Despite eventual replacement by the new Infiniti Q50, it turns out the current G37 will soldier on longer than planned. The G37 sedan will continue on with its current form and name alongside the Q50 until 2015, Infiniti says. Here's why you should buy the G instead.
With the G37 staying on for another two years, Infiniti has slashed their prices way down from $37,350 to $32,550. With that you get the same 328 horsepower 3.7-liter V6 that's in the Q50 (though not the 360 horsepower hybrid engine, which I actually liked better because of all the torque), and you can have it with a stick shift. (No you can't. See the update below.)
I drove the Q50 last week and found it to be a well-appointed, well-designed luxury sedan with a lot of great technology. I also found it a bit boring, primarily because it lacks a manual transmission and because much of that technology seemed to be present for its own sake, not because it enhanced the driving experience.
If you go the G37 route, also won't have to deal with things like the Infiniti app suite or Directive Adaptive Steering, which I found solidly meh.
The Q50 is not a bad car by any means, but the G37 offers a purer experience for enthusiasts than its successor, and now it's quite a bit cheaper. Given the choice, I'd go with that one and you should too.
UPDATE: It turns out I misspoke about the manual. Unlike a lot of cars, the manual transmission on the G37 isn't an option, but rather a separate model called the 6MT. Sadly, the 6MT will be discontinued after this year — only the G37 Sedan Journey and G37 Sedan AWD will stay on. Only two options will be available, the Premium and Navigation Packages.
In other words, say goodbye to the manual here too. But the good news is that the price cut still represents a fantastic bargain for the G.