A disappointment dressed in a manual gearbox and V6 disguise

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jezzza

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I enjoy reading articles from a different perspectives as these forums can easily become confirmation bias echo chambers.

I like this car for all the reasons that this journalist doesn't. A cheap, simple and proven recipe.
 
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I particularly like this line "Nissan Australia, if youā€™re reading: donā€™t mess up the new Zā€™s pricing."

Paying any luxury car tax on this would be unreasonable.
Luxury car tax in 2021 doesnā€™t kick in to $79,659ā€¦it shouldnā€™t be an issue
 
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Luxury car tax in 2021 doesnā€™t kick in to $79,659ā€¦it shouldnā€™t be an issue
I'm not sure that this will class as a fuel-efficient car, therefore LCT after $69,152.
 

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I'm not sure that this will class as a fuel-efficient car, therefore LCT after $69,152.
Trueā€¦read two different sets of information, one was wrong. You are correctā€¦Hoping it comes in under but if itā€™s a few thousand over it shouldnā€™t be too bad as tax is only charged for the amount over the threshold
 

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I have to admit that I am, like this journalist, intrigued by the idea of a budget electric sports car. That said, that is 100% a trickle-down technology that won't be available for the unwashed masses for several more years. Then again, we may be heading in the direction where only upper-class folks are able to afford to have fun...lol.
 

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2023 Nissan Z_Reveal_NYC-19.jpeg


Top Gear article - 13 Sep 2021

Pssst! Let me let you into a bit of a secret ā€“ I saw the new Nissan Z nearly two years ago.

ā€˜Who cares?ā€™, youā€™re probably thinking. 'The whole world has now seen Nissanā€™s throwback rear-wheel-drive, twin-turbocharged 400bhp two-door coupe with a manual transmission'. But Iā€™ve had to keep it ā€“ and my overriding disappointment ā€“ under my hat. Until now.

My secret meeting was before the 2019 Tokyo motor show, where Nissan's PR representatives shuffled us onto a bus without telling us where we were going or what we were doing. After a few dizzying laps of the expressway, we were spat out at Nissanā€™s design headquarters in Atsugi-shi, Kanagawa.

With our phone cameras covered and our mouths contractually zipped shut, Alfonso Albaisa ā€“ Nissanā€™s design chief ā€“ passionately gave us a rundown of Nissanā€™s future design plans and how his Cuban-American background and love for Japanese culture would dictate what they look like. We were then taken outside and saw a crystal ball of Nissanā€™s future portfolio. Cars weā€™ve now seen (Ariya, Qashqai, Patrol) and some we havenā€™t. But there was also the Z, standing out like a sore, slightly rehashed thumb.

I was immediately conflicted. Yes, in a wave of electric powertrains it was good news for fans of naturally aspirated engines and manuals. People like us. But after so much fanfare and expectation, I was ready for more.

Nissan had been campaigning a lot about e-POWER and its EV future, so I was braced and excited to see a radical new Z. But it didn't arrive. What we got was the old 350Z formula in some faded retro lipstick and cheap make-up. After all these years of hype, the new one isn't radical at all. It's a similar shape (one our brain now defaults to the more appealing Jaguar F-Type) as the past. And there's nothing truly new.

So given thereā€™s nothing original on it, why wait so long? The car is theoretically already over ten years old and its predecessor needed a replacement yonks ago ā€“ when momentum was behind it. And nothing I saw at this exclusive sneak peek into a time-travelling Z replacement couldn't have come out years before. The engine has been Nissanā€™s family tree since Infiniti was a wee nipper, the interior doesnā€™t push the envelope and the gearbox is as old as driving itself.

But surely Nissan should have brought it out at the Tokyo show in 2018? Where it'd get headlines for not just being the Z car's 50th birthday, but also because it was a show void of enthusiast loving performance cars.

Here's my theory: it was a programme rushed through. Having dropped the ball on making EVs cool (remember how many Leafs were sold before Tesla even had a hashtag?), Nissan has been very busy trying to rectify it. Part of this speculation was thereā€™ll be performance variants from the home of the GT-R, especially as it announced a 4WD Leaf on TE37 wheels. But they fired blank after blank. So its engineers had to knock something out quick. Something like the Z. It's an easy marketing win where you rely on looking in the rear-view mirror and heritage rather than what's in front. Itā€™s frustratingly obvious that this Z hasn't had money or love invested into it like other Nissan cars. Cars like the Ariya. The cars that make money.

