How do people shop for and buy a G70 2.0T Sport?

[SleepyElls]

Just started looking at replacing my old Infiniti G35 6MT, so the G70 2.0T Sport seems like a possible candidate. So far, I have just been browsing online and haven’t been to a dealership yet. But to first approximation, the online search engines don’t seem to show any MT G70s in stock at any nearby dealer. There’s maybe one at a dealership farther away.

So how do people shop for and buy this car? Do you just special order the car sight unseen, without taking a test drive? Fly or drive a long way to a dealer that has the car for a test drive? Order the car from a distant dealership and have it delivered?

 

[Beefer]

Use the Genesis website to search inventory. Mess with zip codes to search further distances from you.

Go for the 3.3T

 

[SleepyElls]

Go for the 3.3T

That’s the reason for wanting a test drive! All my cars have been manuals since college (many moons ago), so I guess I’m wondering whether this is the time to give it up. I won’t claim to be any good at it, but I still like shifting for myself. Without a test drive, I am not sure whether I would prefer the extra power from the 3.3T over the extra engagement from the 2.0T Sport.

I might be missing something, but I couldn’t find a good way to filter on transmission or trim levels on the Genesis website. The best I could do was restrict to RWD and 2.0T and then look for the price range for the 2.0T Sport.

The third-party sites like CarGurus or AutoTrader are better at filtering on trim level, but the results differ between the sites so I don’t know whether they are picking up all stock.

 

[Throat Yogurt]

Where do you live? I would start by contacting your local dealer and have them do the searching for you. They can see future allocation that won't necessarily show up on the various websites. Failing that, try posting in the 6MT thread to see if there are any forum users near you with a 6MT you could get a drive in. I was lucky that my local dealer had one in stock when I went to test drive, and then had two more in stock when I purchased.

As for 3.3 vs 6MT, if you are used to driving a stick, you will want the 6MT. Yes, the power of the 3.3 is nice, but it just can't make up for the driving engagement of the 6MT. Either a person likes to shift their own gears or they don't...power doesn't really change that, and it's not like the 2.0T is slow anyway. I mean, look how many slushbox owners in the Early Owner Feedback thread are whining about lack of a dedicated manual mode...

 

[Beefer]

Um...get the 3.3T....

 

[canucklehead604]

OP - where are you located? When I ordered my 6MT Sport i was told the local dealer would be getting a 6MT tester. That turned out to be incorrect. The only test drive i was able to take was in my actual car (if i wanted it) once it arrived. They weren’t able to drive it to me in order to limit mileage, since it was not allocated as a test vehicle.

So i ordered sight unseen, but there was no commitment if i was to change my mind. I was coming from a G37S 6MT (and a G35 6MT before that), and i’ve also only ever owned manuals. It is what it is, and while the power of the 3.3T is great, i was not prepared to give up the manual.

To be honest, the only reason i looked at the G70 was due to the availability of the manual. It became the white unicorn, almost. There are tons of slushbox options so if i had decided to drop the manual requirement i would have gone with a more recognized brand without giving Genesis a thought. Luckily Genesis hooked me and the car is sweet. Of course the 3.3T married up to the 6MT would be the ultimate white unicorn, but that will never happen. The 2.0T is good, and will be better with aftermarket support...

There are a handful of 6MT testers now available in Canada, not sure what the US supply is.

Btw - i do miss the sound of the VQ every day. The 2.0T (and the 3.3T) do not compare in stock form. not even close. #firstworldproblems

 

[SleepyElls]

Nice to hear from the G70 6MT crowd, and from an ex-G35 6MT owner to boot! (My VQ is still running strong after 14 years. It’s the rest of the car that is getting on in age.)

I’m in the SF Bay Area (South Bay), and it looks like there might be one 2.0T Sport currently farther away in the East Bay. I hope it is still there when my schedule clears up enough to get over there. For some reason, there seem to be a lot more 6MTs available in SoCal than in NorCal.

I think I’m in the same boat with regard to the manual being a white unicorn. (Is that a mixed metaphor? Not sure that the unicorn made it to the boat...)

My wife looks strangely at me and asks why I am so hung up on a manual. My daughter, who is about to learn how to drive, asks me what the advantages are. About all I can tell her is that I like driving one, as there isn’t really an advantage in performance or fuel economy anymore. I’m also in the land of Teslas, which seem like the future, and there are no manuals in sight there either. So I wonder a bit whether I am living in the past.

There are actually more used 2016-2018 340i 6MTs available around here than the ostensibly current G70 2.0T Sport, in basically the same price range or less. That would seem to marry the manual to a more powerful engine (B58) than in the G70.

 

[Beefer]

Every car in my life has been a manual...probably about 15 cars.

My very first AT was my 2013 A4. Missed rowing for about 2 weeks...never looked back.

I’ll never own a MT again. These AT’s are so brilliantly quick...I’m sold.

 

[danygenesis]

Every car in my life has been a manual...probably about 15 cars.

My very first AT was my 2013 A4. Missed rowing for about 2 weeks...never looked back.

I’ll never own a MT again. These AT’s are so brilliantly quick...I’m sold.

MT during my first 10 years, treated AT 20 gears ago, never looked back.

