LexFather

http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/...09-CAR-review/


First drives

Infiniti G37 Convertible (2009) CAR review

By Greg Fountain

27 November 2009 11:07

When you clear away the caveats, the G37 convertible is an expensive 3-series cabrio rival made in Japan. And for all the smoke and mirrors deployed by Nissan in the cause of inventing an upmarket brand for Europe with ambitions of Rolls-like exclusivity, it can only be judged against what’s out there. And what’s out there is the 3-series chop-top.
So, is the new 2009 Infiniti G37 Convertible a 3-series beater?

No. For a start it costs £41,900, rising to £43,500 in this GT Premium trim with seven-speed auto, ‘intelligent’ cruise control and red leather chairs (two of which are too small to sit in). For that you can have a 335i M Sport convertible and a couple of grand in change. But more importantly the Infiniti just doesn’t feel premium enough. The doors lack thunkiness, the dash plastics horribly let down the nice leather and there’s way too much road noise when you crank it up.

Also, the central controller buttons are inexplicably sloped away from your fingers, sitting almost horizontally up on the centre console near the nav screen. A right pain to use. And the starter button, though beautifully damped, is hidden behind the steering wheel’s right spoke. Infuriatingly poor design.
Mere details! What’s the Infiniti G37 Convertible like to drive?

Good, but not life-changing. The rear-wheel-drive chassis is pliant and fun to work with, helped by the buoyant enthusiasm of Nissan’s 3.7-litre V6 petrol engine with 316bhp, which mates well with the rather raucous nature of the experience. Think 370Z rather than Primera.
Shame about the ride – they’ve avoided BMW’s run-flat harshness, but appear to have veered wildly in the opposite direction, leaving us bucking and bouncing over thankless cambers and compressing our spines in hidden dips.

The steering also nicks back the chassis’ main delights, being limper around the centre than (insert gay icon/handshake joke here). Yet for all that, the G37 Convertible is likeable to drive.
So, will UK buyers go for it?

Here’s an odd thing: it doesn’t matter. Infiniti’s stated aim is to launch a brand so exclusive it rivals Rolls-Royce for rarity, its absolute USP being to guarantee you’re the only Infiniti owner in any given golf club or school car park. Nice ambition, though wasted in this case, as the rear seats are absolutely too small for either children or golf clubs, and so is the boot. In fact, if you open the folding metal roof the boot’s too small for anything deeper than a laptop.

You’ll also wait a while for the hard top’s gymnastics, as it pirouettes from coupé to convertible in a traffic light unfriendly 24 seconds. Then you end up fiddling with various buttons to raise all the side windows after you’ve gone topless. Not the best folding hard top mechanism we’ve ever tested, then.
A failure then?

Ah, no. We Brits love a good-looking car, and the G37 looks absolutely sensational. That, plus exclusivity and a ‘mystery’ badge equals success. But Lexus will still get their sleep tonight.

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

Did they review the IS-C? Gotta link?

EDIT: Found it: For those interested...

tmf2004

iTrader: (15)

Looks more like an SC430

I8ABMR

I saw the G37 convertible on the freeway today and I was impressed at how nice it looks. I was impressed at how subtle the change in the shape of the roof is when its in convertible. I could tell because when I saw it the car was driving next to a standard g37. I just wish like the new Z this generation would have lost weight and size. With a curb weight 500 lbs over my fat *** GS I feel like they really destroyed the nimble feeling that the G35 coupe had. Now the car is way more luxury than sport. Although it refined it has lost some edginess. Kind of like the EVO X

speedflex

Neither review sounds in any way complimentary.