On Thanksgiving, I had the opportunity to drive my friend's G35X. While it was a nice car, I thought my A6 Avant was slightly better, even giving away seven years in technology. The Avant was easier to drive and more precise. The G35X's throttle and brakes were pretty touchy and I never really got comfortable even after about three hours behind the wheel.

The G35X had a number of gadgets, but it seemed to be too many and not all that useful. The interior of the G35X wasn't all that distinctive with just different colors of plastic. Not what I expect in a premium car. The Audi interior was more elegant as well as the seats being more comfortable.

Where the G35X had an advantage was in power. It likely had about 300 hp to my Audi's 200. Being seven years newer, its reliability would also be better, However, it was some $18K more expensive than my Audi.