Snagged a Seiran Blue / Graphite Performance 6MT

[AlanZ]

One year with the Z. 6589 miles. Two oil changes. Haven't fixed the bumper recall yet, but soon.

I bought my Z to replace my 2012 G37S, which had replaced my 2003 G35. These cars were my daily drivers, and I didn't modify them. The Z is also my daily driver, and I'll keep her stock too. She's plenty of fun as a daily driver, quite a bit more than the Infinitis.

All of my cars have had a manual transmission, all the way back to my four-speed Datsun B210. I love a manual transmission, so I was happy to see the Z was available with a 6MT.

When I was searching, I wanted something sporty like the G37. I had considered the Q60, except it (1) was cancelled, and (2) was available only in an automatic. So I looked around and found the Z. Cool, I thought. I'd wanted a 350Z when I bought the G35. Then later, I wanted a 370Z when bought the G37. Both Infinitis were a compromise with my wife. I wanted a fun sporty car, but my wife thought the Z was too “boy racer”. Even though not my first choice, I ended up loving both the G35 and the G37, and I was looking for a similar experience.

So the Z is coming. I'll go buy one. Nope. No Zs to be had. So I looked at other cars. I looked at:

1. The BMW 240i and the 440i. Available only in an auto. The BMW M2. I really liked the M3, and even earlier M2s, but I just couldn't stomach the styling of the new M2. And the blue? Too pastel.
2. The Jaguar F-Type. This was my wife's favorite, but again, no manual. I have to admit, the styling of this car is so good. It was a very close second.
3. A couple of variations of the Porsche 718. However, if you want the six-cylinder, you're getting close to six figures.
4. The Tesla Model 3 Performance, which is actually faster than the Z, but four doors? Bleh. Plus there are so many in my neighborhood, it would feel like John Cusack driving up to the wrong house in Pushing Tin.
5. Finally, the Supra. I like the Supra on paper, but I don't enjoy looking at the Supra. Its styling is a bit over the top compared to the cleaner lines of the Z and the F-Type.

So I started searching. I think it took three or four months to find the spec I wanted. I live in San Diego, and I found a Z in Nebraska. I was willing to go get it, but they were asking $10K over MSRP. I kept searching. I finally found my Z in Globe, AZ, 500 miles away. I flew out and drove back. It was a great intro to the car.

Z impressions after 1 year.

1. Buying new. It's a mixed blessing. Once it enters the world, it's no longer new. Every rock chip will wear on you. As much care as you take, shit will happen.
2. The power. The car has plenty of power. Maybe too much as the back end will cut lose at the drop of my lead foot. But I smile every time the turbo kicks in and I get to upshift four or five more times. I haven't gotten a speeding ticket yet, but it's probably just a matter of time.
3. The handling. She goes where you point her. There's a little bit of unnerving body roll taking a turn at speed, but otherwise solid for a daily driver. I don't trust the tires, especially in wet conditions.
4. The feel in the driver's seat: I love the feel of the steering wheel, the shifter, the pedals, and gages. The view out the rear is not great compared to the Infinitis, but I got used to it quickly. The blind spot system and rear cross traffic work well.
5. The look. She looks great. I'm not a fan of the front license plate location, but I love everything else. I didn't think I'd like the black wheels, but they've really grown on me. The Seiran Blue is spectacular.
6. Option pack. Mixed. Love the floor mats and the kick plates, the scuff guards are crap.
7. The clutch. It so easy. The car is difficult to stall. I think I've stalled it only once, backing up a hill in reverse.
8. SRM. I love that this can be turned on and off. Good job, Nissan! With SRM, I don't even hesitate to downshift. Clutch in. Throw the shifter. Clutch out. SRM does all the work. It's like cheating.
9. The lane departure warning is annoying, but it's easy to turn off.
10. Hill hold. Not a fan. End user should be able to control this. I feel like I'm fighting the car when starting on a hill. After a year, I still haven't gotten used to it.
11. ANC/ASC: Not a fan. End user should be able to control this. You can have this turned off at the dealer, but what a pain.
12. As a road trip car: I've taken three solo trips (two from San Diego to Phoenix, and one from San Diego to The Bay Area). She's great for one person. For two? Might be kinda tight. I'll probably never be able to convince my wife to take anything more than a same-day, out-and-back trip.
13. Build quality. Meh. The katana doesn't line up. The hatch doesn't unlock. The paint needed significant correction. Windshield glass seems etched. C’mon, Nissan, you can do better. Or maybe at $55K you can't. Do you need to add $20K+ to get quality?
14. The cargo area could use some depth. There's no spare, so drop into that area for better cargo capacity.
15. Nit pick: I have trouble with the three-flash lane change signal. Too little force, nothing happens, too much, the lever clicks in and signal just says on. Other cars I've had with the feature work great.
16. Nit pick: non-radar cruise control is too hard to engage, distracting the driver. Adjusting the cruise speed sometimes does funky, unexpected things. Radar cruise is nice, until you get behind a slow car. I think I'd rather go my set speed and pass.
17. The auto refuel trip computer is not reliable. It's reset twice with no refuel. The car probably has too many trip computers (five is it?) I'm about to give up on auto refuel.
18. Annoying data collection screen at every engine start. Really? C’mon Nissan, get rid of that crap.
19. I use Android Auto and not the built in infotainment, so no opinion there. Android Auto works well once I bought a good cable.
20. The car is noisy. Listening to music while driving is not this car's forte.
21. No seat memory. I'd love that.
22. No hatch release on key fob. I miss that from my G37/G35.

