Full Review
While there are many terms in use for taking a basic model and tarting them up, lipstick on a pig just doesn’t seem to apply here. You can usually see and feel the lesser cars DNA bleeding out through the driving experience, through the switch gear, and through the subtly changed body lines. In the case of the 2009 G37S, using the DNA of the fantastic 370Z, Infiniti isn’t just throwing a tuxedo on a beach bum. Think Armani suit on a hitman. With the power and handling to match the looks, the G37S blasts out of your driveway and never ceases to deliver smiles.
Boiled down simply, the G37S shares the chassis and drivetrain with the 370Z, gives the driver two more seats to play with, and offers a ton more refinement when driving. While it’s hard to say a bad thing about the Z’s driving dynamics, it comes across as a playful sports car that makes no excuses, while the G37S delivers most of the same thrills, in a lot more livable and refined package without giving up the playful nature. Lets be serious here, any time you mix 330HP, RWD, and a limited slip, it’s hard not to have more fun than an ADHD kid in a fun house.
You can see quite a bit of 370Z in there, but with much better looking taillights
Exterior
While there is some 370Z here and there in the overall shape, the G37S departs from the Z with a slightly softer, yet still sensuously muscular shape. Imagine a tightly tailored suit on a man who spends his after work hours in the gym. With a menacing front end, low roofline coupled with a high beltline, and broad rear fenders, the G has the looks to back up the performance. It’s overall a pleasant evolution of the previous G35, which tended to be a little slab sided. Smoother body lines dominate throughout the exterior, whether it is the flowing headlights that pour generously up the front fenders, or the tail lights that look like a softer interpretation of the old cars. Working away from sharp creases and offering a slick aerodynamic shape, the new G looks actually more menacing than it’s chiseled predecessor. Call it great looks without trying to hard, without any gimmicks, or styling cues you’ve seen on every sporty model known to man.
Every “sport package” car has to have something to differentiate itself from it’s more plebeian brothers, as who wants to pony up the extra price of admission without it being obvious? Infiniti accomplishes this by adding a more sculpted front end, 19” wheels, and a body colored rear wing. While not a radical departure from the non-sport model, it serves to add up a little more verve over the standard car. While the 19” wheels fill out the wells much better than the 18”s, there is still a touch too much fender gap for a sporting car. While not every car needs to be slammed to the bump stops, and the higher ride doesn’t seem to impact the handling, it’s one chip in the sporty veneer.
One gap that doesn’t exist is the one between two body panels. Close fitting, tight gaps every where are just one simple example of the detail that goes into the building of the G.
Interior
What a change, what a change. While we wouldn’t call the interior of it’s brother bargain basement, there are still quite a few cheapy touches inside the Z that remind you that the bean counters were out trimming budgets. Just about all of that is gone inside the G37S, with rich plastics, soft leather, and clean switch gear abound across the double wave dashboard. Infiniti loves the small touches here and there, and still adorns the center console with an analogue clock, flanked on both sides by gorgeous “Washi paper” textured aluminum trim. A lot of time went into making sure those transitioning from richly appointed yet spartan German cars would feel at home, and it’s paid off.
Warm, inviting, with a sissy shift knob.
Large, easy to read gauges live in an instrument panel that adjusts up and down with the wheel, trying to ensure that there isn’t a combination of seating position and steering wheel that would block the speedo and tach. It works well in practice, but those taller than average will notice it blocking slightly, even when sitting low to keep your head away from the short roof line. What works perfectly is the simple gauge layout, with big easy to read dials for the important information, and small ones for the less important. Tucked neatly into the dash is the onboard computer, with it’s 2,001 uses.
Affixing you in the same spot no matter the cornering forces are the 14-way adjustable seats, specific to Sport model or Sport package on the Journey model. Power adjustment on everything except the sliding front thigh support, the seats hold onto you like a loving mother. Never too tight, never pinching, never uncomfortable, just a simple design that anchors you in the middle. While some Japanese cars have seats that look the part but don’t deliver support, these aggressively bolstered seats quietly do their job, and would be very comfortable for long distance travel. Just keep the long trips to the front seats, as although the rears won’t make most people complain on short jaunts, it becomes a penalty zone of discomfort quickly.
One thing that is apparent the second you open the drivers door is the change in the shift knob. The G35 had a wonderfully chunky leather wrapped shift knob, which conjures up images of moving the internals of a large overbuilt transmission. The G37S looks well, sissy. In practice though, it fits your hand better, and since the throws are much lighter in the current car, works well without drawing any undue attention to itself.
