I have never understood the bashing of the interior. It's a Nissan and it's a sports car. It's not supposed to be a luxury cruiser. Plus, the whole idea behind the car is an affordable, nice performance vehicle. Why would I want to pay 1000 more for a "nicer" read more expensive (leather, wood grain, whatever) interior?

 

Lets see... Where to begin...

Interior: The interior of the Z is on par with the interiors of their rivals in terms of materials. One could argue that the design of the RX-8 and S2000 is better but underneath its essentially the same quantities of molded plastic. The 350Z has a very simple design (which is probably why people call it cheap) which I personally admire. I find it easy to read my guages, access a/c controls and personally LOVE the fact that the headunit is a standard double din design making conversions fairly simple (try that with an RX-8). Basically, I feel that the interior of our cars is to the point... Sure the interior utilizes plastic in it's design but to be honest, it looks great... The quality of the interior of the 350z is no less luxurious than say [puts flame suit on], a G35 which is a popular comparison... For though of you who are like "wtf are you saying", go sit in a G35 and study it. The entire center console is a giant plastic piece that's merely polished ('05's have brushed aluminum now I believe but there is plastic everywhere in that model year as well) and more plastics can be found on the doors, the guage area, in the back, etc... For those of you who don't dig the design of the 350's interior, maybe this isn't your car... Don't crap on it becuase 99% of any other car you might list shy of a Mercedes Maybach uses plastic in their interior.

The haters: Either you really dislike the car due to something it's done to you or you are simply jealous and crap on the Z to compensate for what you are currently driving. Seriously, as mentioned above, most cars in this class and price range utilize the same amount of molded plastics and materials... Remember these companies need to keep things costing low and competitive and that goes for all cars that are targeting a specific range.

In general: Each car has it's ups and downs. For one, the 350Z is plagued by Nissan paint which IS cheap and tends to break off easily, it weighs more than it's competition at about 3188-32xxlbs, and Nissan service just sucks... But what makes up for this is it's brute strength, decent handling and WIDE level of options and trim levels. You can have the Z 7 different ways (base, enthusiast, performance, touring, anniv, enthusiast roadster and enthusiast touring). Making the Z range from 27-40k... What other manufacturer offers this many options?

The S2000 is a handling god and it's free revving engine draws huge crowds... It's styling is second to none for many and it truly is a well built solid sexy *** car... But it's overwhelming lack of torque (~160) cripples it when you compare it to a motor that puts down ~110lb/ft more torque and ~47 more hp. I wish I could find my sources but I believe a 350z has more than once outpaced it on the track and it surely outpaces it in a straight line...
It costs about 33-35k to put one in your garage...

The RX-8 is another car that caters to a specific group of people: Rotary fans. This car is good looking both in and out. It's got a decent weight and handles very well. However as you all know it's riddled with problems that range from sorry MPG, oil comsumption and an overwhelming and complete lack of power. It will cost you anywhere from 28-34k to put this one in your garage..

I could go on but I guess car comparos should be done in another thread. I personally love my car and I test drove every other option. I got the Z because it provides the best blend of looks, power and handling for the money.

 

Hey, if I didn't like the interior of the Z, I would not have bought one, on account of you have to sit in it everytime you drive the car. Who spends 10's of thousands of $$$ on a car which they really don't like the interior? Not wise.

 

I like the interior of my Z. Brings back fond memories of my first car, a '73 240Z that was older than I was.

 

My only gripe about the interior was a really annoying buzz in the dash right behind the intrument gauge . So, I found a nice little trick... I took my car salesman's business car, folded it in half about 5 times, and jammed it way down where the window meets the dash. Nobody can see it, and now I don't have a buzz in my dash.

While sure, the dash isn't of the highest quality, the overall look and feel of the interior is pretty nice IMO. When I first sat in my 05' Touring (about a month ago) I was pretty amazed at what I saw. The gray dash combined with a couple subtle trim aluminum trim pieces went really well with the black carpet and Frost leather seats. It wasn't at all like some of the rather blah interiors I had seen in Z's that I had checked out before.

