Comparison Tests
This thing goes way back. Nissan has been firing spit wads at BMW since the 1968 Datsun 510 sailed in, seemingly on stolen blueprints for the BMW 1600-2 (later the BMW 2002). There were diversions, almost a bankruptcy, then a merger with Renault, and reboots of the priorities at Nissan. But of Japan's native automakers, none has been so hot for so long to sock it to the men from Munich.
And at no time has Nissan been as close. If the launch of the Infiniti division in 1989 was Sputnik, the introduction of the G35 in 2002 was the One Giant Leap. The original G35s - sedan and coupe - had rear-wheel drive, rear-drive moves, and the sinuous styling that tugs at heartstrings and drains checking accounts. "Oh!" exclaimed editor-at-large Patrick Bedard, reporting on the G35's introduction. "These guys are serious."
Indeed. In a March 2004 comparo of seven sports sedans, we actually stacked the G35 above a BMW 325i. The cars would have had a photo finish but for the fact that nearly identical money bought 184 horsepower in the Bimmer, 260 in the G35. Those 76 horses were enough to pull the G over the top.
The public voted, too, but with greenbacks. In 2006, BMW 3-series sedan sales totaled 96,356; the G35's combined sedan and coupe sales were just 60,741.
BMW unwrapped a new, thoroughly excellent 3-series early in 2005, first as the 325i and 330i; then later, following the addition of an available turbo engine, as the 328i and 335i. The Infiniti G35 got its own extreme makeover in mid-2006, with stretched and smoothed bodywork stapled to a stiffened version of its old platform. The power difference remains exactly 76 horses, but everybody has moved up. The 328i makes 230 horsepower, the G35 a go-go 306.
Just $145 separates the base prices of the 328i and G35, and that's the reason the 328i is here and not the 300-hp 335i, which starts $6300 higher. The "sport" in G35 Sport brings a firmer suspension, 18-inch wheels, a limited-slip diff, and sport buckets with a sport steering wheel. We had to add a $1600 package to this BMW 328i for a stiffer suspension, 17-inch asymmetrically sized summer tires, and sport seats, but it came with a standard sunroof (the G35's sunroof is part of its $2350 Premium package or a $1000 stand-alone option).
This BMW also had a premium pack priced at $3150 but with fewer goodies (for example, heated seats are another $500 in the BMW but are included in the G35's Premium pack).
Confused? With all the accounting done, this G35 Sport lands at a price $1695 cheaper than the BMW 328i. The two cars are almost identically loaded - except that the G35 also has an optional navigation system. As you can see, the G has value in its quiver going in.
But there's only room for one on the bull's-eye. Let's see whose aim is better.
