2007 Is350 Vs. 2007 Infiniti G35 Sport

[obrienwspt]

I plan on purchasing a new car in the next two months and have narrowed it down to the IS 350 loaded out with Navigation and Mark Levinson and the new 2007 Infiniti G35 Sport also loaded out very similar to the Lexus.

Give me your best sales pitch as to why I should buy the Lexus over the Infiniti. I am interested in hearing all the pros and cons of the Lexus vs. the Infiniti. Thanks.

[TOOL IS350]

WOW that is one tough decision you have to make man! Ive seen a few of the new G35's on the road and they are nice cars. I went with Lexus over the competition because im just a pure Lexus lover. IS's are definetly sweet cars though man, either way you go i think you will be happy.

[BostonKiller]

Give me your best sales pitch as to why I should buy the Lexus over the Infiniti.

Infiniti is French. Buy a Lexus.

[SW03ES]

You're definately going to get biased info here.

Honestly? I think the Infiniti is definately better looking although the IS looks sportier. I've also considered leaving Lexus for Infiniti and an M45. Here's how I see it.

Pros for the Lexus:

1. Lexus dealer service. In my experience, at least around here, Lexus dealers are larger, nicer, more common, have better facilities, and are friendlier.

2. Lexus resale value. No question a Lexus holds its value better than an Infiniti.

3. Lexus navigation is more sophisticated.

4. The Lexus has some features not available on the Infiniti.

5. The Lexus has better staying power. Lexus' design cycle keeps their older cars more current looking. Infinitis look dated very quickly IMHO.

6. The interior material quality is a little bit more refined, in general Infinitis have less body rigidity which means more rattles with age.

Pros for the Infiniti:

1. Better initial deals to be had.

2. Cheaper leases (Infiniti is more apt to subsidize a lease to move product than Lexus)

3. The styling is more refined.

Thats how I see it.

[bartkat]

Gets more respect.

[Scott M]

This is definitely a tough decision.

I was in a toss up between the IS250 AWD and the G35x.

Wanting the best of all worlds (Power & AWD), I went with the 07 G35 and I absolutely love it!

The nice thing about the G35x is that it's full on RWD during my times of playing on dry roads, and AWD when it knows I need it.

If Lexus offered the AWD in the IS350, I would have gone that route a year ago, before the new G came out.

I love the look of both cars, so either would make me happy.

I know Lexus is practically bullet-proof in reliability, but I hear good things about Infiniti too, so I hope for the best there.

It comes down to personal preference.

Both offer some options that the other doesn't.

For instance, I love that I can rip music CDs to my hard drive in less than 8 minutes and have them there anytime I want.

I still have the IPOD hookup, 6 disc CD changer in the trunk, single disc in dash, and can watch movies on my screen like in the IS.

Both have cool features like backup cameras, accident avoidance preview braking, ICC, adaptive headlights, etc.

The G35 backseat, although small, is WAY larger than the IS.

With my driver's seat in a comfy position, I can sit in the back seat without my knees hitting the seatback, and I'm 6 ft tall.

On the other hand, I wish my G had the vented seats like the IS offers.

The 07 G comes with 25% more welds, fixing any rigidity issues.

It also includes a new navi system, which no longer sits in the shadows of Lexus or Acura.

It's hard-drive based, very fast, and includes a bird's eye view and building modeling.

It also includes lane by lane guidance and XM Nav-Traffic.

Both are awesome cars.

It's a tough choice to make.

[kisik]

I assume you drove them both and yet still wondering. Here is my humble opinion:

Lexus has been much superior in terms of quality of materials, great resale values, and elegant perfection in many details.

G35 has advanced a bit in terms of recent years in terms of look and performance even though Ms or especially old Qs are still way behind any Lexus GS or LS.

Since both IS and G35 sedan are not 6MT then any true sport enthusiast would not consider them to be genuine sport cars. G37 coupe in 6MT is getting closer.

So for that reason I picked AWD in Boston in place of a bigger engine. G35 has bigger rear seats. AWD system has intelligence with switching RWD is a plus even though it is very gas hungry. I was not impressed with G35's auto trany. Too many gear changes. 350's engine is very sweet and flat curved. Perhaps it is too quite.

Ask dealers on actions: which car would they prefer? You can buy 06 G35 for almost $25k. That is almost $10k depreciation for the first year!

This is your decision and be happy whatever you have got.

[Scott M]

Since both IS and G35 sedan are not 6MT then any true sport enthusiast would not consider them to be genuine sport cars.

I was not impressed with G35's auto trany. Too many gear changes.

You can buy 06 G35 for almost $25k. That is almost $10k depreciation for the first year!

The 07 G35s is available in 6MT

(Also available with 5AT with Paddles)

The Auto does it's share of shifting, only having 5 gears to play with, but it depends on driving mode and gets better as the Adaptive Learning learns your driving style.

The AT offers 3 modes. D for regular driving, DS for sport driving (awesome, but gas hungry) and M for full manual through the use of paddles or the shift. It holds it's gear to redline, never thinks for you and only shifts when you tell it to, unlike that horrible system in the Acura TL Type-S.

The reason for the low 06 cost is due to the popularity of the new 07 and it's drastic changes in fit/finish/power.

[SW03ES]

Ms or especially old Qs are still way behind any Lexus GS or LS.

I actually completely disagree. The Q is a barge and its being replaced, but I personally vastly prefer the M to the GS. The GS' exterior styling is better, but the M has a better interior, better drive, better handling, and a better powertrain IMHO.

[kisik]

Lexus GS and especially GS430 have been one of the best cars in the world. Nothing comes close to Lexus V8 and outstanding resale value. Lexus kept basic design for 8 years. I deeply respect somebody's passion to his car whatever it is. Discussions about "handling" and "appearance" will never be settled.