V35 250gt Sedan

[iseekool]

Hi all,

I've been reading about the V35 and it seems to be a fantastic overall car - which seems to be under-rated.

I'm thinking about purchasing a V35 2.5l auto sedan as a daily as it looks classy and is much more discreet then the R34.

I'd like to hear people's personal experiences with the car.

Too bad the V series skylines do not have the circular tail lights...

- How are they as a daily, are they smooth on the city streets? (I drive a stock R34 sedan and I fell it is a litte too stiff).

- Are there different levels of feature specification for the 250gt eg. better audio, leather seats etc?

- Because it is a 2.5L is it sluggish around town.

- How are they on fuel?

- How's the isnsurance for them?

- What are the common issues most people get? I've read another thread saying that direct injection cars tend to have issues with sensors due to carbon deposits??

Cheers

[Ezy03]

i got a v35 coupe and its wonderful to drive, id assume the 2.5l sedan would be as well. for the last three questions (dot pointed ones) that you mentioned they have all been answered in the forum, just use the search button to pop them up. i wouldn't expect the 2.5l v6 to be sluggish but i might be correct. as for the options i suppose would be the same as the other v35 as my coupe....premium pack and non premium ( thread on the v - series section on the differences and what comes with what...etc) just hit the search button here and you will find all your questions answered.

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/Se...lines-f170.html

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/V3...re-t186599.html

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/Co...=common+problem - some might be similar in the sedans?? someone confirm maybe?

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/V3...mp;hl=insurance

hope that helps.....also try google and reviews there

p.s the black sedans look best (IMO)

Edited September 24, 2009 by ezy03

[Easy Tiger]

I have the 250GT sedan. Answers below:

- How are they as a daily, are they smooth on the city streets? (I drive a stock R34 sedan and I fell it is a litte too stiff). - Excellent ride, very smooth, great handling.

- Are there different levels of feature specification for the 250gt eg. better audio, leather seats etc? - Mine has the leather trim, audio is also very good but I believe is not Bose so I guess is probably standard but still good as compared to most other cars.

- Because it is a 2.5L is it sluggish around town. - Generally has enough grunt for me. Maybe doesn't quite stack up to my old R33 off the line but very suitable for my needs now.

- How are they on fuel? - Expect around 500km to 550km/tank around town. Highway upwards of 700.

- How's the isnsurance for them? - Check out an online quote, for example from JustCar. It will give you the exact amount. Depends on your location, age, driving experience and history.

- What are the common issues most people get? I've read another thread saying that direct injection cars tend to have issues with sensors due to carbon deposits?? - So far have had the oxygen (O2) sensors replaced but this is a service item on any car over time and km, and I need to replace my EGR temperature sensor. I don't know that they are more prone than any other V6. The other common problem which I have also had to fix is oil pooling above the cylinders around the sparkplugs - had to get the rocker cover valve sleeves replaced. This is a common problem with the VQ engine as the OEM ones fail over time.

Overall a great car to drive.

Edited September 24, 2009 by Easy Tiger

[iseekool]

Thanks guys - thats quite informative.

Interesting that they use EGR again - I thought that technology went away in the 80s I'm *guessing* they are using it again to help cool the exhaust gasses so that there is not too much NOx...

Are the VQ engines quite wasy to work on - In comparison to the RB series?

How about coil pack failure which is quite common on the non-GTR R34s.

[Easy Tiger]

From what I've seen of the engines, the RB was easier to get to with things.. the VQ can be a bit of a pain in the rear to navigate around to get at things. That said, it's not a deal breaker.

Nobody seems to have mentioned problems with the coilpacks yet on these forums, I'm not sure if their failure would be more common than others on these cars. Though the V35's are still relatively new imports here, so with not that many around it is hard to guage some of those potential problems.

[iseekool]

How would the 250gt compare to an IS200 overall? (I'm looking at smaller engines - as you can all see)

I've read some comparisons in the US about G35 vs IS300 and most seem to be biased towards the IS series - obviously the cars they are referring to are the 3.5L Infinity and 3.0L Lexus.