Overall, I'm very happy with the Z. I've got minor gripes, but it's a great replacement for my G37, and even more fun to drive.

Great write up. I love that you enjoy driving her everyday.

 

[Exciter]

The lane departure warning is annoying, but it's easy to turn off.

And it stays off!

Hill hold. Not a fan. End user should be able to control this. I feel like I'm fighting the car when starting on a hill. After a year, I still haven't gotten used to it.
ANC/ASC: Not a fan. End user should be able to control this. You can have this turned off at the dealer, but what a pain.

Agreed. I'm looking forward to turning these off. Wish I could be rid of hill assist too. I fight with it every time, it's so unintuitive after driving so long with old fashioned handbrake/clutch control.

Build quality. Meh. The katana doesn't line up. The hatch doesn't unlock. The paint needed significant correction. Windshield glass seems etched. C’mon, Nissan, you can do better. Or maybe at $55K you can't. Do you need to add $20K+ to get quality?
The cargo area could use some depth. There's no spare, so drop into that area for better cargo capacity.

My panels/Katanas line up well. My black roof is a mess and is waiting on a warranty fix. My 350Z roadster had a more usable luggage space. This is big and flat, and no good for anything tall. I have to put cartons of milk way up the front near the strut brace. Under the window. In the heat of the sun. Otherwise shopping bags only fit laying on thier sides spilling their contents all the way home.

My car unlocks the hatch and doors when I press the button on the hatch. Maybe this is an MY24 thing. I don't think the fob opens the hatch, but you have to lift it anyway, why does it matter?

Nit pick: I have trouble with the three-flash lane-change signal. Too little force, nothing happens, too much, the lever clicks in and signal just says on. Other cars I've had with the feature work great.
Nit pick: non-radar cruise control is too hard to engage, distracting the driver. Adjusting the cruise speed sometimes does funky, unexpected things. Radar cruise is nice, until you get behind a slow car. I think I'd rather go my set speed and pass.
The auto refuel trip computer is not reliable. It's reset twice with no refuel. The car probably has too many trip computers (five is it?) I'm about to give up on auto refuel.
Annoying data collection screen at every engine start. Really? C’mon Nissan, get rid of that crap.
I use Android Auto and not the built in infotainment, so no opinion there. Android Auto works well once I bought a good cable.
The car is noisy. Listening to music while driving is not this car's forte.
No seat memory. I'd love that.
No hatch release on key fob. I miss that from my G37/G35.

I don't have this trouble with the lane change. Works every time for me and feels like it should. Did you get a dud, or has something changed?

Radar Cruise is not for me either, and I find it hard to engage standard cruise. Sometimes it works, sometimes either I haven't held it long enough, or maybe I've held it too long? No trouble with adjusting cruise, though. The very gradual slow down after accelerating with cruise active is an oddity to me though.

First I'm hearing about auto trip computer. Maybe I should read the manual...

Oh my god, the data collection screen can f#%k right off.

MY24 have wireless android auto. I still plug in a cable because charging... The stereo sucks, anyway. Partly because...

The car is heaps noisy. I come from a roadster, and I shouldn't be bothered by this, but wow. (Also, the stereo in my 350Z is way better - and they were widely regarded as rubbish).

No seat memory. No one else drives my cars so this isn't a concern for me, but I really feel with all the electronic adjustment this should just be a thing..

 

[bpeckham]

My car unlocks the hatch and doors when I press the button on the hatch. Maybe this is an MY24 thing. I don't think the fob opens the hatch, but you have to lift it anyway, why does it matter?

It's just what I was used to with the G37. I'll adapt.

The MY23 has the same behavior to unlock the doors when you press the hatch button. This actually surprised me the first time it happened. There's even a little pause. Press the hatch button, front doors unlock, pause, hatch pops.

It works the other way around, too, I found out by accident. I had tried disabling the automatic door unlock feature to see if I liked it better (I didn't). With automatic door unlock disabled, when you turn the car off, the front doors stay locked. If you then press the interior hatch release button, nothing happens. At first, I thought the switch was broken, and I exited the car to pop the hatch at the back. I eventually decided that I didn't like disabling automatic door unlock, so I re-enabled it, and the switch started working again. I was about to take the car to the dealer to get it fixed. Basically the interior switch doesn't work if the car is locked.

Anyway, with my G37, the trunk opening wasn't tied to unlocking the car, and if you closed the trunk again, the car was still locked, unlike the Z. With the Z, if the hatch can be opened, the car is unlocked, and you have to remember to lock it again because it won't lock by closing the hatch. I suspect this is expected behavior for 370Z owners, but coming from a G37, I found it odd.

I liked the fob button on the G37 because I could pop the trunk as I was walking up to her, or if my wife was walking up with things in her hands. It was a nice, seamless experience. I didn't have to worry about something brushing up against the vehicle leaning in to press the button.

I guess this wouldn't be as nice on the Z with its hatch popper problems. The hatch doesn't always fully release, so you end up fumbling with it anyway.

All in all, a nit, but I know Nissan could have this feature since the G37 had it.