Toyota GR Corolla vs Nissan Z

[Crownleyian]

The NISMO was indeed quite a step up from the STD .... Handing much better, BUT still not what i was expecting or hoping for.
The Z feels BIG/HEAVY and not confidence inspiring when pushed in winding roads, my old Z32 suddenly felt quite good in comparison!!

Let me start off with saying I respect your opinion but I don't agree with you here, the Z Nismo has impressed me on the tighter corners.

Z Nismo is impressively nimble for a heavy car, it's so planted and crazy fast in the corners so much that I can't even separate it from the GR Yaris, no doubts the Z Nismo requires more throttle respect than a GR Yaris/Corolla for sure, but with time you'll find out that the GR's are so good they become extremely boring. Yes if it's super tight and narrow corners then physics will always favor the smaller and lighter car. But the Z Nismo is insane you just need to warm up those tires and the transmission has to be up to temperature for the shifts to be nice and snappy, and it's handling and mid corner grip for a RWD car is quite impressive way more than I ever expected.

My clone in a GR Yaris Rallye chasing me down in a Z Nismo will struggle to keep up in a windy road, I have no doubts.

Enjoy your purchase regardless it's one amazing car mate the GR Corolla!

 

[jdm-rhd]

What everyone is saying is the Toyota is junk.

wtv...

 

[wooferocau]

Let me start off with saying I respect your opinion

As do i .... yours...

 

[wooferocau]

Z Nismo is impressively nimble for a heavy car,

Absolutley !!
I read so many times how the Nismo is substantially more in cost than the STD Z and so many state they dont think the extra cost is justified.

After driving the STD and the NISMO i think the extra cost is 100% justified !!! They almost feel like 2 completeley different cars.
When you take a really good look at the Nismo, there are a lot of nice extra touches ...the car feels much more special and of a higher class.
I absolutely enjoyed the time i did spend in the Nismo .
I got to enjoy it on some of the local winding mountain roads i regularly drive on, so that helped with my decision greatly.
Again ...its a great car !!

 

[Zplz]

…Z is just a reskinned 370 so it has DECADES of tuner support and parts available…

Good point. It’s one of the reasons I have an ES350, too. For a reliable, comfortable sedan, with a ton of space, I loved an old Toyota Avalon I had for years. Toyota had decades to perfect the vehicle, along with its similar cousin, the Camry. I was really disappointed when Toyota finally ditched the Avalon, since I was planning to get another one. Sure, you can say it was dated, but with it came the assurance of knowing what you were getting, a proven platform. I realized the ES350 was pretty much a nicer version of the Avalon, was still around at the time, and had the same engine that was rock solid for me for years.

Ha! No doubt the NISMO is a different vehicle from the base Sport. But, that’s why I have a Sport. Being an older dude, I wanted a Z with a more comfortable ride, more of a GT cruiser than a track car or a car for the twisties. Plus, living in the flat swamps of SE Texas, it isn’t like there’s a ton of local roads close to a ride in the Italian Alps. Even still, the base Z comes with the 400HP motor, which is very enjoyable for me. I’m very glad Nissan has the Sport version, but still am very glad and understand why there’s the Performance and NISMO.

 

[bhamvett]

GR Corolla is a hot hatch. Fine car, but not in the same league as the Z. People need to accept the fact that the Z is NOT hardcore sports car, but a Grand Touring car. Much better than my Supra for trips and long drives. And no comparison in terms of power than the old Z. Power is linear and strong, thanks to the turbo speed sensors and tuning. Almost no turbo lag. The GR Corolla is way too expensive for a hot hatch. But still a fine little fun car.

 

[wooferocau]

The GR Corolla is way too expensive for a hot hatch.

Respectfully ... Disagree.

 

[Zplz]

GR Corolla is a hot hatch. Fine car, but not in the same league as the Z. People need to accept the fact that the Z is NOT hardcore sports car, but a Grand Touring car. Much better than my Supra for trips and long drives. And no comparison in terms of power than the old Z. Power is linear and strong, thanks to the turbo speed sensors and tuning. Almost no turbo lag. The GR Corolla is way too expensive for a hot hatch. But still a fine little fun car.

The premium version is around $50K or a little over in the Houston area from an online check. I’d imagine if you walk into a local dealer, they’ll be showing all the “great” dealer add-ons, too. I don’t even want to think what bottom line price they’d want to get out the door with one. My past experience with trying to get a deal on performance-oriented Toyotas hasn’t been encouraging locally. The local dealers play the supply-and-demand game to the max.

 

[wooferocau]

Here in Aus the pricing is circa this..

GR Corolla GTS 6 spd AUD $75k
Nissan Z STD 6 spd AUD $ 85k
Nissan NISMO AUD $ 106k
Supra ( at last available ) was AUD$ 130k

 

[bhamvett]

I almost bought a GR Corolla. Could have got it at invoice because I worked for Toyota. But the looks just did not do it for me personally. But the Z is a good looking and performing car. Is it worth 55-56K for the performance? Maybe, maybe not. But for what they are going for now, they are the steal of the century.

 

[FSUZ33]

Just for comparison:

Estimates on USD MSRP as I'm not sure which specific trim for the Corolla and Zupra. Corolla and Z models are pretty close to the same % difference. The Zupra is expensive over there. Curious if that's a German import thing. If so a new base 911 Carrera down there must be ridiculous. I think they're like $125K here with no options.

 

[bhamvett]

Had a Supra. It is not worth anywhere near 60+K.

 

[Zplz]

I almost bought a GR Corolla. Could have got it at invoice because I worked for Toyota. But the looks just did not do it for me personally. But the Z is a good looking and performing car. Is it worth 55-56K for the performance? Maybe, maybe not. But for what they are going for now, they are the steal of the century.

Agree. And since I wanted a comfortable riding GT, the basic Sport was perfect for me at a much lower price, but still with the sweet twin turbo.

 

[ZillaZ]

There is just something about having a RWD sports car though.

I get the WRX, GRC.. etc. are pretty fantastic rally cars. Who here actually rally's though? I am sure it is fun to rip around an intersection onto an on-ramp and blast it though. However I do that in my Z - and it is faster, looks better, has a better ride, is not as loud in the cab and has more creature comforts.

I am sure they are fun as hell and everyone has their reasons for buying what they buy, if we all had the same opinion on everything this world would be boring and we would all own the same cars.

That said, IMO, for the money the Z blows the GRC out of the water.

 

[HWill]

I was looking at a GR Corolla for my daughters first car. I test drove a few and was not impressed with them. I could see how they could be made better though. No way I could even compare it to the Z. We were looking at the WRX, GRC and the GR86.
She ended up getting a GR86, which I really felt was a better car. The GRC was at the bottom of the list although I thought it was the better looking of the 3.

Everybody has their own feels for vehicles though. I wasn't impressed with the Nismo Z over the Performance or the Sport either.