Late20 Guide: Infiniti G35 Sedan 6MT

"Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney" (braddelaparker) 01/30/2019 at 10:08 • Filed to: late20, late20guide, infiniti, g35, sedan, 6mt, vq35

1

18

Infiniti G35 Sedan 6MT (2004 - 2008)
Production: 4,000 - 7,000 (est.)
Drivers: $4,000 - $5,000
Garage Queens: $8,000 - $10,000

Stick with me here. The coupe version doesn’t make the cut because of its ubiquity and the poor reputation of its present day owners, but consider for a moment the point in time where the G35 sedan came into existence.

At the beginning of the G35’s production run, you couldn’t get a non-M 3 Series with more than 230 hp; the G35 came standard with 260. BMW, in essence, charged you a 15% price premium for 12% less power. Infiniti was over a decade old and its only success to that point was the critical success of the original Q45, which never translated to commercial success.

The G35 replaced a FWD pretender with a sports sedan with serious credentials: V6, six-speed manual, rear wheel drive. It’s everything a modern day enthusiast complains that the market currently doesn’t offer.

Don’t believe us? Go buy one and clutch kick it around a corner; you’ll be sold.

The only shame is that Infiniti took all of this momentum and goodwill and did precisely nothing with it, fading back into a sea of competent mediocrity along with their product lineup.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney 01/30/2019 at 10:23

1

Those were nice cars back in the day.  My Wife has one before we got married.  Fun car.  Made great growling engine sounds.  

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney 01/30/2019 at 10:45

2

Fun fact: the sedan is more practical AND lighter than the coupe .

Less fun fact: you roll the dice with these engines as they are super prone to massive oil consumption issues.

M.T. Blake > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney 01/30/2019 at 12:00

1

Best bang for your buck on the market right now. 

Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 01/30/2019 at 12:25

2

DUDE COME ON THAT’S MY “YOU MAY NOT KNOW FACT” FOR THIS CAR

And that’s my “what to watch out for” fact too.

Goddamnit, Jake.

Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney > M.T. Blake 01/30/2019 at 12:25

2

Couldn’t agree more. No cheaper way to get into a bona fide sport sedan with a manual that isn’t a clapped out 3-series.

CobraJoe > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney 01/30/2019 at 12:40

0

Test drove one back when I was shopping for a family friendly daily driver. I remember thinking that it didn’t feel like a 260hp car, though the interior was very nice. (It was also missing the leather off of the steering wheel, and the clutch was pretty gummy, so not a perfect example. )

I got a Legacy GT instead, but then I found out I don’t like AWD or laggy turbo engines. I’ve been wondering how the G35 would have been like to live with.

RT > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney 01/30/2019 at 12:41

1

In Japan, these were launched during the R34 era (the coupé came two years later). This means you could walk into a Nissan dealership, with this and a GT-R on display.

Ilike_cougars > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney 01/30/2019 at 14:42

0

Q50 is not so bad? 

Jack Does Cars > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney 01/30/2019 at 15:00

1

The brain competition between a very nice 1st gen G35 6 speed and a pretty-OK 2 007-2008 G35S sedan is tough. Well, nowadays even a G37S sedan is well priced.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney 01/30/2019 at 15:19

1

I know these cars backwards and frontwards because they’re the only other real (inferior) option to a manual IS300 sedan in the “I want a reliable manual sports sedan for under 10k” category.

Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney > Ilike_cougars 01/30/2019 at 17:00

0

To be clear, there’s really nothing wrong with Infiniti’s current lineup. They’re all competent, solid cars, but in the way that almost every car made today is competent and solid. They’re not class standouts in any single category.

Justadude > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney 01/30/2019 at 17:32

0

Hey i daily one of these! And i just posted it for sale last week. Still love it though!

UncleStoopnikie > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 01/30/2019 at 17:42

0

However, the coupe gets 20 more HP and a much stiffer chassis from the 350z.

ihm96 > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 01/30/2019 at 17:58

0

I bought my sports sedan for under 10K and Id take it over both of those. E34 ftw haha. Its been basically dead nuts reliable aside from when the radiator burts, has a high revving V8 and manual trans, very capable chassis and it only cost me $4000 with 60,000 miles.

Its got a lot of nice luxury features as well

Kenn Sanchez > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 01/30/2019 at 18:21

0

Well, from what I understand it was the manual coupe that had apparent issues with mass oil consumption.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Kenn Sanchez 01/30/2019 at 19:36

0

It was all of the RevUP engines, coupe, sedan, 350z, whatever.

MedNV > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 01/30/2019 at 22:51

0

The DE engines had the oil consumption issues. The HR in the '07-08 do not. 

G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3 > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney 01/31/2019 at 09:30

1

If you want another “you may not know” fact, most G35 sedans came with reclining rear seats.

As long as oil is checked and topped up regularly, light oil consumption is no problem. Most of it is blow-by due to inadequate head drain. The most annoying thing to watch out for is worn front suspension  compression rod bush ings. The factory ones are generally regarded as substandard and they create horrible vibrations and clunks when they go out.