nissan's VVEL (Variable Valve Event and Lift) system, this VQ37 boasts more power, better fuel economy and less hydrocarbon emissions than the still-spankin'-new VQ35HR. Power is rated at 330 horsepower and 270 lb.-ft. of torque for both manual (6 speed) and automatic (5 speed) transmission-equipped cars.
This engine - along with its stiffer Nurburgring-tuned chassis - allows the G37 to feel like a true driver's car. Infiniti gave us the chance to drive the car through some of the Seattle/Tacoma area's finest back roads, though our bad luck meant that we spent much of our driving time stuck behind some of the Seattle/Tacoma area's slowest trucks. We never got the chance to really open the G37 up, but the slow driving really gave us a chance to appreciate the G coupe's massive reserves of torque.
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Guys that tow boats will likely scoff at the G's 270 lb.-ft. of torque at a lofty 5,200 rpm, but the torque curve is relatively flat and is well-matched to the car. In the six-speed manual, we really never felt the need to downshift when things got slow. Staying in a high gear and simply mashing the go pedal to the floor was enough to get the car up to a reasonable speed - even when driving uphill. We do prefer the manual over the automatic, though; the manual just offers more control and refinement. Like the new sedan, the sport shift mode on the auto has great response with downshifting, but feels a little laggy when shifting up. Likewise, the automatic sport mode causes the engine to rev a little too high at very unnecessary times and makes the normally smooth VQ feel a little thrashy. We have no complaints about how the car feels with a manual transmission, though.
Though the G37s we drove didn't come equipped with Infiniti's 4-Wheel Active Steer (4WAS) system (which gives the rear wheels up to one degree of steering angle depending on speed), the standard G coupe felt right at home in the corners. It should - it rides on an updated version of Nissan's well-loved FM platform. This car rewards smooth driving, and it's very easy to reign in should one get a little too happy with the throttle and/or steering. Of course, we never got around to turning the traction control off - we'll save that for if and when we get the chance to drive a new G coupe on the track. Safety first, kids.
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Inside, things are pretty nice. Like the G35 coupe before it, the G37's trunk and backseat are laughably small. But the area we sit - the driver's seat - is much-improved. As much as we loved the looks of the old G35 coupe, its cabin was a terrible place to be. The high seat and low roofline caused us to suffer from incredibly cramped necks, and the cheap plastic interior reminded all that the car was nothing more than a Nissan with a fancy badge. The new coupe now boasts the high-end interior of the new G sedan, meaning that the washi paper-look aluminum, soft-touch materials and - let's face it -good interior design is now available in a two door. Thanks to the coupe's larger exterior dimensions, there is actually some decent headroom to be found here. Not as much as what's available in the G35 sedan, but an improvement over the last coupe nonetheless. This car is actually comfortable to drive for long periods of time - something we couldn't say about the outgoing G35 coupe.
Fans of the G coupe - and there are tons of them here in southern California - will find a lot to like about the latest VQ-powered Infiniti two door. It's bigger, more powerful and more fuel efficient while retaining its 2+2 350Z feel. We still prefer the sedan - though we don't know if that's due to the extra room or the fact that we're getting old. Whatever... two doors, four doors... the new G is just a great car; you get the performance of a BMW 335i for a couple grand less than a BMW 328. We'd say that the new G is the luxury performance bargain of the century. We still can't afford one, but we'd buy one in a heartbeat if we could.
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Official pricing has yet to be announced. In the meantime, check out our Media Page for more images of Infiniti's hot new coupe.
link to article w/more pics.
http://cars.ign.com/articles/808/808819p1.html
Does bigger equal better? We think so.
July 27, 2007 - Articles about Infiniti's new G37 coupe are hitting the newsstands right about now, and they all pretty much say the same thing: this 3 Series fighter is a very important vehicle for Infiniti, and its design is evolutionary rather than revolutionary. Now that we got that obligatory statement out of the way, we can talk about the time we had with the car.
Yes, we recently had a chance to drive the new U.S.-spec Skyline coupe (this car will be called the Skyline in Japan), and the car is every bit as good as you think. It's not the GT-R-like rocket many Nissan fans are hoping it to be; our initial driving impressions show that the coupe feels just like the sedan. But if you remember our last review of the new G35 sedan, we claimed that - RS4 aside - it was one of the best overall cars we've ever driven in terms of sheer performance and overall comfort. So saying that the G37 is just like a G35 - only with two less doors - isn't a bad thing at all.
The new G37 carries forth the slightly more bulbous look introduced by the all-new G35 sedan. Where the sedan looks pretty good both in photos and in person, we've got to say that the G37 isn't exactly a photogenic ride. To be honest, we were kind of letdown when we first saw the new G coupe. If you can imagine the old G35 coupe as a Crazy-era Liv Tyler, the G37 is younger sister Mia. The same basic look is there, but the older and smaller model is just way hotter. In person, the G37 doesn't look as lumpy as it does in photos, and we're sure that in time its looks will grow on us.
The car's name alone - specifically the "7" at the very end - should tell you that this Infiniti coupe gets a bigger and better engine: the all-new VQ37. This 3.7 liter V6 has a longer stroke and a higher compression ratio compared to the new VQ35HR, and thanks to new technologies like Nissan's VVEL (Variable Valve Event and Lift) system, this VQ37 boasts more power, better fuel economy and less hydrocarbon emissions than the still-spankin'-new VQ35HR. Power is rated at 330 horsepower and 270 lb.-ft. of torque for both manual (6 speed) and automatic (5 speed) transmission-equipped cars.
