[TMNT]

Well some of you might have seen that I am in desperate need of a new car pronto so I have put my search efforts in full force to find a new car. BMW or not.

Today I saw and sat in the new G37. I was not allowed to test drive it because of all the rules put around it until its "official" release. It was blue slate with black interior.

Anyway the car looks MUCH better in person. I have heard many people say that it looks better in person, but really didn't believe it until I saw it. It has a really wide stance from all sides especially looking at it from the front and it looks much more aggressive up close. The rims also look a lot bigger than they do in the pics...they actually look like 19's. When you look at the old G and the new G together side by side you can definately see the gradual evolution of the car. Now I will be the first to say that I was extremely disappointed when I saw the first pictures of the G37 when it first came out. Do a search and you will see, however I might have jumped the gun a little to early.

The interior is much like the new G35 as we have all come to expect. However it has been mentioned time and time again that the rear seats in the old G coupe are practically useless. That's no longer the case as there is much more room back there than before.

For example....I had my dad who is 5'11 sit in the front seat while I sat behind him in the back. I made sure he had all the room he needed up there so that I could test how much space would be left in the back. I had enough space and I am 5'8". My knees did not rub against the back of the seat and my head did not hit the top of the roof. The sales person said that they improved the rear seat head room to make the rear more practical for passengers and that is indeed true. I would say I had about 3 inches of space between the top of my head and the roof.

C350:

Well im going to keep this really short. For those that want more info do a search in this forum for my review of the C300 since they are practically the same.

The engine in this car is much much better than in the C300 for obvious reasons...but with a EPA estimate of 17 city/ 24 or 25 Highway thats pretty pathetic. I wonder it the gas milage would be like without a seven speed automatic transmission. Its definately got much more pickup than in the C300 and is probably good for 80% of drivers out there....but if your on this forum you probably like power found in Infiniti and BMW.

If you love music and a nice sound system, the stock system is PISS POOR. The C300 I orginally test drove had the multimedia package with the Harmon Kardon sound system and that really impressed me......but the stock system is crap. I'm serious...I'm not just saying that.

The car is extremely smooth and quite.....quieter than the new g35. The car felt really solid. Not a sqeak, creek, rattle, or any type of strange sound. The car is solid like a rock. The dash and door panels are mostly all hard plastic which don't look and feel as nice as ones found in Infiniti and BMW comparables, but Mercedes has a good way of still making the interior look classy.

I noticed that I had a harder time seeing in the C350 and I did in the C300. I guess I didn't pay enough attention last time.....but the HUGE side mirrors actually caused me to have a hard time seeing where I was going when I turned left because the side mirror would obstruct me from seeing where I was trying to turn into. The rear view is bad too, the back window is small and is high up so you don't have a great view when backing up.

Handeling at first felt good, but when I stepped on the gas and tried to make a quick sudden turn, I thought I was going to loose control of the car around some twisties and quickly hit the brakes. It kinda actually freaked me out for a bit and I quit testing it like that from that point on.

I took a BMW and Infinti on the same twisty road and the cars were practically saying to me with a grin "Is that all you got?"

The Mercedes basically said, "That one doesn't count, my shoe laces weren't tied." Now I will say that the C350 didn't have the 18inch AMG wheel that come as a $1,000 option. They might have helped the car better.

Well that's it for now. Enjoy.

[sflgator]

The Infiniti G37 will prove to be a great car for the money and the MB -- well they always look great from the outside, the inside is sub-par and usually, they drive like sh!t (AMG excluded)...the MBs are just overrated and overly expensive, imho.

[spacedogg]

Nice writeup. But no pics?

[E90330iS]

Originally Posted by sflgator

The Infiniti G37 will prove to be a great car for the money and the MB -- well they always look great from the outside, the inside is sub-par and usually, they drive like sh!t (AMG excluded)...the MBs are just overrated and overly expensive, imho.

I think the AMGs drive like shit also, just lots of power and look even better

[sflgator]

Originally Posted by E90330iS

I think the AMGs drive like shit also, just lots of power and look even better

That's what I've heard as well, but I haven't driven in one yet, so I didn't want to comment on the AMGs.

[GraphiteBrawler]

If you want to go with a Benz

S550 4Matic with all the options = sex tbh.

[sflgator]

Originally Posted by GraphiteBrawler

If you want to go with a Benz

S550 4Matic with all the options = sex tbh.

For about $90k.

[flipmde786]

A fully optioned C350 Sport is almost 5k less than a comparably equipped E90 335i. Yes, the 335i performs a lot better, but still it's a hefty price tag.

As for the 17/25 gas mileage, those are on new 2008 EPA standards, which claim to have more "real" mileage figures. Expect to see all mpg figures for cars take a hit for 2008.

[!Xoible]

i felt the G37 seats were pushed back which means lesser trunk space, lesser head room, but more leg room.

The G is just not a practical car. it just was not built for space.