By Alex Nunez on August 16, 2010 in
The Infiniti G37 sport sedan has a 3.7-liter V6 (hence the "37" in its name) that delivers a not-insignificant 328 horsepower. That amount of muscle puts the Infiniti more or less in the same arena as the BMW 335i, whose turbocharged inline-6 is also rated at 300 horsepower. Where these two rivals diverge, however, is at the entry point. While Infiniti has only ever offered the G37 sedan with a single, top-spec engine, BMW offers up the non-turbocharged and less powerful 328i sedan as a less costly point of entry. Same sense of style and available amenities; a little less oomph. For a lot of drivers, it's still plenty. For 2011, Infiniti has apparently gotten the memo. This weekend, it unveiled an entry model of its own: the 2011 Infiniti G25 sedan.
Keeping pace with BMW
Arriving in showrooms in September at a base MSRP of $30,950, the Infiniti G25 sedan is motivated by a 2.5-liter V6 delivering 218 horsepower. That puts it in the same general neighborhood as the pricier (Base MSRP $32,700) BMW 328i's 230 horsepower, and Infiniti's strategy of offering more standard luxury features in its G sedans carries over. For example, the Infiniti has standard leather seats and high-intensity Xenon headlamps to BMW's leatherette seating surfaces and standard halogens. Like BMW, Infiniti will also offer optional all-wheel drive in the base car; that model will be called the G25x (pictured above).
First review already published
Thanks to the global marketplace, there's already one solid English-language road test of the new entry Infiniti, even though the car hasn't formally arrived yet. In June, Edmunds Inside Line flew to Japan to drive the Nissan Skyline 250GT in anticipation of the long-rumored Infiniti G25's arrival. (Japan's Nissan Skyline is the Infiniti G sold here in the U.S.) Writer Peter Nunn comes away generally pleased with the car, saying, "It feels effortlessly fast. It's refined and the taut chassis is a peach — the handling fluid and well-balanced but also deliciously sharp. Any fears that the 250GT might come over as a kind of sluggard with a poverty motor can be swiftly laid to rest." Later in the review, he concludes that the Skyline 250GT (Infiniti G25) is a genuinely capable and attractive alternative to the entry-level BMW 3 Series sedan, as well as the Lexus IS 250 (Base MSRP $33,315).
To be continued...
Given that in our daily travels we see no shortage of 328i-badged BMWs, introducing a slightly less high-strung G sedan seems like a solid gamble from Infiniti. The Infiniti G sedans, coupes, and convertibles usually perform well in both standalone reviews and comparisons (BMW 3 Series models invariably make an appearance in the latter). Inside Line's advance review of the Japan-spec car indicates that the 2011 Infiniti G25 is on track to win similar favor from the experts. When it arrives, we'll cover it in detail once a solid base of professional reviews becomes available.