dantheman1

What are y'alls opinions on those three cars. All of them have a 6sp stick. A3 is '07 s-line with the 2.0t and the acura has a 3.2 v6. I drove the acura and it felt sluggish not only with speed, but with the steering as well. It did have an impressive tranny and great brakes. The A3 is brand new so of course it was awesome. The tranny is perfect, suspension was nice and stiff, interior grade was excellent. I go tomorrow to see the G35. Any recommendations as to which is the best?

vplaza

I have an 06 A3 2.0T DSG. My in-laws have an 04 TL auto. And I test drove a G35 auto back in 03.

In a drag race, the A3 would most likely be last, though it could be close.

However, I prefer the A3 for a numer of reasons:

1) It felt the most nimble of the bunch. The TL felt big and heavy (which it obviously, compared to the A3).

2) Though not applicable to you, DSG blew all the other transmissions away.

3) Definitely too many TLs and G35s driving around here. The A3 is still somewhat unique.

4) Audi interior is superior to the others, IMHO.

Of course, the A3 is smaller than the two, so you have to consider how important cargo area is. Also, IMO, the TL had a superior navigation, IMHO, compared to the Nav+ in the Audi (I prefer touchscreen over the dial).

In the end, the answer of to "what is best" boils down to what criteria matter to you the most. Do you want to drive a new car or a used one? Do you prefer some exclusivity vs following the pack? Etc. What puts the smile on your face when you drive?

Good luck!

crew219

TL is overpriced . . . not worth it unless you get the 3.5 Type-S and even then, it is still overpriced.

A3 is great, but if you're looking at a 35k car, I would go G35 depending on your priorities.

Dave

April

No torque at low rpms in th Acura. Awd G35 driveline clunks horribly.

Timmay

so in other words "meh" for both and A3 FTW!

Timmay

tearing them a new *** each and every time.

Kev06A3

The torque steer on the TL 6speed was aweful. That was a dealbreaker for me. Very nice car aside from that, good power albeit nothing exciting but like Crew said, I don't doubt it's faster 0-xx than a stock A3. Kind of blah. Like a really really great Accord. :|

The G35 was a big disappointment. Always been a fan of Nissan/Infiniti and thought I would be more excited but I was left underwhelmed. I drove both the sedan and coupe. The sedan is far too sedate. Very good power and handling is good but the steering was too numb and it just generally felt too sedate. Generally the interior is good but the silver-painted plastic is cheap. Definitely not on par with even the A3. The coupe was more exciting than the sedan but still less fun than the A3. Quite a bit less fun, surprisingly. Very very good power, sounds great, definitely would be faster around the track than a stock A3, but it felt rough around the edges (drivetrain vibration, etc). The interior felt very cramped and the interior quality, like the sedan, was not up to par with the A3. Forget about sitting in the rear seat if you're over 5'8" (although legroom was just fine). Brakes were very good, lots of grip, excellent handling but again the drive experience was less rewarding. Just didn't have the go-kart feel of the A3.

All that having been said, the A3 wasn't all biscuits and gravy either. I thought the low-speed steering was overboosted (fixed that with VAGCOM adjustment at the dealer, setting 6 to 0 - perfect now). Acceleration was good but not as good as the other cars. Fixed that with a Revo flash. Wow, not a problem any more! Also thought the handling on the A3 was a bit sloppy even with the sport package (body roll). Improved that a ton with a H&R rear sway bar. Very happy with the car now.

Matt in SoCal

I have an A3 2.0T S-line 6 speed right now and previously had a G35 coupe 6 speed. I also have an 06 TSX (I know it is not the same as the TL). First of all, I have been very pleased with the A3, especially since chipping it. The 2.0T is very lively. It has the nicest interior quality and the fact that it is a wagon makes it pretty practical, too. Out of the three, it is also the most agile feeling (which translates to fun). Compared to the G35, though, it does not handle as well, it does not have as much power, and its brakes are inferior. A major plus for the G35 is that it is RWD. The G35 (and the TL) have roomier back seats as well. While Audi is not going to have Acura/Honda reliability, the build quality on the Infiniti is not very good. I had engine problems on my G35, and Infiniti refused to do anything about it, which was especially frustrating because Z owners with the identical problem were having their engines swapped out under warranty by Nissan. The interior quality is also pretty cheap, though the seats are comfortable. The interior of the TL is in between the A3 and the G. If reliability is the number one concern, the TL would be best. If rear-seat space is not a big factor, I think the A3 (as long as you keep it under $30k) is the best value. I really love the way the G35 drives, but the overall quality is lacking.