So, I am looking for what will potentially be my next car. I'm not getting rid of the S any time soon, but I always look ahead at my purchases. For my next car, I am definitely leaning more towards the Luxury car type than sports car. My price cap will be about 20k. The Infiniti looks like a heck of a deal for the price considering year/mileage/cost/features/style(subjective...i know).

My question is, does anyone have personal experience owning one of these? What do you say about it? I'm not super interested in any other Infiniti, being the Q is boring to me, and everyone and their dog owns a G of some sort... BUT if the Inifiniti blows super bad, what would be a better choice in the same segment? Also, I'm trying to stay away from anything German. Personal experience tells me that I am better off with a Japanese or American car before a German, even though the latter will likely be more tailored to my specific wants. Thanks Homies

 

Can't speak for the M, but I have a G35S which is nice. but it does reminds of Nissan in a lot of the area. (design, how things are laid out, dumb things here or there, etc)

If you have to stick to an auto, try to get one with 7-speed auto. it has way better mpg on the freeway. i don't know about M, but i think 7-sp auto starts with G37.

For me, the G35S is pretty much the only way to go with a 6MT RWD Japan-made sports sedan. I did look at Lexus IS250 6MT, though it feels nicer inside, it lacks in the sports department. I expect the Infiniti to be at least fairly reliable and should last me a long time.

I also looked at WRX and MS3 at that time, but they are in a different segment than the G35S

 

Thanks for your input... apparently no one has ever purchased this car ever.

 

I just took a 2008 M35 on a test drive. It looks big from the outside but doesn't drive like it. It doesn't feel like a boat and feels tighter than I expected in turns. Acceleration is brisk but not as good as the G series. Obvious because of the weight. But you know the deal about this car winning a lot of comparisons early on...I think it'd be more fun than the GS, more reliable than the Germans, etc.

Having said this...I used to own an S2000 and currently drive a Z4MC. I understand you want a luxury car but there must have been a reason you bought the S2000 in the first place. The M35 will likely be dissapointing in a few months even though I enjoyed my test drive. It'd make a great companion to the S though!

 

Exactly the information I was looking for! Thank you! And you're 100% correct about me having bought the S2000 for a reason. But it was my first true sports car. Everything else I owned before it was either a beater(pathfinder, Mk8, Nissan pickup) or a luxury car(I've owned 2 Lexus and a Jaguar Previous to the S). With that in mind, The S is BY FAR my favorite car I've ever driven, so I'm not sure how to move on to something else. The only reason I am even looking is because of my job and potential family changes in the future.

If it were possible, I would love to keep the S2000 and have something like the M35/45 to compliment it, but I am in a position where I cannot own 2 vehicles of my own.

 

My brother purchased a M35 a year ago and so far I like it. Only thing I did not like was that it had the 5 speed Auto and of course gas mileage wasn't as good. It drives smooth and is quiet. Sometimes I will look down and notice I'm already at 60mph without even knowing. The torque is nice to have. I liked the interior comfort features. He picked up a 2006 or 2007 with 40k miles for 21k. I changed out the spark plugs, belts, and brakes and everything was easy to work on. Car has been running strong and it's got 75k. I think its a great daily driver!

 

We shopped new M's and G's in the fall of 2008 as a car for my wife. She hates SUV's (size) and wanted something smaller. After driving both we came away with the impression that for the extra weight and price, you really don't get much more interior or cargo space with the M. The only justification I could come up with for the M is the excellent V8 which isn't offered in the G sedan. But that's even more weight. In the end, she liked the G better for its size and handling.

We bought a loaded G35x with the 5 speed auto. It's a great daily driver for her. The only disappointment is the fuel efficiency. It sucks. The Nissan VQHR V6 is a great engine in many ways but the absolute best mileage it can achieve on the highway is 23 mpg. Not horrible but not the class leader by a long shot. Around town, my wife averages about 17-18 mpg. The saving grace is that she only puts about 8,000 miles per year on her cars and that is split between the Infiniti and a 2006 Volvo XC90 V8. So the fuel efficiency ends up not being a big concern for us. I'd look for the 7 speed auto that came out in 2009 if you want an automatic.

Oh, just thought of a second annoyance with Infiniti's. The nav system drives me nuts. Forget about voice commands. And even the touch keyboard has about a 50% chance of getting it right the in the first several attempts. It's not the keyboard, it's the database search design. For instance let's say you want to find North College Street. If you enter "North College Street", nothing. It has no idea what you're talking about. So you try "N College Street", still offers no choices. Finally, in desperation you try "N. College Street" and you're in business. If you don't insert the damned period "." after the abbreviation for North, it offers you no solutions whatsoever. Nada, zilch, zero! What the hell sort of search routine does that these days? And that's just one example.

Also, if you are driving say two hours and you want to find a restaurant at your destination and book a reservation while you're en route, you're screwed. The damned thing will only bring up stuff within a few mile radius of your current position. We end up using the iPhone to book reservations. Save yourself a pile of money and sore fists from beating on the dashboard. Buy a $150 Garmin and skip the factory Nav system.

BTW, the car has been flawless. Very reliable and not bad to maintain.

 

I have a '03 M45, which is the sleeker, maurader looking M. It's essentially the same engine/gearbox.

I get, on average in the city, around 17-18mpg. The engine has plenty of torque to get you from 0-60... If you ever need to beat 80% of cars to a freeway on ramp, you got a solid chance. Once it shifts into third though, the fun ends. It has good passing power, but third-fifth was designed with economy vs power.

It's quicker than the g35 sedan, unless it's a m35 vs g35 comparison... The m45 outruns the g35, but just barely.

The m35/m45 are comfortable, but almost boring. The y34 (03-04) have way more personality and drive a bit sportier, but you sacrifice modding ability. The Y34 is just under 3900lbs, while the m35 is around 4000lbs, and m45 is around 4150-4200.

All of my friends who have driven my m45 love it for its comfort, slightly sporty nature, and good power...ideal seconds car. And most of them drive s2000s, 350z/370z, and GTRs.

 

I love the styling of the 03-04, but by the time I'm ready to buy, I don't know if I'll be able to justify it if they're 2-3 generations old by that time, which I think it is 2 now... But thank you for the feedback on reliability. That is definitely a good sign that you have no complaints on the reliability. I wonder why these cars were never more popular

 

I paid $12k out the door for mine. They are going for $9k-$10k nowadays.

And they weren't popular because the 03-04 was a stop-gap model for Infiniti. They did little to no marketing for the vehicle. Plus, there's only like 7000 03-04 M45s in USA. They are rarer than NSXs.