Infiniti G37 S Premium 2013 Review

Infiniti’s G37 two-door coupe and convertible drop discreetly into the Australian premium segment. No attempts have been made to dazzle the upmarket buyer with smashing style and complex mechanicals: Just a pair of neat, conservative and competent upmarket rear-drive four-seaters with high levels of quality, and plenty of standard features – and pricing that, rightly, is advantageously positioned against mainly-German competitors.

The Infiniti G37, in coupe or hardtop convertible form, is far from bargain basement, but either will leave plenty of change if weighed up against German equivalents.

Opening at $75,900 for the base G37 GT Premium coupe and topping out at $87,900 for the S Premium convertible, the Infiniti's hover around $30,000 below BMW’s 335i M Sport coupe and convertible equivalents, and are less expensive than the surprisingly well-priced (coupe only) Mercedes-Benz C350 BlueEfficiency Coupe.

In coupe versions, opt for the top-level S Premium variant at $83,500 before on-road costs and the gap narrows.

If you are talking about open-air variants only, the G37’s most obvious competitor is the Lexus IS 250 C (convertible) which actually undercuts the open-top Infiniti at $76,300 before on-road costs. The question is whether the Lexus’ 1750kg body weight and 153kW 2.5-litre V6 engine make it a true competitor.

What do you get for your money? Well, in the case of the Coupe S Premium, quite a lot – although there are some omissions that are arguably unexpected at this price point. Much of the technology that is now appearing at all levels of the market, such as radar cruise control, auto parking, blind-spot monitoring and lane-change warning fail to make the cut, even in the top-spec G37.

But the Coupe S Premium does bring a lot of performance-oriented equipment including active four-wheel steering, viscous limited slip differential, “sports tuned” suspension, 19-inch wheels and meaty sports brakes that complement the punchy, sonorous 235kW/360Nm 3.7-litre V6.

If the engine sounds familiar that’s no surprise. It is virtually the same nat-atmo V6 that powers the Nissan 370Z coupe and connects back to the 3.0-litre VQ engine that garnered global recognition when it was inserted into the Maxima sedan in 1996.

It has seen plenty of revision in the ensuing years and is still impressive, although it couldn’t really be described these days as a cut above the rest. The power and torque are pretty good for a non-turbo, but the emissions and fuel consumption are not in the same league as, for example, BMW’s turbo 3.0-litre six. 10.5L/100km (we recorded 10.3L/100km on test) and 246g/km for the G37 coupe are well short of the 8.4L/100km and 196g/km quoted for the BMW 335i coupe – even though the German inline turbo six is no longer new itself.

That said, the Nissan-sourced V6 is a commendable performer in the G37 coupe. Zero to 100km/h comes up in a nifty 5.9 seconds (5.4 seconds for the BMW) and top speed runs out to a quoted 250km/h.

The engine note is nicely calculated to maintain distinct sporty overtones while not being harsh or loud enough to impinge on the G37’s essentially luxurious nature.

The (standard) seven-speed auto does all you’d expect of a conventional transmission with smooth and swift up or downshifts and manual override via the console selector or steering wheel paddles. The S Premium test car was a bit lumpy at low speeds though, as the engine management seemed unable to make smooth transitions between throttle-off and throttle-on. The S Premium convertible also tested didn’t suffer from the same glitch.

However the engine’s willingness is always evident, right through to 7000rpm where maximum kilowatts are developed. But although it steps off the line eagerly, it lacks the mid-range torque we are getting accustomed to in increasingly prevalent turbo engines. The specifications tell the story: The (commendable, if nothing special) 360Nm maximum torque figure doesn’t arrive until 5200rpm. The G37 motorvates in a generally satisfying way but doesn’t quite pin your ears back as speed rises.

