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FatRatZ
Well-Known Member
Yes, I agree most people cry foul when it’s something they own that’s been criticized. Normal human response. I find that for many people, the current car they own is often the best car they’ve owned - and most people haven’t owned too many, given the average age of a car on the road these days is about 12 1/2 years. So they’re experience with different cars become somewhat limited as a result. And they consequently fight to the nail to prove what they own is the best. Fair enough.
For reference I’ve owned everything from Porsche’s to Ferrari’s to Volkswagen and Hondas - over 150 vehicles. Including two 2024 Zs - boulder gray performance and a heritage. I try to remain open minded. The reason I keep the Z is because I enjoy it, love the look, and think it’s a good value. No, it’s not the best sports car, it’s not the best commuter car, and it’s not the fastest. But it is a grin fest.
For non-biased opinion, it’s very good at what it does at a reasonable price. I don’t get attached to any vehicle and recognize many manufacturers do some things better and some do things not as well.
People don’t always cry foul just to protect what they currently own. Sometimes we cry foul when, in our vast experience, we don’t think the opinion is warranted or appropriate for the intended audience. Measuring the Z against criteria that no one really uses it for in real life doesn’t seem quite fair - but that’s what the enthusiast magazines do and I’m OK with it - only to get an idea of what the performance capabilities are when in a track condition. Using track data for comparison of capabilities between manufacturers is valid - as a starting point. However, labeling a car less than acceptable because of lackluster track performance when it’s used on the street seems a bit shortsighted. There are some great performance cars out there, I spent some time in a BMW M2 recently, which was a lot of fun but a horrible street car. I found myself begging to let the revs drop below 4000 and have a calmer ride just to return it. I don’t need to shake my teeth loose just to go out and ride around town. Great for a track day, not interested on the street, and as good as the M2 is, in a wheel to wheel racing situation, any halfway decent prepared dedicated race car will eat its lunch.
Like another one posted, if you want Porsche, it’ll run you a $200k for a decent one, twice as much for a great one. Although that car has great track levels of performance, and in my opinion, is one of the better cars for use on the street, as it remains comfortable ride with extreme performance capabilities. However, for 60 grand, I’ll take the Z all day long.