You have to hand it to the folks at Infiniti, they've got a lot of what the Cowardly Lion went looking for when he joined Dorothy on the road to Oz.
After all, how many carmakers would have the courage to market a $24,000 compact with only a four-cylinder engine when everybody else is offering full-size sedans with potent V-6s for the same money. (OK, BMW's 318i is a similar deal, but Bimmer is a special case what with all that Teutonic tradition and everything.)And how many auto companies today would dare produce a car, whatever the price, that has no cup holders? Don't they know that many people today make their automotive buy/don't buy decision based on whether a car can accommodate two Big Gulps side-by-side?
The model that dares fly in the face of these consumer convictions is the G20, the "entry-level" offering of Infiniti, the blue-blood, upscale progeny of Japanese auto giant Nissan.
Don't misunderstand, I really like the 1993 1/2 "Klog Silver Crystal" G20 I've been driving this past week. What's not to like? It's a meticulously assembled little sedan with a gorgeous silver finish (as nice as a BMW which has long been my standard for paint quality), soft gray leather seats, all the luxury bells and whistles and it handles like a sports car.
But I merely borrowed the G20 for a few days. If I had to pony up 24 big ones of my own money, I'd have to look at all the other great cars selling in that price range.
For example, do I buy the 140-hp G20 four-banger or do I go for a loaded Toyota Camry XLE, which is roomier, has a bulletproof reputation, world-class resale value and a 185-hp V-6? Do I buy the smallish, conservative G20 or put a down payment on a Ford Taurus SHO with its Yamaha-built 220-hp V-6 and more passenger/trunk room to boot? Or how about the aforementioned BMW 318i - a luxury car with decades more tradition than the newcomer Infiniti.
Which begs the question: What constitutes a luxury car? Or, more precisely, what makes an expensive car worth the money? Power antennas, cruise control and self-closing trunks? Big V-8 engines, large trunks and seating for six? Leather seats, dual airbags and "Twilite Sentinel?"
These are deep philosophical waters, and I don't think I'll wade into them here even though the Infiniti G20 has made me think about them more than any car I've driven lately.
The concept of the G20 is easy enough to fathom. Back in the days when the choices among cars were comparatively limited, the upwardly mobile General Motors customer was expected to work his way up through the ranks of Chevy, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick and Cadillac.
Same thing applies at Infiniti. The young executive starts out with a G20. As the career prospers, he or she moves up to the $30,000-something J30. With ultimate success comes the ultimate Infiniti, the magnificent Q45, Nissan's equivalent of a Cadillac Seville.
Trouble is, there are so many choices today, particularly in the G20's price segment, that it's tough even to decide which family of cars to adopt, never mind which specific model.
Oh well, let's assume you have decided to hitch your monthly payments to Infiniti's star and, your income is not yet up to the demands of a J30 or Q45 so you opt for the G20. What do you get?
Just about everything except raw speed and excess space. Not that the G20 is a snail. The buff books place its 0-60 mph acceleration at 8.5 seconds with the 5-speed manual transmission - the tranny in my test car. With the 4-speed automatic, expect to reach 60 about a second later.
I suspect most G20 buyers will opt for the automatic because there are only two rational reasons to buy a stickshift car: 1. You are a very economical person and want the best gas mileage you can get or, 2. You are a speed freak and want to squeeze every last ounce of power out of the engine.
The first type would be much better off buying a Honda Civic VTEC (although the 5-speed G20's 24 mpg city and 32 highway is not too shabby) and the second would be much better off with a Chevy Camaro Z28 with a 6-speed manual.
While I have been touting the joys of bigness, I should tell you that I'm partial to smaller cars. They are more fun to drive and park, and I spend most of my motoring time alone in the car anyway, so a 100.4-inch wheelbase machine that will seat four adults in comfort and five in a pinch doesn't put me out.
Same with the G20's trunk. At 14.2 cubic ft., it is neither small nor large, although it would not hold the clubs and luggage of four golfers heading for St. George or even the toys, sporting goods and luggage of a family of four.
A word about the G20's 160-watt sound system: awesome. The Q45 just may have the best factory stereo I've heard, and the G20 isn't far behind. My test car had both a cassette tape player and an in-dash CD player.
A thought just struck me: Infiniti needs to do something to lift the G-car out of the large pool of compact sedans with maxed-out options. They need to do for it what the GTI did for the Volkswagen Rabbit. They need to make it the fastest car in its class. Install a turbo? A big V-6? A small V-8? Give me a call, Infiniti, we'll do lunch and you can pick my brains on this subject.
The G20 is basically the same car as the first one introduced four years ago, but last summer Infiniti gave it a new do (thus, the 19931/2 designation), adding dual air bags, the new non-CFC air conditioning, alloy wheels, body-color bumpers and moldings and a few other minor changes. Also, the suspension was retuned to a firmer ride - some would say too firm for a luxury car but maybe just right for a "sports sedan." Anti-lock brakes are standard.
Base price of the G20 has not moved up much from where it started four years ago, just under $20,000. My test car's base MSRP was $21,750, but a luxo options package of leather-power seats, a sunroof and remote entry system added $2,200. With $450 destination charges, the bottom line was $24,400.
Infiniti covers the G20 with a very generous four-year, 60,000-mile warranty. The power train is covered for six years or 70,000 miles, and the paint and sheet metal are guaranteed for seven years.