caymandive

iTrader: (2)

Car and Driver stated the following about the G35 engine.

"Occasionally you will want to go for the full 306 horses at 6800rpm. Things turn less tickety-boo at high revs, with vibrations up the shifter and through the floor betraying the rapid percussion of big-bore pistons. It isn't pretty to hear, either, the roar swelling in one disorganized hash of violence and reverb."

sdbrandon

The G35 is a great car and a great value. Also has considerably more room in the back for passengers. I think it is as close to a 3 series as you can get considering the options available.

I think the IS and G35 are great cars. Can't go wrong with either.

RamshakleZ

Completely agree... both are excellent choices. However, I am always so confused as to why the BMW is considered the king of this category. I guess it comes down to what cars are made to do... drive. I don't think anyone can argue that BMW is king in that department. But, to me the interior of the BMW is just... crap! Fit and finish might be up to par with Lexus... but there is nothing to it. It is as plane Jane as they come.

I went to a BMW stealership a while ago and the guy told me BMWs were so expensive because they don't have a company like Toyota or Nissan under them to share parts with. Everything in a BMW has to be engineered from scratch. Well, that is nice and all... but in a global market, that doesn't mean the price is justified.

Personally, I think the magazines that rate these cars put almost TOO much emphasis on the extreme driveability of a car. Sure, many will push these cars to their limits but I'd venture to say that 80% + will use it for just everyday driving. Thus, the luxuriousness of the interior, etc becomes more important. I still want to know which car has a faster 0-60, slalom, etc... but when it really comes down to it, all three of these cars (IS, G35, BMW) are going to be able to handle just about anything 80% + of the population can throw at them.

Sorry - went off on a tangent. To address your comment about considering the options, it's as close as you can get to a BMW... well, the IS and G35 both come with more standard options. And, in how BMW implements many of their luxury amenities on the interior, both Lexus and Infiniti do it much better.

I guess not being an extreme driver, I'm lost as to why the 3-series is the automatic king that everyone strives for.

sdbrandon

BMW is a sports oriented company. Consequently they have sports oriented interiors. No wood steering wheels, plastic aluminum looking trim, or flashy dash gauges. The target audience if focused on the drive and the sporty styling inside and out. The seats are always amazing along with the overall handling.The interiors may appear bland to some, but nice to others.

On the other hand, Lexus sells cars not by the drive, but by the first glance at the interior. Touch screens, etc. are required to woo the buyer. Of course if the sales guy told the potential buyer the nav functions were locked out while driving, they may not have sold as many.

My point being, the typical Lexus buyer buys a car based on the appearance rather than the performance. The IS crowd may not fall into this category. But you were commenting on BMW's interior. Now you know why people buy them. An entirely different car company, and an entirely different car.

Navigatn

our cars respond very well to air fresheners.

other than that, its just basically intake and exhaust. or u can drop about $8k on a ait charger for an addt'l 70hp ? the IS350's management system is not very user friendly.


if u want a tuner car, get the G, preferrably a 6mt coupe.

Buds

Please Please Please tell me that was a mistake... The 350 does NOT come with a manual...

ISF

AmbientFLI,

I'm not sure what you mean by cross chopped but what i do know is that you're torn between the G35 and the IS350. Well, in my opinion without being bias toward one over the other here's what you get. If money is not the BIGGEST issue for you get the IS350 to simply put it. I mean I've posted this before. Both are good cars but when you compare the two as far as looks and style it's all subjective. What looks good to me might look like crap to the next man. Secondly, I would say 90% of the folks would agree that the IS does have better interior. The IS350 has the OVERALL PACKAGE at a premium price. I own a IS350 fully loaded Obsidian black on black and it costed me 44K A fully loaded G35 would be around 38-40K maybe. Now, I don't own a G35 but they are sooo many on the road and my friend has one fully loaded with all the mods and its a hot ride but I wouldn't buy one because of the interior look and feel (Again, this is subjective). Now, here's the facts:

Speed: Lexus edge

IS 350 0-60 in 4.9
07 G35 0-60 on 5.4

* 0-120 mph the G35 wins (For the skeptics who wants to see the proof look below):


Why does the 07' G35 Sedan have a quicker 0-120 MPH time the the IS350?

Road & Track Data (Same Test Conditions)

0-30 MPH
(1.9 Sec vs. 1.9 Sec)
Equal

0-60 MPH
(4.9 Sec vs. 5.4 Sec)
IS350 is faster

0-120 MPH
(19.5 Sec vs. 19.8 Sec)
G35 is faster

The IS350 has stepless upshifts, wider rear tires (255 vs. 245), and shorter gearing than the G35. The IS350 also makes its peak power at 400 RPM less than the G35.

Also, why doesn't the 2GR-FSE make more HP than the VQ35HR? The 2GR-FSE has direct injection, a higher compression ratio, and a larger stroke volume.



Reply:

Multiply out the gear ratios.

