markpenske

I've been thinking about buying a new S2000 for a year now. I wanted to take a look at the new Z before making my decision. A local dealer had one availible for test drives.
My first inpressions of the car were from it's exterior styling. It was stunning, the pictures in magazines don't do the car justice. The one I seen was chrome silver. The fit & finish seemed to be top notch.
The interior layout was great, nice layout, great seats, plenty of room. The problem I had was it seemed some of the materials seemed a bit cheep. The intrumention & controls seemed a bit cheesy, I don't know it they are trying to recapure the old Z car feel or what.
The problem I had with the test drive was the car I drove was an automatic. I could not get a true feel for the car's performace. It seemed to handle very well, very solid feel. Suspension was stiff, not as stiff as the s2000.
Overall I felt the car was nice but not exciting. Maybe the 6-speed would change everything.

lyndon_h

I think that the 6 speed would change the experience. Its a nice looking car, but I'm dissappointed in the interior styling, namely the center console.

I understand that Nissan is comming back from the near dead, but practically sharing consoles the altima and g35 is not where it is at. Each interior needs to have its own personality.

I saw a white Z on the road, and you are right; pictures don't do it justice. And the mod-ability of the engine alone will win over many buyers. But it won't have the semi-exclusivity that the S has.

snoopy

Which trim level did you drive? Did it have one of the performance suspensions?

How's the headroom? How tall are you?

offroadr35

i'll chime in now. I drove a track model Z with a 6-speed and i agree with your statement that it was nice but not exciting. It's relatively quick and handles pretty well but it doesn't have the true racecar feel like the S2000. As far as headroom, i'm 6'2 and was plenty comfortable in the car.

-Steve

markpenske

I drove the touring model (w/automatic).
The interior trim I was talking about was the material on the top of the doors & wrapped around the dash. It seemed to be a very thin plastic material with nothing behind it, if you tap on it you get a hollow sound/feeling.
When I drove the car I got the feeling of driving a heavy car like the camaro or mustang. But once again I know an automatic transmission can ruin the feel of a car.