This engine - along with its stiffer Nurburgring-tuned chassis - allows the G37 to feel like a true driver's car. Infiniti gave us the chance to drive the car through some of the Seattle/Tacoma area's finest back roads, though our bad luck meant that we spent much of our driving time stuck behind some of the Seattle/Tacoma area's slowest trucks. We never got the chance to really open the G37 up, but the slow driving really gave us a chance to appreciate the G coupe's massive reserves of torque.
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Guys that tow boats will likely scoff at the G's 270 lb.-ft. of torque at a lofty 5,200 rpm, but the torque curve is relatively flat and is well-matched to the car. In the six-speed manual, we really never felt the need to downshift when things got slow. Staying in a high gear and simply mashing the go pedal to the floor was enough to get the car up to a reasonable speed - even when driving uphill. We do prefer the manual over the automatic, though; the manual just offers more control and refinement. Like the new sedan, the sport shift mode on the auto has great response with downshifting, but feels a little laggy when shifting up. Likewise, the automatic sport mode causes the engine to rev a little too high at very unnecessary times and makes the normally smooth VQ feel a little thrashy. We have no complaints about how the car feels with a manual transmission, though.
Though the G37s we drove didn't come equipped with Infiniti's 4-Wheel Active Steer (4WAS) system (which gives the rear wheels up to one degree of steering angle depending on speed), the standard G coupe felt right at home in the corners. It should - it rides on an updated version of Nissan's well-loved FM platform. This car rewards smooth driving, and it's very easy to reign in should one get a little too happy with the throttle and/or steering. Of course, we never got around to turning the traction control off - we'll save that for if and when we get the chance to drive a new G coupe on the track. Safety first, kids.
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Inside, things are pretty nice. Like the G35 coupe before it, the G37's trunk and backseat are laughably small. But the area we sit - the driver's seat - is much-improved. As much as we loved the looks of the old G35 coupe, its cabin was a terrible place to be. The high seat and low roofline caused us to suffer from incredibly cramped necks, and the cheap plastic interior reminded all that the car was nothing more than a Nissan with a fancy badge. The new coupe now boasts the high-end interior of the new G sedan, meaning that the washi paper-look aluminum, soft-touch materials and - let's face it -good interior design is now available in a two door. Thanks to the coupe's larger exterior dimensions, there is actually some decent headroom to be found here. Not as much as what's available in the G35 sedan, but an improvement over the last coupe nonetheless. This car is actually comfortable to drive for long periods of time - something we couldn't say about the outgoing G35 coupe.
Fans of the G coupe - and there are tons of them here in southern California - will find a lot to like about the latest VQ-powered Infiniti two door. It's bigger, more powerful and more fuel efficient while retaining its 2+2 350Z feel. We still prefer the sedan - though we don't know if that's due to the extra room or the fact that we're getting old. Whatever... two doors, four doors... the new G is just a great car; you get the performance of a BMW 335i for a couple grand less than a BMW 328. We'd say that the new G is the luxury performance bargain of the century. We still can't afford one, but we'd buy one in a heartbeat if we could.
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Official pricing has yet to be announced. In the meantime, check out our Media Page for more images of Infiniti's hot new coupe.
link to article w/more pics.
http://cars.ign.com/articles/808/808819p1.html
07-29-2007, 12:43 PM
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I read the car and driver review on a plane flight. The 335 coupe won out in the end with higher levels of performance and better overall road feel on the curves.
I feel Infiniti worked hard to address the shortcomings of the G35 (interior, luxury refinement), but lost sight of the true goal. To beat the BMW 3 series.
I feel Infiniti worked hard to address the shortcomings of the G35 (interior, luxury refinement), but lost sight of the true goal. To beat the BMW 3 series.
07-29-2007, 01:33 PM
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To be honest, we were kind of letdown when we first saw the new G coupe. If you can imagine the old G35 coupe as a Crazy-era Liv Tyler, the G37 is younger sister Mia. The same basic look is there, but the older and smaller model is just way hotter
LOL
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07-29-2007, 02:45 PM
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i dont like it. They were bashing infiniti with a smile on there face
"interior reminded all that the car was nothing more than a Nissan with a fancy badge"
"interior reminded all that the car was nothing more than a Nissan with a fancy badge"
07-29-2007, 02:51 PM
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Originally Posted by shibal_z
I feel Infiniti worked hard to address the shortcomings of the G35 (interior, luxury refinement), but lost sight of the true goal. To beat the BMW 3 series.
Last edited by bostonmerlin; 07-29-2007 at 03:11 PM.
07-29-2007, 02:52 PM
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Originally Posted by iceaffect1
"interior reminded all that the car was nothing more than a Nissan with a fancy badge" The damn interior is 10times better than bmw's interior
07-29-2007, 03:02 PM
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Yeah. If anything, they were bashing the G35 interior and not the G37's. Maybe you just misunderstood. 
The new coupe now boasts the high-end interior of the new G sedan, meaning that the washi paper-look aluminum, soft-touch materials and - let's face it -good interior design is now available in a two door.
The new coupe now boasts the high-end interior of the new G sedan, meaning that the washi paper-look aluminum, soft-touch materials and - let's face it -good interior design is now available in a two door.