 

[joschneider]

Just try both if you can, you deserve the chance to at least see what the 3.3 is like once you move it into sport mode and use the paddle shifters

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[SleepyElls]

Yes, I would like to try both if possible. I haven’t tried the 3.3T yet, but I did try paddle shifters on a Volvo S60 in sport mode. The paddles basically worked in the sense that they shifted when I wanted, though I found it a bit disconcerting that the car would subsequently then go right back to shifting for itself. Not having tried paddles before, I had perhaps naively thought that they would more faithfully allow MT-like driving on an AT.

 

[joschneider]

Yes, I would like to try both if possible. I haven’t tried the 3.3T yet, but I did try paddle shifters on a Volvo S60 in sport mode. The paddles basically worked in the sense that they shifted when I wanted, though I found it a bit disconcerting that the car would subsequently then go right back to shifting for itself. Not having tried paddles before, I had perhaps naively thought that they would more faithfully allow MT-like driving on an AT.

Make sure to try it with traction control on and full off, press twice and the second time hold it

 

[SleepyElls]

Make sure to try it with traction control on and full off, press twice and the second time hold it

Thanks, I hadn't thought of that.

 

[joschneider]

Thanks, I hadn't thought of that.

You get full control of gears when it’s all off but it will still downshift for you if you push past the kick down switch but just keep it around 4K rpms before punching it and you shouldn’t have a problem

 

[Toddasaurus]

Yes, I would like to try both if possible. I haven’t tried the 3.3T yet, but I did try paddle shifters on a Volvo S60 in sport mode. The paddles basically worked in the sense that they shifted when I wanted, though I found it a bit disconcerting that the car would subsequently then go right back to shifting for itself. Not having tried paddles before, I had perhaps naively thought that they would more faithfully allow MT-like driving on an AT.

Having driven the S60 Polestar, I can tell you that the paddle shifters, and transmission, on the G70 are WAY better than the S60. That tranny is slow, lazy, and has a mind of its own. The paddles are an afterthought, they're so tiny it's a chore just to use them.

The G70, by comparison, has snappy shifts, and the paddles are actually useable. Like @joschneider said, make sure you are in Sport mode, and have traction control fully disabled (press the TC button and hold it for ~5 seconds until the message flashes on the gauge cluster). This will allow you to have full control of the shifts, and while in sport mode it won't default back to auto mode. You can hit the revlimiter it in gear if you want.

Even so, if the auto isn't your thing there's nothing wrong with that. I still miss some aspects of a manual, but nowadays an auto will ALWAYS be faster and that keeps me happy.

 

[SleepyElls]

Having driven the S60 Polestar, I can tell you that the paddle shifters, and transmission, on the G70 are WAY better than the S60. That tranny is slow, lazy, and has a mind of its own. The paddles are an afterthought, they're so tiny it's a chore just to use them.

The G70, by comparison, has snappy shifts, and the paddles are actually useable. Like @joschneider said, make sure you are in Sport mode, and have traction control fully disabled (press the TC button and hold it for ~5 seconds until the message flashes on the gauge cluster). This will allow you to have full control of the shifts, and while in sport mode it won't default back to auto mode. You can hit the revlimiter it in gear if you want.

Ah, that makes the paddle shifters sound MUCH better. After trying the S60 paddles, I was thinking that paddles were basically useless.

Question to the G70 3.3T crowd: do many of you actually use the paddle shifters regularly? Or did you just try them a few times and then forget about them?

 

[Toddasaurus]

Ah, that makes the paddle shifters sound MUCH better. After trying the S60 paddles, I was thinking that paddles were basically useless.

Question to the G70 3.3T crowd: do many of you actually use the paddle shifters regularly? Or did you just try them a few times and then forget about them?

I use them almost every time I drive - primarily because I want to keep some semblance of a manual car.

It's pretty dang good when in auto mode though.

 

[joschneider]

Ah, that makes the paddle shifters sound MUCH better. After trying the S60 paddles, I was thinking that paddles were basically useless.

Question to the G70 3.3T crowd: do many of you actually use the paddle shifters regularly? Or did you just try them a few times and then forget about them?

I use them maybe 25% of the time. The auto is pretty great for normal driving (as long as you keep it in sport mode. Comfort is for family in the car and Eco mode is not to be touched haha)

 

[OMG70]

Ah, that makes the paddle shifters sound MUCH better. After trying the S60 paddles, I was thinking that paddles were basically useless.

Question to the G70 3.3T crowd: do many of you actually use the paddle shifters regularly? Or did you just try them a few times and then forget about them?

What paddle shifters?

I use em when I'm driving real hard to keep within the right rev range for max torque, otherwise I can't be bothered. You're right that engagement with a manual is definitely greater, but you definitely won't miss it in traffic (especially on Bay area hills).

 

[SleepyElls]

Sounds like a range of responses, as probably should be expected. Good to hear, at least, that the paddles are actually usable for a manual-lite driving experience, if desired!

I am fortunate that my usual daily commutes are short and don’t hit the highway, so I am not often driving in rush-hour traffic. So for me the manual pros (engagement) may still outweigh the cons (pain in traffic).