Nissan's Hot Little Luxury Sedan

The 2007 G35 is Infiniti's best-seller—and a fast, well-priced alternative to the BMW 3 Series

by Thane Peterson

Editor's Rating:

The Good: Speed, price, available all-wheel drive

The Bad: No convertible version; lacks BMW-style road feel

The Bottom Line: Not quite a Bimmer killer—but a definite rival

Reader Reviews

• View Slide Show

Up Front

The people at Infiniti are very confident that the Infiniti G35 Sport sedan can hold its own against the best in the world. So, when a company spokesman learned I had test-driven BMW's new 328i and 335i and loved them (see BusinessWeek.com, 10/17/06, "BMW's Super Coupe"), his immediate response was, "We'd like you to drive the G35, too. We think it's very competitive."

It's no surprise that Infiniti is touting the virtues of the G35. Sales of the four-door, rear-wheel-drive G35 sedan, which was completely redesigned for '07, rose 60% in the first quarter of this year, to 15,323 units. The hot little sedan from Nissan's (NSANY) luxury division accounted for nearly two-thirds of Infiniti's total U.S. car sales in the quarter. With a newly redesigned '08 Coupe—dubbed the G37 after its big, 3.7-liter engine—scheduled to hit showrooms this fall, the two sister models will soon totally dominate Inifiniti's car sales.

Just about all the G35's major rivals are doing well, too. Sales of the new BMW 3 Series models were up 19.5% in the first quarter of this year, to 33,191. DaimlerChrysler's (DCX) Mercedes-Benz C-Class sales jumped 23.1%, to 12,282 units, in the quarter, and Audi A4 sales were up 5.9%, to 10,022 units.

Only one major entry in the segment is struggling. Combined sales of the Lexus IS 250 and IS 350 fell 8.2% in the first quarter, to 12,409 units. That's a bit of a shocker, considering that Toyota (TM) recently announced it had passed General Motors (GM) to become the world's biggest automaker, and almost every other model with a Toyota, Lexus, or Scion nameplate on it is selling well.

Which of the entry-level sporty luxury cars is best? Making that call is a little like trying to decide whether the nation's best barbecue comes from Missouri, Texas, Tennessee—or none of the above. You can start a fight just by venturing an opinion. But my feeling is that the G35 comes in second to the new Bimmers.

For the '07 model year, at least, you have two very different Infiniti models to choose from—the four-door G35 sedan or the two-door coupe. The '07 G35 Coupe's sales plummeted 41.4%, to 2,991 units, in the first quarter, as buyers started to anticipate the arrival this fall of the sexy, redesigned '08 G37. The '07 G35 Coupe is largely unchanged from the previous version of the car. It shares a platform with the Nissan 350Z sports car and starts at $34,165 with a five-speed automatic and $34,765 with a stick shift.

Meanwhile, the redesigned '07 G35 sedan is a big improvement over the previous version of that car. Its 306-horsepower, 3.5-liter V6 is more powerful than the engine in the previous G35 sedan (and than the current Coupe's 275-hp V6). Also, styling has been improved, the interior upgraded, and the chassis stiffened to make the car's handling even sharper than before.

The '07 G35 sedan comes in five trim levels. The base model, which is only available with a five-speed automatic transmission, starts at $32,150. It includes standard equipment such as power front seats, leather upholstery, keyless entry, a CD player, and power windows, doors, and mirrors.

Moving up, there are two versions of the car that only come with an automatic transmission. The Journey, which starts at $32,600, adds a six-CD changer and dual-zone climate control to the base model's standard features. From there, you can move up to the X style ($34,650), which is similar to the Journey but has all-wheel drive and heated front seats.

There are also sporty versions of the G35 sedan with either a six-speed manual transmission ($32,950) or an automatic ($34,150). For the extra money, you get a firmer, sport-tuned suspension, 18-inch alloy wheels, a limited slip differential, and a sportier steering wheel and front seats.