V35 Sedan As A Family Car?

[ashlogan]

Hey my name is Ashley.

After reading the latest HPI with the v35 250gt Sedan review in it i have some questions about the V35 as a family car.

My partner and i currently have a vx commodore sedan and a c34 Stagea. The commodore looks like it will get the chop soon. The m35 stagea would be the logical choice but we may not need something that large.

1. What kind of boot capacity do they have? How would it compare to the vx commodore for example?

2. Rear seat space. Would a 6 foot tall male fit comfortably behind someone of equal size in the front?

3. Interior trim durability. How does it hold up with daily use/abuse?

4. The tiptroonic feature on the 4 and 5 speed autos. Is it a gimmic or a genuinely useable perofrmance feature?

5. Ride quality/NVH/Smoothness. Anything would be better than the Commodore and my stagea has the whiteline/bilstein package. Would a V35 be simply better or would it toally outclass our current cars?

The V35 seems like a dark horse in the $25k family car race. Our other options are the m35 stagea, Commodore/falcon, Subaru Liberty etc etc.

I would love to hear your thoughts, particularaly on the points listed above. With so few v35 owners on the street this forum must be a goldmine.

Thanks in advance.

[WazR32GTSt]

hi ash,

welcome to the forums, you've made a good choice in considering the V35 it is most definately a suitable family for for everyday use.

the best advice that i can provide is to head straight to your local import yard and go and take one for a test drive. much of my advice is personal experience only and views are as always subjective

in direct answer to your questions

1. boot capacity on the sednas is huge. exact volume i'm not sure but would be very close to that of a commodore

2. rear reat space is good. not as large as you would find in teh commodore but you will be very surprised how good hte space is, and of course in terms of comfort its much nicer than sitting tin a commodore. i am 6"4 and fit in the back without my head touchingthe roof (when looking for my coupe i also looked at a few sedans)

3. interior trim is one of the best features of the car. interms of looks its up there or better than otehr luxury manufacturers. my cousin has a 2005 audi A4 and rates my interior as much better than hers. its a nissan remember so it is miles ahead of what you will find coming form a commodore and in terms of the older skyline it is again a massive improvement

4. the tiptronic is a gimmick, i hardly use it. but it works well and is a genuine performance advantage if you look to drive that way inclined. how often that occurs in a family sedan is up to you!

5. in terms of ride the V35 is in a totally different class. some have comlained of significant NVH in the V35 but i don't personalyl see it (although idid come from a very noisy R32 so who knows?). in terms of smoothness the car is amazing to drive and handles extremely well. the suspension won't be as soft as in your commodore but it will actually handle well unlike the commodores (it has full aluminium suspension setup and the engien is mounted behind the front axle to give 48:52 weight distribution bettered only by the M3)

it is honestly a great car for the price. but, there are a few points that i will add for you to think about in terms of "is this for me?"

the V35 sedan comes in many iterations: 250GT, 300GT, 350GT, and 350GT-8

- the 250GT and 300GT are gutless in temrs of straight liner performance compared to the 350GT. not even comparible. and both will be slower than your stagea or commodore. they range from 22k to 30k depending on features. these also mostly come in cloth trim and leather is harder to come by for these models. also, these are all 4sp auto.

- the 350GT sedan has got a lot of poke and will be surprisingly quick in a straight line. keep in mind that >95% of the 350GT sedans are actually the 350GT-8 which comes with the CVT transmission. this is an odd thing to drive as you lose all concept of acceleration without having gears. though you do get the paddle shifters and the ability to pop it into 8-speed tiptronic mode if you like. if you can find a 350GT with the 5sp auto then its a winner i personally believe. manual cars are also available but again quite rare. the V35 350GT rages from 25k to 35k depending on options and kms. for this to fall within your budget factoer in finding one with >50,000kms but even still this is great value as the VQ35 engine is almost bulletproof (same engine as 350z, maxima, murano, but with higher power output)

the major issues with the car are

1) problems with door lock motors nad windor motor

2) problems with the stock CD player

3) working out a solution for hte sock navigation is not simple

..you can see that these are relatively minor points really

check out this thread for some more info that may help: http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/Newbies-t191705.html

there are also many features that can be optioned in and the more you have the better it is. again, the above thread has lots of info. the major options are the "premium pack" which has leather/auto headlights/TV screen/buttons on steering wheel. other options are minor such as 18"/19" wheels etc.

i have read the article in HPI and it realyl doesn't highlight the slowness of the 250GT but remember that in terms of everything else its an amazing car well wroth the cash.

feel free to ask more Q's or post up cars you are looking at if you want us to critique them

cheers,

Warren

[WazR32GTSt]

http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2002/08/25/146245.html

just one of manty reviews on the G35 sedan in america

worth doing a search in google for "g35 sedan review" for a LOT of info on how it performs and where it sits in regards to its BMW, merc, and audi rivals

[ashlogan]

Thanks for the replies Warren. Your help is greatly appreciated.

