Hyundai Genesis Coupe Takes on Infiniti G37

Hyundai is charging relentlessly into new territories with its products. Witness the Veracruz, a three-row SUV that Hyundai regularly compares to the Lexus RX 350 (which, if a recent Motor Trend comparison is any indication, might not be such a wild notion). Earlier this year, the automaker said it set sedans like the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class as the benchmark for its new Genesis sedan, and now press materials for the 306-hp, V-6 Genesis coupe — rumored to be priced starting under $26,000 — tout the $35,000-plus Infiniti G37 as a possible competitor.

The comparison Hyundai made concerned performance capabilities, so we’ll have to wait until we drive one before we can deliver a final verdict. That doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun, though; at last week’s New York auto show, I checked out the two cars back to back.

Mini, BMW, Infiniti Top Best Resale Value List

Our list of the cars, trucks and SUVs with the best resale value has just been updated, and a lot of familiar names top the list. When we break down resale values by segment, the Mini Cooper, Honda Accord, Infiniti G35/G37, BMW 5 Series and GMC Sierra/Chevy Silverado top their respective segments.

When you take a look at the top 10 resale values overall, it’s the Infiniti G35/G37, Jeep Wrangler and BMW 3 Series taking the top three spots, knocking the Mini Cooper off its previous No. 1 perch.

Which cars rank lowest? The Mazda B2300, Ford Ranger and Suzuki Forenza top that dubious list.

Check out the full rankings below. 

Best Car Resale Values by Class
Best Overall Car Resale Values
Worst Overall Car Resale Values

Through Ian's Lens: 2008 Infiniti G37S

The new Infiniti G37S is a sport coupe that is as elegant as it is fast. The lines on this car are so sleek and speed-invoking that Infiniti has used a painted rendering of the car as a secondary logo. From grille to tail, the G37S body is designed to catch your eye; Infiniti has created a provocative body shape here. The over-extended, elongated headlight cases in the front and rear create visual bookends for the streamlined body, while twin tailpipes and a small spoiler add an aggressive stance. From the large, rounded grille and oversized badge in front all the way through the leather and metal of the interior to the flat, abrupt tail, the G37S visually embodies a balance of class and performance. The photos are below.

Navigation That Scores: Infiniti G35 Wins With Users

The navigation system offered in the Infiniti G35 is the highest-rated factory-installed system in terms of consumer satisfaction, according to J.D. Power and Associates, which surveyed more than 14,000 motorists who have a factory-installed system in their car.

The system in the Lexus IS 250/350 finished second, while the Acura TL’s was No. 3 in the rankings. The Infiniti G35 and Acura TL systems offer a choice of voice or touch-screen activation, while the Lexus offers voice activation only.

While voice activation is considered the most technologically advanced, it's not the method of choice for nav systems, said Mike Marshall, director of emerging automotive technologies for J.D. Power. He said touch-screen activation was the top choice for 64 percent of nav system users, while 24 percent preferred voice activation, 5 percent favored knob controls and 4 percent wanted to use buttons or dials.

2 Minute Faceoff: Infiniti G37 vs. BMW 335i

Before we start to tell you about the video above, we’re going to say right now (right now!) that we don’t want to hear any complaints out of you rascally commenters about us comparing a coupe to a hardtop convertible. We know they’re not exactly the same. But we had both cars in the same place at the same time, we had two minutes, we had Cars.com senior editor Joe Wiesenfelder in a caffeinated state, so we went with it.

There, we feel better now. Oh, and enjoy the video.

First Impressions: 2008 Infiniti G37

Last week, the crew from Cars.com got to take a spin in a number of new cars from a variety of automakers. With full reviews in the works for most of them, we figured we’d all give our first impressions of some of the more notable cars on hand.

• This was actually the first car I took out in the morning, and I thought I had made a score by grabbing the hot coupe before anyone else. I found the looks of the new G coupe to be subtle but still attractive; the inside was just as nice as the G35 sedan, and I figured the drive would be much more thrilling. Instead, while the G37 is a capable coupe with a smooth shifter and light clutch, it didn’t throw me back in the seat from a stop as much as I had expected, nor did it carve corners energetically. In a car landscape with so many great performers, I’m not sure I’d settle for above-average.  —  David Thomas, KickingTires editor 

Infiniti Prices New G37 Coupe

The highly anticipated Infiniti G37 arrives at dealers August 21, and now we know how much it will cost to drive one of the 330 hp coupes off the lot. Prices start at $34,250 for the base model (not including $715 in destination charges). There will also be Journey and Sport models offering different levels of equipment and transmission choices.

Both the base model and Journey come with a five-speed automatic transmission with available paddle shifters, while the Sport comes with a six-speed manual transmission. Only rear-wheel drive models will be available at launch with the all-wheel drive G37x will be available later this year. Full prices and photos are below.

New York Auto Show: More Infiniti G37 Images

Infiniti only gave us a few shots of the new Infiniti G37 when we first learned about the new coupe. Today we received a handful of new photos that are very stylistic and show off a bit more of the G37. We’d still like some more traditional shots, but that might have to wait until we see the G37 in New York next week. Until then, the new photos are below.

2007 Infiniti G37 Breaks Cover

The automotive world used to be all about secrets. Automakers would plan a new vehicle introduction down to the day so they could maximize the “wow” factor of the debut, usually at a major auto show. Infiniti was planning on previewing its G37 coupe a week from today, a full week before its public debut in New York City, but a number of automotive publications decided to spoil the surprise, running the information they received on the new sports coupe ahead of time.

We only have two images for you, yet it’s still obvious that the exterior is significantly different from the past-generation G35 coupe. It doesn’t seem to be an obvious improvement, but it’s not unattractive either.

We can tell you the G37 has a 3.7 liter V-6 engine — modified from the one in the new G35 sedan — that produces 330 hp. There will also be an available four-wheel steering system, but as of right now we don’t have much more official information from Infiniti besides the engine size and power. It does go on to say that the G37 has touch-screen navigation with real-time traffic and a really nice available stereo. We’ll have more on the G37 next week. Until then, we’re sure you can find some other early reports if you look hard enough.

Related:
Infiniti G37 Coupe Debuting at New York Auto Show

Infiniti G37 Coupe Debuting at New York Auto Show

Don’t let the name fool you: The 2008 Infiniti G37 coupe is the new G35 coupe, but the name reflects a larger engine — probably a 3.7-liter V-6 with significantly more than the 306 hp in the G35 sedan. We’re just guessing, of course, but we’ve been around long enough to speculate very, very accurately.

We’ll find out more April 4 when Infiniti reveals the G37 in full, along with an EX concept. We’re not going to speculate on that one too much, but it could be an SUV of some kind. 

Related:
2008 Infiniti G35: In Sketch Form