Cars.com's Joe Wiesenfelder takes a look at the 2009 Infiniti G37x S. It competes with the BMW 3 series and Lexus IS.
Transcript
(energetic music) Hi, I'm Joe Wiesenfelder of cars.com. This is an Infiniti G37 sedan. Now this isn't just a G37, it's a G37xs. The X means all-wheel drive, which is an option on this one. It's normally rear-wheel drive.
Here in the winter climate, it's been terrific, actually. I don't know if I'd want a rear-wheel drive car here. Usually I do all right with all-wheel drive, but this one really handles really well. For someone that doesn't like driving in the snow and isn't comfortable with it, isn't confident, it really just does everything for you. It's not too abrupt when it starts to correct itself. That's all good. Now, the S on the name means sport. This is a G37x sport. The sport means, among other things, that there's a deeper front bumper here and also deeper skirts on the side. This is not the best package to have because ground clearance can become an issue. You get a lot of good stuff from the all-wheel drive. What does it cost you? It costs you 2,500 bucks for the option. And usually because it adds weight, it will cost you in fuel economy, but in this car, it only costs you one highway mile per gallon. It feels very similar. The weight distribution on the car stays the same. It's pretty good balance. Now, on the other hand, the sport aspect and the sport suspension, along with those tires being different, you get a much harder ride. Now there's a new engine. It has more power. And not only is it slightly less, only slightly less efficient than the rear wheel drive version, this car is more efficient than the G35 with a smaller engine. And that's partly because of a seven-speed automatic transmission replacing a five. A few of the high points and low points here in the interior. The materials are really nice quality, soft, low gloss. The metal is real. This aluminum, it has a nice texture to it. And definitely the heated seats now have six different heat positions, not just low and high. That's always good. One thing that bugs me, though, is the navigation system, which is an option. It is a touch screen, but it's a little too far to reach. Now, in situations like that, you want a controller separate. Unfortunately, it's right here too. Something I'm not as crazy about, even though this particular model has a seat with adjustable side bolsters. That's on the cushion and the backrest to tighten in and hold you in performance driving. Even with them all the way out, it kind of is too tight around the hips. My hips aren't that big. And I've also had other people sit in the seat and say the exact same thing. So for a car that starts about 35 grand with rear-wheel drive, and in this case over 37 with the all-wheel drive, not cheap for sure, but definitely a lot of power for the money if you compare it to things like the BMW 3 Series. And as for all-wheel drive, you know, some performance cars have it for performance sake. In this car I think you'd be fine with rear-wheel drive alone. But if you live in a winter area and you don't get the sport package, this is definitely workable. <v Announcer>For additional information on this car or any other, go to cars.com and our blog KickingTires.