But it stops forcefully. The S Premium’s special sports braking system, with four-pot callipers at the front and larger rotors front and rear, feels assured at all times, dragging the coupe down with real conviction whenever asked. The bigger 19-inch wheels, asymmetrically sized front and rear and with tyres measuring 225/45 up front and 245/45 at the rear, help too.

Some time spent on winding roads brings to mind Nissan 370Z connotations. Helped by the well-weighted, active four-wheel steering which swings the steering wheel from lock-to-lock in just 2.6 turns (3.1 turns for non-active models), the S Premium finds a comfortable balance between firmness and suppleness in the suspension settings. The coupe feels nice and compliant on roughed-up surfaces but asserts itself in a reassuring way when swooping and diving between fast corners. It’s about as close to being a four-seat 370Z as could be imagined.

The cockpit of the G37 fits with the generally conservative nature of the external styling.

There’s nothing quirky to come to terms with, and soft-touch vinyl abounds on dash, doors and elsewhere. The two-person driver-seat memory attends to not just the seats, but also the external mirrors and power-adjusted steering column as well. The S Premium gets extending seat squabs up front, along with a 14-way adjustable driver’s seat, tyre-pressure monitoring and a rear spoiler to help distinguish it from the base GT Premium model. The latter model is hardly sparse with standard glass sunroof, active bi-Xenon lights, sat nav, 11-speaker BOSE sound system, heated front seats and key-free operation.

As you would expect, back seat accommodation, coupe or convertible, is nothing special, although in the coupe it is possible to transport four adults with reasonable comfort. If overnight travel is in mind, it is best to be aware that the coupe boot only holds a paltry 275 litres of luggage. The hardtop convertible, with the roof up, is better with a capacity of 333kg. But drop the roof and boot space virtually disappears altogether.

With all the available adjustment, the coupe driver’s seat goes about its job of delivering comfort on long trips, although these are undertaken with the awareness that the G37 is neither the cleanest, not the thriftiest car in its category. This reflects the car’s weight (the coupe is quoted at 1670kg, the convertible is a hefty 1866kg) and the no-longer fresh engine design. On top of that, it asks for a minimum diet of 95 RON fuel.

Comparing the top-spec coupe with the convertible there are plenty of similarities to be found – but at the same time the convertible suffers dynamic deficits resulting from the lack of a steadying roof structure.

As is common with a full four-seat convertible there is the inevitable body shimmy and a lack of the overall tautness evident in the coupe. The steering, as mentioned earlier, is less quick, although it is by no means tardy getting the convertible around a bend. Ride quality, however, doesn’t feel much different, whether it’s coupe or convertible.

The roof lags behind competitors that activate more quickly (it takes 25 seconds to raise or lower) and the G37 needs to be completely stationary before anything happens, which is not always the case these days. As for the boot, the convertible in a general sense is only meant for two. As mentioned earlier, the load space is reasonably good roof-up, but lower it and the back seat is really the only space left for luggage.

But the convertible looks good, in open-air or hardtop format, and is not distinguished by the ugly ‘raised butt’ that characterises all but a few hardtop convertibles from other car-makers. This probably partly explains the shortage of boot space.

With its 200kg or so of extra weight the convertible is slower, thirstier and dirtier than the coupe, although it is still quick enough with a zero to 100km/h figure of 6.4 seconds. CO2 readings go up from an already high 246g/km to 264g/km and fuel consumption increases to 11.4L/100km, although, admittedly including a fair bit of highway running, we did a tad better on test with 11.1L/100km.

Overall the Infiniti G37 coupe and convertible are, as we said at the beginning, subtle entries into the premium coupe/convertible market. Both look classy, come with appropriate levels of build quality, offer competitive levels of standard equipment – albeit without a lot of the tricky safety electronics available elsewhere – acquit themselves well on the road and are priced to appeal.

Safety ratings have not yet been applied go the G37 coupe and convertible, although five stars are prevalent throughout the Inifiniti range in other markets including Europe and the US.

Australia just needs a second chance to accustom itself to the Infiniti brand.

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