The only real missteps on the interior are the bug eyed seat heater controls, which look a little out of place. Also, just above the shift knob is the slot for the CompactFlash slot for music. While a great idea in conjunction with the optional 9.3 gig music hard drive, I have one simple question. What the hell is wrong with the slot’s cover? It looks just fine sitting in the dash, but then the whole cover slips out, untethered, off on a mission to get lost under the seat. When you leave the car though, that one is the only real head scratcher.
Chassis and Drivetrain
From the second you press the start button, light off the 330HP VQ and hear the thrum out the exhaust, you know you are in for a treat. More displacement, more technology, and more horse power will make any enthusiasts spine tingle. Punching out the 3.5L to 3.7L, the engine not only endows it with more low-end grunt, but a more usable power band. Where as the old 3.5 tended to come on strong but run out of steam at high rpm, the 3.7L pulls like a freight train off idle all the way to redline. The familiar Chewbacca exhaust note is still present, but becomes overwhelmed by the coarse engine note as the tach swings past 4,000rpm. Somehow, against logic, more coarseness has made it’s way into the cabin at high rpm over the last model when wringing the car out for all it’s worth.
To counteract that rough edge, Infiniti has done a stand up job of fixing an old short coming. Still present in the 370Z, and known well to owners of the older model, is the horrific amount of road noise that is transmitted into the cabin. Even running on large 19” wheels shod with summer tires, Infiniti has just about banished road noise over all but the worst pavement.
Jumping on the electrically power assisted steering bandwagon, the G37S steers a little more fluidly than the prior model. Overboosted at parking lot speeds, and light on the road, the steering filters out imperfections while communicating grip levels well. Gone too is the heavy feel off center, while retaining all of the accuracy of the prior models steering rack. You won’t confuse it for a BMW’s steering rack, but it does it’s job with silent obedience.
Connecting the engine to the limited slip differential in the back, is a slick shifting 6-speed manual gearbox. Gone is the heavy, notchy, and baulky shifting of the old car, and they’ve even managed to engineer less wiggle into the shifter as you load and unload the mounts during hard driving (but not at stoplights in neutral with the clutch out). Driving off stoplights, and completing the first to second shift is a little tough to do smoothly, as the clutch has absolutely no feel what-so-ever, and a rather abrupt engagement. It’s possible for a talented driver to get around this easily, but if you are a little ham fisted and footed, wear a neck brace. With that said, it’s perfectly livable and you’ll be able to adapt your driving style to be less herky-jerky.
Performance
It wasn’t too long ago that running the standing 1/4 mile in 14 seconds at 103 mph was damn near super car territory. Today, it’s still impressive, and combined with the shortly geared transmission, will put a smile on the drivers face. A flexible powerband makes for quick, downshift free passing, or if you’d like, row it down two gears, stomp on it, and leave the slower driver in your wake. Want to act like a kid again? Leaving twin 20 foot streaks of rubber off a stoplight is nice and easy, as is dropping a touch more rubber down as you swap pedals on your first upshift. Ripping off to 60 mph from a dead stop in the mid 5 second range will keep you neck and neck with plenty of cars, but the baby brother Nissan will end up walking away, even though it shares the same drivetrain.
While stiffly sprung, the G37S delivers more corner grip and isn’t flustered through the bumps. While a few competitors have mastered the ride against handling balance a bit better, this car isn’t going to sucker punch your body like the last model. Firm and controlled, it has the easy ability to throttle steer, or rotate the tail on the brakes just like the last car. While the 370Z is a little sharper, it’s not the daily driver the G37S promises itself to be.
Downshifting can be a little tricky, as if you rev the engine a little too high, you’ll wait a touch before the rpms start falling back down. Blame the EPA and emissions testing if you want, but it seems to present itself as more of an issue than in other cars.
Verdict
This car plays the role of the consummate all rounder well, delivering next to perfect results of anything asked of it. While it’s easy to pick nits and complain about minor issues, the G37S offers a ton of performance and luxury for the dollar. We would like to see some more harmony between the engine and gearbox, and a bit more refinement in the clutch. Instead of the manual though, we recommend the G37 Journey Coupe with the Sport Package. You won’t have to deal with the steep learning curve of the floaty clutch engagement, it has smoother drivetrain at higher engine speeds, and it’s actually quicker – due to the 7-speed automatic gears.
Offering luxury on par with it’s rivals, mid pack performance, and a tiny list of shortcomings, you’ll end up spending a lot more money to pass up this Infiniti and get a better car. Highly recommended for those who value bang for the buck performance, luxury, and don’t mind overlooking a few small details.
-KF
