A buddy of mine is looking at sports coupes. He's got the money to afford a more expensive car than the new Stang GT, and is looking at an 06 Infiniti G35 coupe, with the six-speed manual and 19" forged alloy wheels.

The Infiniti seems pretty nice, actually, but at the end of the day it's still just a Datsun. The Stang will blow the Infiniti away on the straightaway and in handling.

I told him he should go for the Stang and spend the equivalent on mods.

Watcha all think...?

 

i think you think pretty well :P

definately go for the stang + mods.

 

Let him make his own decision. Both are nice cars and styling is a matter of preference. The Infiniti has chain driven cams, unlike a lot of other cars and that's a definite plus. The Infiniti may handle a little better but in ordinary street driving it shoudn't matter. Oerformance is similar with the edge going to the Mustang but it doesn't sound like that's a big geal to your friend.

Either way he wins. Tell him to take a long road trip in the car of his choice. Nothing better. OK, I can think of a few things....

 

You touched on performance factors but nothing else. Nothing wrong with being "just a Datsun", like saying the Mustang is "just a Ford". Datsun/Nissan has made some great cars over the years.

I do not think the G35's exterior styling will age well. The Mustang's will.

I drove both of them (05 models). G35 has terrible rear visibility and feels very rear end heavy. Very insulated inside, don't feel connected to the road like in the Mustang.

They're two very different cars. If all out performance is what he wants, GT. If he wants a much nicer interior and a more refined ride - G35.

I ended up ordering a GT convertible.

 

Actually, we took both out, and the G35 felt VERY well connected to the road - in fact, it felt TOO well connected to the road...I could feel every bump and crevice on bad pavement! Kind of a harsh ride, but then it did have 19" wheels on it, so that might have had something to do with it.

The handling, however, was razor sharp - much more responsive and tight than the Stang.

The Stang wins hands down on overall acceleration, though.

Funny what you said about the styling. My buddy thinks the G35 is one of the handsomest coupes on the road and that it will age very well.

I think he likes that the G35's V6 engine has won a Ward's ten best engine award for the past several years too. One thing I like is the way they've tuned the exhaust on the Infiniti - like what Ford has done with the Stang - to create a definite, raspy sound that you recognize immediately when it's coming down the road.

Dunno. Both nice cars; different strokes, I guess

 

I'd love to have either, let us know what he picks.

 

You know the Mustang's engine won the award for being in the top ten in Ward's to right? It's only been out for a year or two.

 

Mustang pros = power, price, interior design (not necessarially quality)
G35 pros = handling, image (if he needs to impress people for work), 6spd., features, rarity (depending on area)
dead heat = exterior design (depends on the viewer, though I think the Infiniti has much better execution of the details -- i.e. ride height, wheel size, etc.)

It really all depends on what he is looking for.

 

You are SO cut from Team Mustang Source







-C