On the same day I saw the Z, I also saw an interior buck of the production-ready Ariya concept. It was leagues above any aspect of the reskinned Z. And I have a feeling it'll be the same story for development and dynamics. It doesn't feel like Nissan really dug their teeth - or the wallet - into this one and that's probably reflected in the way it'll drive. And it'll be up against stiff competition: Alpine A110s, Porsche Caymans, BMW M2s, Toyota Supras and the upcoming Lotus Emira.

So ultimately the new Z just feels like a facelift with a retro nod, not a new car. And with Nissan still lacking a sporting EV, it feels like an opportunity missed in my opinion. Maybe the tech just isn't there yet. But the Taycan has proved performance is possible, but maybe not in an affordable sports car package. As Teslaā€™s yet-to-be-seen Roadster attests. So we are still waiting for the first true alternative fuel sports car. And that next GT-R seems even further away now, doesn't it?

However, in the two years that Iā€™ve been kept schtum, there has been something that may play into the Zed Carā€™s favour: the EV revolution. With more and more EVs flooding the market, the thought of a V6 engine and manual gearbox is appealing to people who like interaction and mechanical charm. Shame my money would go to the Lotus Emira ā€“ a V6 manual gearbox car that appears to have a bit more behind than a marketing team clutching for some retro low-hanging fruit. That's if I could get a Z Coupe, remember. It's not coming to Europe. And probably for the best.
What a great experience you had, must being hard keeping quiet. So I get what you are saying, but not sure how you really fel about it. Would you buy one?
 

Evenflow80

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Everyone is entitled to his opinion , but what was he expecting? Its a Z car, meaning long hood, short sloping backside, retro cabin with the 3 gaugues , a manual transmission etc. All Zs will have these common factors otherwise its not really a z anymore
 

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This was a hilariously awful take. An ill-tempered Bichon could smash its paws into a keyboard for 5 minutes and return with something more thoughtful and convincing than that.
 

G37

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The guy who wrote this article seems a bit out of touch as many have noted. As an owner of a G37S Coupe 6MT, an under-the-skin twin of the 370Z on which the Z is based, hereā€™s my thoughts. First, Nissan is and has been financially strapped for a long time so I never felt a lot of $$$ would be put into this niche sports car. After viewing Jay Lenoā€™s seven minute walk around video on the Z, I gained new insight. First, no hood struts one would normally see in a $40k-$50k car - itā€™s just a prop rod, which confirms the shoestring budget theory. As such, I expect very little improvement over the 370/G37 but I hope the manual tranny was ā€œmassagedā€ to handle the extra power and maybe improved feel? Probably not but thatā€™s my biggest hope. Zero improvements on the engine thatā€™s already under the hood of the Q60 Red Sport. Weā€™ll get a marginally improved suspension and brakes. I hope for a bit more sound deadening than the 370Z has which will likely equate to what I already have in the G37S but even thatā€™s not a sure thing. Biggest change is easily seen in the interior/dash/infotainment/gauges. Thatā€™s where a LOT of money was spent, though I donā€™t expect any improvement in the plastic quality of the secondary (less seen/felt) surfaces. So thatā€™s it. Beyond the Red Sport engine, I expect nothing more than a slightly updated 370Z with a slight nicer interior and better/faster infotainment. For $40k to start, one shouldnā€™t expect anything more.

After reading articles on the new WRX, a car thatā€™ll sell a lot more units than our Z, I saw how few notable improvements were made to that car despite the likely much bigger budget they had. That said, and having seen the Leno video, my expectations for the Z are sufficiently lowered so I definitely wonā€™t be disappointed. As Iā€™ve said before, Iā€™m waiting for the Nismo but even there I wonā€™t expect more than an additional 20hp and marginal improvements to the Performance model, so I may end up waiting and getting the Performance model if the Nismo disappoints.
 

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Bullcrap...anyone can write anything.
I agree. would be different if it was after a first hand review but there literally arnt any grounds to make that assumption

all we have right now its on paper and on paper...... its a twin turbo Z with a manual or a new automatic transmission that looks good with call backs to its past that is cheaper than its direct competitor. nothing should lean you into the pessimistic side based on that. will it deliver in the real world is a different question but thats for a latter time to decide.

this was just write an article to get clicks
 
 





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