I have found that the v35 boot is approximately 410 litres, our current commodore is 475 litres. A pretty small compromise really.

My partner and i would prefer the 350gt Manual, but we could probably cope with an auto. A CVT was never an option. Id like to think that i could sacrafice a bit and live with the 250gt or the 300gt but i dont think i could take it knowing there is a better version out there for a few more dollars.

I have found this one 350gt

It looks to be pretty clean with low k's. This is the spec we would be after and kilometers up to the 60k range wouldnt bother us too much. Does this really have the brembos?

How often do the manual sedans come up? Would they be outnumbered 10:1 by the gt8 models?

More searching has shown that Commodore Sv8s from 2003/4 come in at around the $25-$30k mark. The commodore, although flawed in many ways makes a good argument. The extra size, availability of manual versions, sheer grunt and tuning possibilities may sway me...

Then there are m35 stageas to consider yet.

Let me know what you guys think...

[WazR32GTSt]

that one looks like a great example ther ash

and yes a manual sedan is quite rare. i don't see any brembo's in that picture, i think they only came on the coupe's?..

also, 2003+ sedans were series 2 versions with a different back, and that one is one of them - looks much nicer

that one also has the "revesing pack" with front and rear cameras

although that sedan is not equipped with the "premium pack" and does not have leather or auto headlights etc. it has been optioned in with the nav unit which is a god thing as you can re-use the screen..

also it has the optional sports bodykit - looks nice

overall its priced very well with good kms, well worth a look closer i think personally

[Wycky]

A CVT was never an option.

Do you mean you never thought of it?

or

You Don't like / want it?

Edited November 16, 2007 by Wycky

[ashlogan]

Do you mean you never thought of it?

or

You Don't like / want it?

We really want a manual, but if one couldnt be found we would be fine with the conventional auto. Call me prejudiced but i dont like the idea of the cvt. A car without "gears" freaks me out a little. My mind is not totally made up, i soppose a drive of one would be in order.

Edited November 16, 2007 by ashlogan

[CheWiN]

- the 250GT and 300GT are gutless in temrs of straight liner performance compared to the 350GT. not even comparible. and both will be slower than your stagea or commodore. they range from 22k to 30k depending on features. these also mostly come in cloth trim and leather is harder to come by for these models. also, these are all 4sp auto.

Warren, are you positive about the 300gt having the 4speed auto... I test drove a 300 the other week and put the tiptronic through its paces, i was sure it went up to 5th gear....

cheers

Ben

[smeghead]

300gt is 5 speed auto, not sure about the 250gt, Id expect it to be the same though.

the 300gt is supposed to be 0-100 in 7 sec so Im not sure about it being slower than a commodore. It does have 191kw and is about 100kg lighter so it should be able to out run most v6 commodores.

The stagea is a different story though.

[WazR32GTSt]

sorry my bad

the 250gt must be the only 4sp auto..

[Vargas]

Love the 300GT, 5 speed auto there is room behind me for a guy my height when I am driving (5'9") not quite 6' but plenty of room and no need to move my seat. Fuel use is less on the 300 than the 350. Is a 5 seater. Coupes are 4 seaters. Went for this sedan because of the kids. Interior in the leather is ok but the inserts are suede. Boot is big but not in the league of my VS commonwhore. After driving it for a year I don't think I would consider commodores now and they were my favs. Interior is the same as the M35 Stagea. Although the M35 is vast improvement on the C34 (89 Camry wagon on steroids) looks wise, all I talk to agree - Volvo. Wheras the V35 - Porsche (at least the front guards).

You can talk comfortably to passengers, (or to the handfrees from the back seat) at 100kph and be heard so not noisy. Bose stereo is great for a factory setup, great Bass, I won't be changing it.

[smeghead]

Hey Vargas what sort of fuel economy do you get out of the 300gt arround the city ?

[Vargas]

I'm getting about 9.5lt per 100km on average. Mainly stop start traffic 60-70kph with a bit of a free run on the motorway each day.

Hey Vargas what sort of fuel economy do you get out of the 300gt arround the city ?

[Wycky]

I'm getting about 9.5lt per 100km on average. Mainly stop start traffic 60-70kph with a bit of a free run on the motorway each day.

I get 8.5 on my 350gt8

But i do, do a little more freeway driving then city.

When i picked the car up it was getting 8.9

then it dropped to 8.5 after a few days of me driving

[GTS4nMore]

Are you guys talking about the figures you see on the display?

Keep in mind they are in km/L, not L/100km.

To convert, to need to do 100/(number on screen) = L/100km.

ie. in my case i'm averaging 7.5 on screen with city driving which = 13.33L/100km in mt 300GT

I just filled the tank with 60L and I had traveled only 430km = (60/430)*100 = 13.95L / 100km City Driving

If you really are doing 8-9.5L/100kms you must be driving slower than a nanna!

I'm yet to go on a country trip to check out the econony there....

Edited December 4, 2007 by GTS4nMore