As a point of reference, I drive a VW GTI right now. I have had a couple of Accords, so I understand the sentiment expressed above, but I am looking for a sport sedan. Accord. Camry. Not making the cut.

The time clients and colleagues spend in the car is relatively small - 15-20 miles max. It's more the time I spend driving to the local offices.

 

^6MT sedan it is, then.

Not trying to ham it up, but if that's what you're looking for, you'll do yourself a disservice by get any other G, it changes the driving experience significantly IMO

 

Hopefully if you're driving 30-40k a year you either have a car allowance or at the least are getting reimbursed a decent amount for mileage. The G isn't the most fuel efficient choice, although some people get better mileage than others.

I don't see why driving that many miles a year means you need to be regulated to a beige Accord In fact, I would think it means just the opposite, you should drive something fun!

The 6MT sedan has a firm suspension, but it is still compliant. The stock tires are 50 series front and 45 rear, not exactly super low profile. The suspension certainly isn't going to beat you up. And if you are piling on the interstate miles, that is perfect! Shove it in 6th, set the cruise control and bask in the responsiveness and near perfect weighting of the RWD sport steering ratio

 

Did the same thing, drove nothing but manual and then my first auto sedan and I hated every min of it. The AWD was nice in the harsh winter but it wasn't anything that my RWD coupes with blizzaks couldn't have handled. If you doubt that you won't be fully content (hence why you are posting) then get 6-mt

 

This was my thinking exactly. I think the proof will be in getting behind the wheel and driving for a longer test drive, highway and back roads (I'm fortunate that some of my travel includes these as well).

Again, I cannot than all of you enough for your thoughtfulness and help. I think the buying process is almost as fun as the driving.

 

I have an AWD and a RWD (wife's) and hers is much faster and feels lighter than mine. I have more enjoyment with her car than with mine.

 

Will be interesting to see where you net out. I am honestly surprised so many people on this forum love their 6MT's so much, because I don't find it to be that good of a manual transmission. The equivalent 3-series or Audi A4/S4 has a much sweeter clutch take up.

 

There are better MT's, no argument about that. But if the drive is just as (or more) important than the destination, then the G37S Sedan 6MT is better in that regard than its manual transmission counterpart, and vastly better than the AWD G.

Plus, it's very uncommon, which makes it cool.

 

I've driven better MTs (M6, M3, Boxster S, S2K) and worse (Mazda 6s, Subaru Legacy GT, a U-Haul rental truck), swapping out the clutch return spring does wonders for pedal feel and costs $10.

A 335 or S4 also has a price point $10-$15K higher than what I got my G for, plus less than stellar reliability to go along with it.

 

That's why the OP needs to do a test drive. The MT was just that bad to me. Reviews from magazines said the same thing. That's why I'm interested in what the OP thinks- if he likes it then it really doesn't matter- happy shifting!

It wasn't just the feel that was the problem, but I digress. And I totally wasn't making a value judgment here, just giving my opinion on the 6MT. Not hating on the 6MT folks here at all, if it works for you then great. For me, riding in comfort with the additional security of AWD during my daily drive ruled above all. I may have compromised if the 6MT were a better drive for me. In any event, that's why its great to have more than 1 car- for those times when I'm not on my highway commute to work.

 

STILL need to get that clutch pedal spring ... think it would be expensive to get it installed?

FWIW I've never driven my car in snow, but how much difference does AWD really make? Isn't the Infiniti AWD system basically RWD until the front slips? How valuable is that in snowy/icy conditions (relative the RWD, both with snow tires)?

Not trying to discredit anything but seems like most with AWD use northern weather as the prime justification, not sure if this reason is possibly overstated.

 

jsolo's spring? Dude, I'm a 50 year old man who's happily pays mechanics to do work on my car, but I still swapped out the spring on my own. Give a try.

 

This. Seriously. My 3 year old could install it. Ok, that might be a stretch, but its that easy.

I'd love a 6mt AWD G, just so I could drop the clutch at 5k My Legacy GT with 19 psi + launch control was a beast off the line.

 

I made it through the worst Chicago winter anybody could remember with no real issues.
I also drove an M Coupe for 3 years, so my opinion is probably of the small minority.
08 G35S 6MT

 

You didn't have to tell me you haven't driven the car in snow with that response. Just playing with you.

There is a Snow-Mode function, which reduces throttle sensitivity and fixes initial torque distribution at 50:50. It's super helpful . At speeds above 12 miles per hour, the Snow-Mode function allows the central computer processing system to take over again, continually monitoring traction conditions and changing the torque distribution as needed.

And in regards to the power distribution comment (no power to front until slip), you should be aware that it can shunt power up to the front in milliseconds. I can tell you that driving down roads that haven't plowed very well (if at all) the AWD is noticeable and great to have. Pulling onto poorly plowed side streets and even changing lanes on the highway in snow (going 40mph) is much less pucker-inducing. It's no cure-all and doesn't make you into an unbeatable snow plow, but it's a nice to have feature.