Personally, if the STI was ruled out I'd get an Acura RL.

 

G35 Woops all Acuras.

 

Get the G35 if you need a practical car, otherwise the S2000 is probably the way to go but it's not practical (no storage or 4 seats). all the cars you listed have a lot of potential

 

Do you know anything at all about the RL? I'm not sure you're making an informed decision. It makes the G35 look pretty stale.

 

i vote for the G35 over the TL or RL also

 

My buddy just bought a G35 sedan, 2003. I am really impressed with it and would have to agree that I would prefer that over the TL or RL, especially if its an AWD G35 (which i believe is available as 2004 G35x) The G35 sedan is pretty quick and the coupe has a few more horsepower as well, Overall its a sweet car, in my opinion.

 

You guys need to pull that G35 down off that pedestal... it may have Skyline roots, but clearly you haven't looked into those Acura models. They are lighter weight, have a more powerful engine and come with some amazing features; the RL could go head-to-head with many of the latest Mercedes models and come out ahead. In fact there are quite a few cars in that $36-$40k range that can give a G35 a scare, if not blow it off the asphalt. It is dangerous to fixate on any one model, the list of options is always growing! The G35 is indeed a nice ride, but it does not stand alone.

 

like i said before i recommend STi or an S4. just wanted to put my 2cents in on the gee-thirty fizzah being "stale".

 

RLs and benz isnt really anything that goes with the models hes looking into though.

 

Well, if he threw the decent G35 Coupe into the mix, that pushes him to the $350+ per payment category; you could easily fit a nice Acura or Benz into that pay-per-month if you have halfway decent credit. Not to mention the fact that they would all likely have lower insurance payments than the STI ;-) The Mercedes C230 is a very impressive little car, for the money...

I say buy a used 2003 or 2004 STI and put $5,000 worth of mods into it. You'd be able to smear any G35, 350z or even M3 on the road, and you'd have spent $5k less.