2001 G20
08/14/2019
Infiniti
The 2001 Infiniti G20 luxury sports sedan continues to occupy a unique position in the new-vehicle marketplace - an affordable fun-to-drive luxury sports sedan from one of the world's premium marques. Making its debut in the Infiniti lineup in 1990 as a 1991 model, the second generation G20 was introduced in 1998 as a 1999 model. The G20 continues on in 2001 in both Luxury and Touring editions.
"There are not many cars in today's marketplace like G20," said Tom Orbe, vice president and general manager, Infiniti Division, Nissan North America, Inc. "A consumer simply cannot find the spirited performance and luxury amenities, along with Infiniti's industry-leading philosophy of customer support known as The Total Ownership Experience, without spending thousands more. It fits perfectly into the Infiniti family of authentic driver's vehicles."
Exterior Design
G20's styling features an aggressive wedge-shape body with a short hood, slanted nose, long cabin and high volume trunk. Standard side-sill spoilers give G20 a hunkered-down, road hungry look. Jewel-like halogen headlights, with automatic-off function, add a luxury appearance and impressive lighting performance and G20's chrome grille and cut line angles echo the grilles on the I30 and Q45 sedans.
G20's all-steel unibody is extremely rigid. The body construction directly benefits dynamic and static performance, with superior handling and steering response, driving stability, isolation of road noise and vibration and exceptional body panel fit.
Exterior features include dual body-color power outside mirrors with an anti-glare coating, body-color front and rear bumpers and door handles, side sill spoilers, variable intermittent windshield wipers and tinted glass.
Interior Design
The 2001 G20's sporty spirit carries over to the driver-oriented cockpit. All controls are clearly marked and placed within easy reach of the driver - a must for spirited driving. "The last thing a driver needs is to have to search for a knob or button," said Orbe. "So G20's interior has been designed to minimize the time looking away from the road. All the controls are intuitively placed."
G20 drivers are coddled in an 8-way adjustable "low fatigue" style front bucket seat (leather in G20 Touring), with almost every possible amenity close at hand - power windows with driver-side one touch auto-up/down and safety reverse feature, power door locks, air conditioning, plenty of storage with map pockets on the front doors and seatbacks. A standard Bose audio system with 6 speakers and an in-dash CD player make all drives that much more enjoyable.
All passengers are treated to 91.0 cubic feet of cabin space. Front seat passengers get a 4-way adjustable seat, and rear passengers sit on a comfortable 60/40 split-folding rear seat, easily folded for added cargo room.
Engine
G20 is powered by a smooth, high-revving 16-valve dual overhead cam four-cylinder engine with 145-horsepower and 136 ft-lbs of torque. The engine offers a 100,000-mile tune-up interval through the adoption of double-tipped platinum spark plugs.
To reduce idle vibration and acceleration noise, a cross-engine mount system has been utilized.
The powerful engine is backed by a choice of standard 5-speed manual transmission or optional 4-speed automatic overdrive transmission. A viscous limited-slip differential is standard on G20 Touring models.
G20 delivers impressive fuel economy: 24 mpg City/31 mpg Highway with the 5-speed manual and 23 mpg City/30 mpg Highway for the 4-speed automatic equipped models.
Suspension/Braking
The heart of the front-wheel drive Infiniti G20's outstanding performance is its suspension. It starts with a proven front multi-link design - similar to that on the original G20, Nissan 300ZX and Skyline GT-R sports coupe - which provides excellent camber control and on-center steering feel. The rear features the patented Multi-Link Beam design.
The rear Multi-Link Beam utilizes a special Scott-Russell linkage to provide lateral location thereby eliminating the typical "jacking effect" of conventional torsion beam designs. This results in better grip and stability because the rear tires remain upright during cornering. In addition, the rear suspension provides excellent body lean control under everyday conditions such as when driving in a straight line on rough road surfaces. Stabilizer bars are also utilized on both front and rear suspension.
Power-assisted 11.0-inch vented front disc brakes with solid rear discs and 4-channel, 4-sensor Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) bring G20 to a halt without fade. Engine-speed-sensitive rack-and-pinion steering is also standard on all G20 models.
G20 Luxury rides on 15-inch aluminum-alloy wheels with 195/65R15 tires while the G20 Touring (G20t) offers 15-inch Sport aluminum-alloy wheels with 195/60R15 tires.
Safety and Security
G20 comes with a full complement of safety features, starting with the body structure, which includes pipe-style steel side-impact door guard beams, upper door reinforcements and reinforced body sides. Driver and front passenger supplemental front and side-impact air bags are also standard on all G20s.
Other safety features include three-point seat belts with front seat belt pretensioners with load limiters and height adjustable anchors, child seat anchors, child safety rear door locks, front and rear crumple zones and energy-absorbing steering column and bumpers.
Additionally, the G20 is equipped with the Infiniti Vehicle Immobilizer System, which uses an electronically coded key that is recognized by the system and a remote keyless entry and in-vehicle security system with an indicator light.
Another safety feature available on G20 is the Infiniti Communicator, which provides one-touch calling for emergency or roadside assistance, as well as remote door unlocking, security system notification and stolen vehicle recovery.
Model Availability
The G20 is offered in a choice of two models, the fully-equipped G20 Luxury and for buyers seeking the ultimate in sporty looks and performance, the G20 Touring (G20t). In addition to the viscous limited-slip differential and lower profile tires, the G20t features a rear decklid spoiler with integrated stop lamp, fog lights, leather seating surfaces with sport head restraints and a power sliding glass sunroof with rear tilt and sunshade. It also features special "t" decklid badging.
With the G20's long list of standard features, only a few options are offered: on the G20 Luxury (standard on G20t), a Leather/Sunroof package, which includes leather seating surfaces, leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift lever, power driver's seat, automatic temperature control and a power sliding glass sunroof with tilt feature and sliding sunshade and a package that includes heated seats and mirrors (this package requires the Leather/Sunroof). Optional on both G20 models is an automatic transmission and the Infiniti Communicator.
Like all Infiniti models, the G20 is protected by some of the best warranties in the industry: 4-year/60,000-mile Basic Coverage under the New Vehicle Limited Warranty; 6-year/70,000-mile Powertrain Coverage (protection for major engine and driveline components); a 5-year/50,000-mile New Vehicle Emission Control Limited Warranty; and a 7-year/unlimited mileage Corrosion Limited Warranty.
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