IS350:
Redline: 6600
Final: 4.083
1st: 3.52 (14.372 final) (35.1 mph top speed)
2nd: 2.042 (8.34 final) (60.5 mph top speed)
3rd: 1.4 (5.71 final) (88.25 mph top speed)
4th: 1.0 (4.083 final) (123.55 mph top speed)
5th: 0.716 (2.92 final) (172.55 mph top speed *estimated)
6th: 0.586 (2.39 final)

07 g35 6MT:
Redline: 7500
Final: 3.69
1st: 3.79 (13.99 final) (3% taller than is350)
2nd: 2.32 (8.56 final) (3% shorter than is350)
3rd: 1.62 (5.98 final) (5% shorter than is350)
4th: 1.27 (4.69 final) (15% shorter than is350)
5th: 1.0 (3.69 final) (26% shorter than is350)
6th: 0.79 (2.92 final) (22% shorter than is350)

07 g35 auto:
Redline: 7500
Final: 3.69
1st: 3.54 (13.06 final) (9% taller than is350) (45.7 mph top speed)
2nd: 2.264 (8.35 final) (same as is350) (71.46 top speed)
3rd: 1.471 (5.43 final) (5% taller than is350) (109.98 mph top speed)
4th: 1.0 (3.69 final) (10% taller than is350) (161.78 mph top speed)
5th: 0.834 (3.08 final) (5% shorter than is350)

You can tell that the 5AT g35 definitely has longer gears, and a taller final drive. But 5th and 6th in the lexus are overdrive gears. The lexus has to shift to second 10mph before the g35, so the g35 has the gearing advantage for 10mph. The lexus also has to shift to 3rd about 10mph before the g35. Again, the g35 has the gearing advantage for another 10mph.

Then it gets interesting. The lexus shifts to fourth, is 1:1 gear, at 88mph. After this, the g35 enjoys a shorter final gear ratio for almost 22mph. For that 22mph, the g's final gear ratio is 32% shorter.

That's why it's faster to 120mph and thus will catch up to the IS and eventually pass it if your running for that long.

Of course, all the previous information is based on stock tire sizes, stock redlines and stock engines.

My friend and I both agree that the IS 350 and G35 are both equally good performance cars but that's where it ends. The IS350 is fun to drive and very torquey! (if that's a word lol) So either way you can't lose. Some things to remember though. After market parts are much more available for the G35 because its been around longer and easier to modify. Under the hood of the IS350 is really cramped due to the engine covering. But if you're into cars like my friend then you'll find a way to add a new intake for a few more ponies. I actually like my IS350 just the way it is...quiet, fun to drive with power. Oh yeah the back seats of the IS350 are cramped too Then again, what do you expect its a toyota! haha. I hope this helps you make YOUR decision.

RamshakleZ

I too am a bit confused... I didn't think the 350 has MT available. But is it possible that the 350 MT is available in other countries - just not in the USA?????

Buds

Well the guy who said that was in Ohio...

ISF

No Manual Transmission available for the IS350 and never will be sorry

Andoskyy

iTrader: (1)

if this helps..my buddy parked his G35 in my driveway next to my smoky granite IS350 at a party. needless to say, everyone swarmed around my car...especially the girls

RamshakleZ

SOLD!! LOL, JK. (was it a new or old G35... if it wasn't the '07 G35 then that's not a fair fight!)

Btw, you like the smokey granite? Any downfalls with it (dirt, swirls, etc). That's my top choice but I've never owned a darker car.

MPLexus301

iTrader: (3)

The last generation G suffered from a lot of little quality issues and I know that several owners here have switched up from G35s to IS's to escape the rattles, recalls, etc. I've really never read anything major or of huge concern, but mostly just annoying little issues. The Infiniti brand as a whole has had some of the same issues with electronics and rattles, so perhaps they have fixed that stuff with the new car, maybe they haven't. Who knows?

The IS350's lead in fuel efficiency also seems rather significant. Some owners here are getting 24 or 25MPG or so in mixed driving, while a lot of the G35 owners on other forums are getting in the high teens for the same. Gas is getting more expensive as well, so that is something to consider.

Those two things being said, my biggest problem with the G35 is how it looks. Not that it's a bad car because I find it to be pretty attractive, but it also looks almost exactly like the old car. It'd take a trained eye to tell the difference. The car looks good for now, but I don't know how it's going to age over the next few years of it's product cycle...when it looks virtually identical to a car that came out some 8 or 9 years ago. The IS350 is a huge leap over the old car, the same can be said for the new 3 and C-Class, the CTS is brand new and looks great, and a new TL is almost here. I just see the G35 looking very dated very quickly, because Infiniti didn't do an adequate job of evolving the styling over the old model.

That said, the G35 is a bit cheaper, bigger, and is still a very solid car. I do feel like the IS350 is a better made and has points that are stronger than the G, so I think it really depends on the deal that you can get on each. Let us know what you come up with.

mort

Yes, 0-120 G has a slight edge but 0-100 the IS is almost 1 second faster (13.5 - G vs 12.7 – IS). Personally acceleration beyond 1320ft straight line or anything much above 100mph on the track means nothing to me.

Navigatn

yeah, i think straight line performance, the IS350 would win. not sure about the G's handling.

personally, i haven't been too trilled about the IS's handling. coming from a 330, i guess i was expecting too much. even my gf's g35 coupe feels like it handles better

but u can't beat the lexus interior