You can definitely see the family resemblance, though since a car’s roof is a major structural component, the body was engineered from the beginning with extensive reinforcements to fight flexing.
John Weiner, director of product planning, says the hard-top G37 Convertible was designed as a “four-season car” with features that “extend the convertible driving season.”
Available adaptive climate control works when the top is down, increasing fan speed at low vehicle speeds when it’s hot and at high speeds when it’s cold. Seats can be heated and cooled, and a new Bose stereo system compensates for noise and has speakers in the headrests.
The retractable hard top completes up or down operation in less than 30 seconds. Infiniti uses a “clamshell” configuration to fold it up rather than stacking the sections similar to other hard-top convertibles. This is more compact and allowed Infiniti to retain the coupe’s proportions.
The rear suspension is reconfigured to allow room for the folded top.
Ironically, the flat, usable trunk is actually larger than the G37 Coupe’s with the top up, though you’re left with pretty much a mail slot with the top down. Weiner admits this was a “compromise to keep the short overhang and low deck.” We’ll give Infiniti that one.
The semifunctional back seat has plenty of room for some bags if you feel the need for a longer trip with the top down. And really, while the back does have more room than the rear seats of some convertibles out there, if you’re taking a trip long enough to need luggage, it’s too long for a grown human to survive back there anyway. Weiner says the rear seat was intended to accommodate “a full-size adult for a short drive.”
Two models are available, but several option packages offer some variety. The base car has a seven-speed automatic that’s new for 2009 and 18-inch wheels.
Step up to the sport model and you get 19-inch wheels, a sharper steering gear ratio, six-speed manual transmission, as well as appearance items like unique front fascia and aluminum-trimmed pedals.
If you want a sport with the automatic, you can have it as a base model with a sport package, which basically gives you everything on the sport plus paddle shifters for the transmission.
Recent Infiniti vehicles I’ve driven continue to impress me. The G37 Coupe was a surprise addition to my on-track favorites list at last year’s Midwest Automotive Media Association Spring Rally at Road America.
What I like about Infiniti is that while it builds luxury vehicles, it tends toward the sporty handling and driving dynamics side of the spectrum rather than the purely cushy ride. I wasn’t expecting the comfy G37 Coupe to be such a hoot to toss around the track.
The G37 Convertible Sport has even more of a split personality.
It’ll happily burble down the boulevard all day long while you work on your tan, but mash the go pedal at the first twisty road sign and you’ll be rewarded with a nice throaty exhaust note and the well-balanced handling for which Infiniti’s rear-wheel drive front-midship platform is becoming known.
It coddles you too much to be considered a sports car, but the cornering agility is there.
I came in a little hot on a couple downhill curves in the hills outside Los Angeles fully expecting the stability control to intervene, but the Bridgestone Potenza RE050A’s never squeaked, and I realized I was still well within the limits. Humongous brakes (largest rotors in its class) on the sport give a rock hard and high pedal with lots of feel.
A lower rear axle ratio accompanies the six-speed manual to help keep things interesting in the acceleration department, and perhaps to make up for the convertible’s 453-pound weight penalty over the coupe.
It’s at the expense of fuel mileage versus the automatic. I didn’t get as much time in the seven-speed auto, but I liked it its DS mode, which held shifts longer for more spirited driving, and gives a little blip of the throttle on downshifts to make you sound like a pro. Manual shifting is available via the stick or aforementioned paddles.
Wind buffeting up front is minimal with the top down, allowing conversations at interstate speeds. The extra wind deflector you prop up behind the headrests helps even more. Top up, it’s very quiet and there’s a nicely finished headliner making you forget you’re in a convertible.
Pricing for the Infiniti G37 Convertible will be announced this month. Expect it to run in the mid-$40,000s.
2009 Infiniti G37 Convertible Gallery
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