An Exotic Car That Fits Ordinary People

2007 Infiniti G35 Coupe

By Warren Brown
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, June 17, 2007; Page G01

I've taken every opportunity to drive the Infiniti G35, be it coupe or sedan, since its introduction in the United States in spring 2002. This time, it was the 2007 G35 coupe with a five-speed automatic transmission that can be shifted manually.

The more discerning of my peers might have ignored the 2007 model, which is soon to be replaced by the more powerful and spectacularly beautiful 2008 G37 coupe.

My associate Ria Manglapus and I will get to the G37 soon enough. Judging from Ria's tightfisted hold on the G35 coupe -- I practically had to pry the steering wheel from her hands -- she might get to the G37 before I do. But we both jumped to play with the G35 despite its moribund status in the market. It's our kind of car, a hot ride for ordinary people.

That means we love cars and driving. We also like peace of mind. Super-exotic cars are great conversation pieces, but most of them, especially the coupes, are not practical for how we live. We can't afford to buy such machines. And even if someone gave us an exotic car, we wouldn't be able to operate it long-term or properly care for it on our household budgets.

We have families. We have friends. They might ooh and ahh over an exotic car in our possession. But if we can't take them along for a ride because of the car's limited seating, most admirers quickly lose interest. Some become disgruntled. We don't like that. We like cars that make people happy.

The rear-wheel-drive Infiniti G35 coupe, which has ample seating for four people, is that kind of car. It looks hot, feels sexy. It has an exhaust note -- a low whine that builds to a roar -- that's reminiscent of, well, you understand. This is a family newspaper. Suffice it to say that it's satisfying.

Much is made in the automotive media about a car's ability to move from 0 to 60 mph in so many seconds, as if we're all poised at stoplights with stopwatches at the ready. We sometimes fall into that foolishness in this space. Foolishness? Yes. Let's be real. You can go to hell or to jail in a Volkswagen just as quickly as you can in a Porsche, and neither the devil nor the judge will care much about the car you used to get there.

You certainly can go to either of those places in a G35 coupe that attracts more than its fair share of law-enforcement attention, comes with a 3.5-liter V-6 engine that produces a maximum 275 horsepower when linked to the five-speed automatic transmission, and develops 293 horsepower when mated with the available six-speed manual gearbox.

How fast must you go before you've gone too far? How often can you go there? What's the point?

We just want a nice, spirited drive. We like taking road trips without speeding tickets. The G35, driven within reason, gives us everything we want and then some. The car is loaded with amenities, including reasonably supple leather seats that are kind to backs and butts, a six-speaker audio system with MP3 playback capability, and a heating and ventilation system that provides excellent interior air flow -- rapid heating and cooling -- with minimum hassle.

We could live without the dated pop-up, hide-away navigation screen atop the center console stack in the G35 coupe. As proof, we seldom bothered to tap its button to raise and use it. But overall, we are quite happy with this car.

As a result, we are not concerned about whether the G35 matches or beats the BMW 3 Series in highway performance, though the coming G37 coupe is likely to rekindle that argument. We like BMW's 3 Series. We love it, in fact. But BMW is BMW in much the same manner that Porsche is Porsche and Mercedes-Benz is Mercedes-Benz. If you like those cars and have the money to buy them, go ahead. But for thousands of dollars less, we'll take the G35 coupe, still have a great time behind the wheel and use the leftover cash for something else.

On Wheels with Warren Brown Listen from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesdays on WMET World Radio, 1160 AM on your dial, http://www.wmet1160.com on your laptop. 

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