Disappointment with the New 2023 Z???

[Mardoc01]

Who else is disappointed with the 2023 Z?

 

[Z06fan]

I was actually pleasantly surprised by how well the media likes the new car. I wasn't expecting much because I know Nissan has $$ issues and this is a low volume car within their line-up. Based on the price tag of developing a new model from scratch, I'm impressed with what the engineers were able to do with what they had to work with. At the end of the day, I guess we have to ask ourselves whether would we'd prefer a "new" model developed by Nissan, or do what Toyota did with the Supra.

By the way, love the SS 1LE. I just wish the Camaro had better visibility! I still love the sounds of a sweet V8.

 

[triso07]

Performance price point has me considering a Mustang GT or used sports car instead.

Base (sport) takes away too much for me (no leather, no bose, no synchro rev).

No ability to option anything or select trims that are in the middle are pushing me out. I don't really want to pay 55k for a Z which is basically the cheapest you are going to get the performance for a while.

Great car. I love what they've done with what they were given to work with.

 

[DevonK]

Good discussion here. I'm on the fence about staying with my reservation for the Z. I'd agree that the reviews have been lukewarm, and several have mentioned a lack of steering feel which is anathema to me. I thought the 370Z had decent feel, but would not settle for less. And given my urban environment with its traffic and police, one of the twins might be a better match performance-wise and save me $20k. I would really miss the rev-matching though.

 

[triso07]

Nissan did a great job overall. I love the looks, they improved the sound, it's got a nostalgia feel about it, it's fast, and most importantly it seems fun.

However, at the end of the day price point matters. It's not out of consideration for me, but I was 100% a buyer of this car until the trim models were released at 41k and 53k. There's some good options in the market to consider against this with no ability to option a mid-level price point range.

 

[StrikeS30]

Welcome to 2022. Gone are the days of cheap vehicles people. When a $200,000 house is now $650,000. A $40,000 car is now $60,000. It's not the 90's anymore. Inflation's a bitch, aint it ?

 

[Kbl911]

Welcome to 2022. Gone are the days of cheap vehicles people. When a $200,000 house is now $650,000. A $40,000 car is now $60,000. It's not the 90's anymore. Inflation's a bitch, aint it ?

Yeah, this isn't inflation, at least not mostly. This is Nissan's deliberate pricing strategy. I've gone over ad nauseum the roughly 30% year-over-year increase in the MSRP of the Z (last base model offered in 2020 vs current base model) and its just not something we're seeing industry-wide. Find us another example of this (outside of maybe some specific exotic) in the automotive landscape.

Nissan priced the base model where they wanted to price it, and then chose to omit any other trims outside of stripped-down and fully-loaded in all markets outside of Japan. At least for the launch, which may just be due to production capacity issues, in fairness. But that's the complaint, as far as I can tell.

 

[Kbl911]

I'm also happy that Z's remain relatively uncommon compared to other (specifically American) sports cars. That's part of the allure for me. Having said that, you're probably right that using Mustangs and Camaros and even Corvettes to illustrate how not every sports car is seeing this level of MSRP increase might be unfair given that all of those have far higher production numbers (both expected and real). So we should probably use the Z's most obvious direct competitor - the Supra. Similar type of exclusivity/production expectations to the Z, no? Shouldn't the Supra be rapidly increasing its MSRP what with this climate of inflation?

Base 3.0:
2020 - From $49,990
2021 - From $51,090
2022 - From $51,890
2023 - From $51,945

Total increase = 3.9% (approx)

My point is that it's both deeply reductionist and also just not accurate to blame the new Z's pricing entirely (or even mostly) on inflation. Obviously the base 2023 Z was going to cost more than the base 2020 Z. But 30% more is a bit much. Even if we accept that (what choice do we have?), it can still be argued that Nissan would do well to at least freeze that base price for the foreseeable future and add in more trims across the range to fill in the massive gap that currently exists.

 

[not_howard]

I'm disappointed that we can't get LSD on the base Z...

 

[Z34_2.0]

I'm disappointed that we can't get LSD on the base Z...

My mind went straight to this meme.

 

[MycarisZ]

No, not disappointed.

 

[XinaZ]

Better watch that new video by VIDEO OPTION they posted in the forum.. 302km/h (187mph) top speed for the Z. With only a catback exhaust, and tune.

 

[Heavy Dupree]

True disappointment or enthusiasm over new cars often requires mileage, don't you think?

 

[280driver]

Nope

 

[Loco38SUP]

First in-person impression is that its a gorgeous car. It does captivate you when you standing next to you.

I still need the driving impression to complete assessment though.

-RJM