[iseekool]

One more question..

Is it a 5 or 4 speed auto for the 2.5L?

Alot of cars on car sales say 5 speed auto but overseas sites say it is 4 speed.

or

Is 5 speed an option???

[Easy Tiger]

One more question..

Is it a 5 or 4 speed auto for the 2.5L?

Alot of cars on car sales say 5 speed auto but overseas sites say it is 4 speed.

or

Is 5 speed an option???

Definately 4-speed auto. There were no 250GT V35's in 5-speed.

[Ant]

From a post I made in another thread on the same topic:

I went from a manual R33 GTS25 coupe to a V35 250GT sedan. The 250GT is much more comfortable, but feels like it has a bit less overall grunt - which I think is more to do with coming from a manual to an auto trans than any actual power difference. When winding the engine out if anything I'd say the NA VQ25 is a bit more free-revving than the NA RB25.

I've also driven a friends 4 door auto R34 25GT, which in terms of overall performance felt about the same as my 250GT. The 250GT is definitely slightly softer though - due to suspension setup mainly I think.

Have very briefly driven an IS200, initial impressions were that compared to the 250GT it has far less usable grunt - I kept wondering where all the torques had gone... Also overall it felt less 'sharp' than the 250GT. Also felt very, very cramped inside - the 250GT interior is massive by comparison.

Having said all that I haven't driven a 300 or 350GT - knowing that if I did I'd be far too tempted to buy one! So can't comment on how much better they are compared to a 250GT.

As for the 4sp auto - the gearbox is probably the only real issue I have with the car - a 250GT with a 5sp (or more!) auto would be my ideal at the moment (so next car is probably gonna be a V36 which has 5sp on both the 250 and 350GT...).

If you want a 5sp auto go for the V35 300GT - 3.0L and comes with the 5sp as standard.

Fuel consumption - mine uses between 9 (open road) and 11L (round town, mix of motorway and urban driving) per 100km, usually fill up at around 550 - 600km.

Coil pack issue - not something I've heard of either. Keep in mind that the VQ engine these things have is used all over the Nissan range, far more widely than the RB was. So it is pretty well tested and seems to be very reliable. Definitely more fragile than the RB, but that only matters if you are trying to up the power thru forced induction.

[Cruzen]

Definately 4-speed auto. There were no 250GT V35's in 5-speed.

I'm getting confused aswell , Were some later models say 2004 equipped with 5-Speed Auto's ?

http://www.carpoint.com.au/all-cars/privat...id=124BC28C7B27

Or do these guys not know what they are talking about and how am I able to tell with a 4 minute test drive ( Just got my licence back so I will be in the passenger ) ?

[Ant]

I'm getting confused aswell , Were some later models say 2004 equipped with 5-Speed Auto's ?

http://www.carpoint.com.au/all-cars/privat...id=124BC28C7B27

Or do these guys not know what they are talking about and how am I able to tell with a 4 minute test drive ( Just got my licence back so I will be in the passenger ) ?

Likely they don't know what they are talking about - AFAIK the 5 speed auto didn't come in the 250GT until the new V36 range came out.

Shouldn't be too hard to check - put it into tiptronic mode and change up to the top gear - dash display will show the gear number. Or count gear changes while accelerating to cruising speed (100km/h).

[Easy Tiger]

I'm getting confused aswell , Were some later models say 2004 equipped with 5-Speed Auto's ?

http://www.carpoint.com.au/all-cars/privat...id=124BC28C7B27

Or do these guys not know what they are talking about and how am I able to tell with a 4 minute test drive ( Just got my licence back so I will be in the passenger ) ?

I think you'll find that when putting the ad on Carsales.com.au/Carpoint.com.au, when completing the car details it automatically lists the auto transmission option for the 250GT as 5 speed auto, the advertiser cannot change it to 4-speed. So it is a website option problem, not because of the seller not knowing the difference. As Ant says - very easy to tell the difference by putting in manual mode and shifting up to maximum.