The six-speed manual shift pattern was tight and gear selection was precise, requiring little effort. Clutch operation is heavier than we would expect even on a sports sedan. This makes for sometimes rocky clutch engagement, especially at low speeds and light throttle.
Ride and handling are consistent across the line.
The notable and commendable exception of this is the Sport models with four-wheel steer. Besides actively adjusting the rear wheel toe by up to a degree depending on vehicle speed and steering angle, the four-wheel steering brings with it a sportier shock and spring setup and road speed-sensitive, variable ratio power steering. For hustling down winding roads, this suspension and 4WS is the preferred combination, and it's not all that far out of its element cruising the Interstate. It's solid and taut and manages the G35's mass very well without exacting a price in stiffness. It's firm, yes, and will transmit pavement heaves more dramatically into the passenger compartment. But over anything less than chunking blacktop or weathered concrete, it gives up very little against the standard suspension, which leans a bit more toward supple. Not that the base suspension is floaty by any means, far from it, actually. But as demonstrated over several fairly hot laps on a racetrack, it's not as planted and controlled as the 4WS Sport.
On freeways, the G35 cruises comfortably and quietly. Gone is the irritating drone that often plagued rear seat passengers in earlier G35 sedans. There's little wind noise even at extra-legal speeds. There's more road noise from the optional tire packages than from the standard treads, but the added grip and, frankly, sharper looking 18-inch wheels are worth it. Next Page