Infiniti Gives BMW a Run for Its Money

The new G37 coupe has a powerful engine, is loaded with goodies, and looks great—providing serious competition for the 3 series

by Thane Peterson

Editor's Rating:

The Good: Handling, good looks, powerful new engine, improved gas mileage

The Bad: Tight rear seat, tiny trunk

The Bottom Line: The BMW 3 Series' toughest competitor

Reader Reviews

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Up Front

Aficionados of European sports cars often chauvinistically complain that rival Japanese models are soulless, but there's nothing soulless about the new rear-wheel-drive Infiniti G37. A two-door version of Infiniti's terrific G35 sedan, the G37 is hot, gorgeous, and priced competitively with the BMW 328i while offering more power and extra features. This new Infiniti coupe combines the upscale interior of an entry-level luxury car with the speed and handling of a sports car.

All versions of the G37 Coupe are powered by a new 3.7 liter V6 engine rated at 330 horsepower, a considerable increase over the G35 Coupe, the model it is replacing, and 24 more horses than the '08 G35 sedan. The new engine can be paired with either a six-speed stick shift or a five-speed automatic transmission with optional steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters.

The G37 comes in three trim levels. The base model starts at $34,965, the Journey at $35,715, and the Sport at $36,265. Even the base model comes heavily loaded with standard equipment. The Journey adds such features as a six-CD in-dash audio setup and dual zone climate control.

The Sport G37, which is mainly for hard-core driving enthusiasts, only comes with a six-speed manual transmission and adds a sport-tuned suspension, 19-inch alloy wheels (18-inchers are standard), and performance tires. Those add-ons are available as the $1,850 Sport package on the Journey (that also includes the paddle shifters) if you want a sporty G37 with an automatic transmission.

Other options include a navigation system ($2,200), four-wheel active steering ($1,300), a moonroof ($1,000), a rear spoiler ($550) and wood trim ($450). There's also a $3,200 Premium package that includes a moonroof, a fancy 11-speaker Bose audio system with hard disk storage and an iPod connection, a power tilting and telescoping steering wheel, a Bluetooth hand-free phone hookup, and heated front seats and door mirrors.

Despite its more powerful engine, the G37 gets better mileage than its predecessor. Base and Journey models are rated to get 18 miles per gallon in the city and 24 on the highway, the Sport is rated at 17 in the city and 26 on the highway. In 314 miles of mainly highway driving, I got 21.5 mpg in a Journey. Like BMWs, the G37 uses premium gasoline.

The G37 promises to be a hot seller for Infiniti, a division of Nissan. Last year combined sales of the G35 and G37 Coupes fell by 13%, to 17,794 units. However, G37 Coupe sales were up 73% in November and 74.5% in December, which is probably a harbinger of strong 2008 sales.

Behind the Wheel

Why buy a two-door coupe instead of a four-door sedan? The answer is immediately apparent when you slide behind the wheel of the G37. The coupe's cabin has a more intimate, cockpit-like feel than the sedan's. And because there are only two doors, the car's body is tighter and more rigid (36% more rigid than the old coupe, Infiniti says), making handling better.

The G37 has also been tweaked to make it sportier than the G35 sedan. In addition to having a more powerful engine, it's a tad wider. Both models share the same automatic transmission, but in the coupe the transmission is calibrated differently to make the driving experience sportier. The stick shift has been modified to reduce vibration. If you go with the Sport package, the G37 also has enormous high-tech brakes that bring it to a halt incredibly quickly without overheating. (The 14-inch front brakes are as big as the ones in a Corvette Z06.)