Interiors are a big thing with me, as I commute 60 miles each day to work. While looking to get a new car, I checked out and compared the Z against the s2000, the Audi TT, and the Porsche Boxter. Of the the group, I would say that the Audi TT came in first on interior quality (its pretty slick), but it lacked the power of the Z. The Porsche Boxter's interior isn't exactly known for its high level of refinement, and it's price comes near the Z's only when it has about 20k+ mileage. The s2000's interior is very nice, to the point, well put together, but I just couldn't see it as an everyday driver... even still, I almost bought one the weekend before I bought my Z.

The point of this is, a person want's to rant about the Z's interior, then clearly the car would not be in their best interests. Go get an Audi, or a BMW, or even a Lexus of some sort. Get any one of those three at the price I paid for my Z, and you can enjoy your really nice interior while I blow your doors off as I pass you.

 

Why not go buy a black napkin and fold it enough to jam it in between? Should be much cleaner, softer, and easy to take out if you need to.

 

another thing not mentioned about the z interio - ease of use. I don't have to look at the controls to use it. Everything is well put and functionaly placed. For most cars, you almost have to be in park to use the instruments.

If any car should be labled with a cheap interior, it should be the saab 9-3. I wanted one until i sat in one. I thought that the exterior was beautiful, while the interior felt like a saturn. It was so bad that I did not even consider the car afterwards. Now if the z's interior was as bad as some unknowledgeable people's claims, i wouldn't have bought it.

 

Good idea, might have to try that.

I was sitting at a stoplight when I did the business card thing

 

I did mention this in my novel-like post above
I really do love the ease of use factor and the fact that there isnt tons of junk and a bunch of frivilous buttons everywhere...

 

I have a freind with an Audi TT and when I got my car he got in it and commented on how much he liked the interior. He liked it because it was simple and clean and looked like a sports car cockpit should look. He commented on the brushed aluminum look around the shifter and gauge clusters in the middle. And on the good look of the design. That's always stuck with me. I don't understand what people expect? I look at the interior and I think it looks nice.

 

It sounds like people who pay over $30,000.00 more or less for the Z expect to have a Mercedes, BMW, or Lexus interior. The reality is that you only need tach guages, seats and important the sounds system.

 

My gripe is the fact I have no idea when I leave the turn signal on..

 

Does it bother anyone that the radio controls aren't on the steering wheel like they are in a lot of new cars today?

 

Eh, sorta, but then again, i'm not trying to get lazier..lol

 

I agree with this, mostly, but the placement of the trip computer buttons above and behind the windshield wiper stalk was a poor choice. Almost always, I hit a bump when trying to use these buttons, thus activating the wipers. I'd love to see those moved to the back side of the steering wheel where you could use them while continuing to hold the wheel.

 

yes, that seems like a trivial thing to omit from the car, especially when most of Nissan's line has them (Quest, Altima, Maxima, Titan, that I know of).

curiously, they added these in the 2006 model. when the '06 was announced, i asked the dealer parts guy if they were backward-compatible, but he didn't have any information yet. hopefully, pre-'06 models came wired already.

 

i think this all started with that civic guy who said civics have nicer interiors

 

My only real beef if the leather seats. I have frost interior on my 03 with 14K. The drivers side seat, the lower part of the back seat, the finish has worn really fast. Apparently my black leather belt was leaving marks. My dealer told me I would have to use a Leather Doctor type guy. I have never had this happen on a car with leather seats even after 100K. This was dissapointing. This and my seat padding seems to have compressed considerably. And I am not a big guy...just 180lbs.

 

+1 what's up with that? Sometimes it just stays blinking (if the turn isn't that sharp)

 

'06s will have them!
I be happy for waiting 'til now to get my Z