Angry I said?
As I was just mentioning, in urban cruising, the 1-2 upshift is somewhat forced with 2nd gear coming in hard after a little slippage. A moderate application of throttle pressure is met with vigorous forward thrust and a menacing wale from the exhaust. It's almost as though the car is on a constant hissy fit! What's not to love? By the way, lovers of the VQ's specific tone will be disappointed; this one roars!
Driving the Z is rewarding but I found one item that bugged me; the steering. I thought it to be heavy, lifeless yet precise. I must admit that stepping out of a Porsche Cayman had much to do with this impression but then, if I cannot compare, how can I evaluate? What I did appreciate are the car's strong immediate and powerful brakes. The pedal is devoid of any useless travel and feedback is plenty.
In the end
I really like the new Z and so should you. Nissan has hit every box as far as “wants” are concerned and they wrapped the whole package in some very seductive sheetmetal. In the under $50,000 category, few cars will give you the sophisticated “manness” of the Z, as opposed to boyness of, say, the Genesis Coupe or “playful manness” of the Mustang (this is not meant to be sexist by the way).
For the money, I would look into a BMW 135i and weigh the pros and cons of a logo...
photo:Matthieu Lambert
As I was just mentioning, in urban cruising, the 1-2 upshift is somewhat forced with 2nd gear coming in hard after a little slippage. A moderate application of throttle pressure is met with vigorous forward thrust and a menacing wale from the exhaust. It's almost as though the car is on a constant hissy fit! What's not to love? By the way, lovers of the VQ's specific tone will be disappointed; this one roars!
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| I really like the new Z and so should you. |
Driving the Z is rewarding but I found one item that bugged me; the steering. I thought it to be heavy, lifeless yet precise. I must admit that stepping out of a Porsche Cayman had much to do with this impression but then, if I cannot compare, how can I evaluate? What I did appreciate are the car's strong immediate and powerful brakes. The pedal is devoid of any useless travel and feedback is plenty.
In the end
I really like the new Z and so should you. Nissan has hit every box as far as “wants” are concerned and they wrapped the whole package in some very seductive sheetmetal. In the under $50,000 category, few cars will give you the sophisticated “manness” of the Z, as opposed to boyness of, say, the Genesis Coupe or “playful manness” of the Mustang (this is not meant to be sexist by the way).
For the money, I would look into a BMW 135i and weigh the pros and cons of a logo...
photo:Matthieu Lambert
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