This has been brought up so many times in other threads, so i thought I'd get everyone's opinion in one....I personally think the interior of the Z is pretty nice...simple, basic and sporty....the way a real sports car is supposed to be...I mean, if you're looking for luxury looks and feel, go with the G35C....and the plastic? yeah, it's simple, I think it looks nice....It has everything you need, and nothing excess....it's a simulation of a cockpit of a racecar...nuthing extra to distract you...plus it cuts the cost down too...with the money you save, hell you can dress it up yourself if you have to have the purty look...all the money you pay for the car go where it counts, the engine, the performance, the handling....they money goes to the sports car that you bought....the Z is a sports car, and the G35c is a luxury sports coupe....big difference...hell, if you look at the enzo ferrari, which is a REAL SPORTS CAR (hahaha), you don't even get a radio, and the Enzo doesn't come with power windows, you have to crank the windows yourself, and the A/C in the Enzo isn't really meant to be there, but they threw it in it....it doesn't work that great....compare that to the F430, where everything is luxury, you get all luxury toys in the F430....the Enzo puts all the money where it matters, and that is to build a badazz racecar for the street......

 

sorry if some of the stuff I wrote above don't flow smoothly or jump around...I'm at work and i have clients coming in and out...haha...lost my train of thoughts a few times there

 

I agree with you 100% and thats why im getting a G35 Coupe next year

 

I call the Zzz interior "early areospace" ( ) and, yes, I would have liked to see something more upscale. But it has grown on me over time & I think its fine.

And the A/C system is wonderful!

 

I love the complaints about the Enzo and its not so functionable interior. Lets face it that car isn't meant to ride in for more than 2 hours without having to take a hot shower with lots of old peoples muscle ointment afterwards.
As far as the Z and G35 interior, I see nothing wrong with them at all. I was in an A4 the other day and the interior SUCKED. So I'm convinced people don't know what they're talking about sometimes when it comes to interiors.

 

Because they can't flame the exterior?

 

That was well put, but I have to disagree with the cheap paint on the rear strut and the interior handles. I don't want to have to repaint that stuff every 5 months.

 

I think the interior is fine and i like the altezza tail lights so fu on you all!!

 

I agree, well put!

 

Maybe I'm the only one, but I was impressed with the interior of the Z even before I bought one. I thought the plastic material didnt feel cheap like alot of the domestic cars. The layout seemed very clean, sleek and easy to use. It doesn't have all the futuristic gadgity feel like some of other imports like the RX8 but I personally like the subtle clean look better.

 

I have no gripes about my Zs interior. I do like the slight changes for the 2006 model as well.

 

I guess it's perception. When I test drove the Z, I thought the interior was frikin awsome. It looked so morden and sexy. It's been 3 months now and the interior is just "okay" to me now, but I get to relive it all over again when someone sits in the passenger seat and has the same first experiences as I had and are crazy about the interior.

This was also the same with my 2000 Jetta. At first I thought the interior was the coolest thing with the lights and sh|t. Now it's just ordinary. I just got used to it. But people still compliment the lighting in the jetta.

One more example is speed. When I first drove the Z, It felt like an untamed beast, and it would jump at the slightest touch to the gas pedal. Then the speed got ordinary after a while driving it. But one day, I let my friend drive it and I sat in the passenger seat. I had the same feeling that I had the first time in the car. It's becaues you are not in control of the car anymore and don't know when to react to the speed. That's why speed is a drug, once you go a certain speed all the time, it becomes ordinary and you need to put more mods to feel the same way you did at the start.

Um, just my loooooong 2 cents

 

The problem with that theory is that if you wanted all the money you paid to go into engine, handling, etc then there are much better cars out there.

The Z has a good balance between power-handling-braking-luxury-ride quality-interior/exterior design.

The interior DESIGN is great in my opinion. The materials themselves are the problem... they are horrible quality. There is hard plastic all over, and the plastic itself feels extremely thin and week. Feel the air control *****...horribly weak feeling. The center compartment doesn't even open on show room NEW cars. Neither does the cuphold space. That's a lack of build quality.

If they had only used better materials, the interior was be very very nice for a sports car.

 

All I can say is, I am glad I waited for the '06 Z. I am a sucker for small interior touches like the new temp. controls!

Overall, I never thought the Z's interior was bad and didn't hold it against it while test-driving its competitors. But yes, it could definitely be a lot better. There's nothing wrong with having a thoroughbred sports car that is a feast for ALL your senses.

 

To be honest, frorm afar I wasn't a fan of the interior either. I thought it looked cheap, especially for the price of the car...........until I went and saw it in person. Once you sit in the car, everything changes. It wraps around you and pulls you in. Like other folks have said, it has everything you need in a sports car. If you want all that extra crap then get the g35, but I just don't see that as a true sports car. I want a car, that was at least somewhat reminiscent of the cars from way back. Granted the Z isn't a muscle car, but hey the new stanger, not good, new charger, beast engine, but four doors, corvette, a little out of my range. The Z is it. Potential to burn ricers and muscle cars, perhaps even a porsche or two. what more do you need

 

I've read many times on this forum how some people don't like the interior of the Z, I personnaly have always liked it. The quality is real good despite what I have read here. I had a C4 Corvette and the interior was horrible after a few years. I'll take the Z's anytime.

 

When I first got the car I thought it was pretty sweet! Then I realized it was kinda cheap. But most cars are plastic anyway...I guess when you see a car of this caliber people just assume it would have a luxurious interior like BMW's. Besides the material the setup is AWESOME I feel like I'm behind a race car everytime I drive it.

 

+1

 

I appreciate and notice quality materials and quality workmanship. I saw what crap Detroit put out in the 80's and 90's, so I tend to like Japanese cars, generally.

Having had a 1990 300ZX and now a 2004 350Z, I can draw a few comparisons. First, let me say that the 300ZX interior was EXCELLENT. The 350Z interior is still quite good, though maybe a little plain by comparison. That's not a complaint, just an observation. Definitely, the new interior quality is very good compared to most cars. The fit and finish is superb compared to most American cars.

The old Z had a little more padding (i.e. padded vinyl dash and door panels). Padded vinyl is far and away better than ABS plastic in terms of looking good and feeling nice. If nothing else, it gives the perception of better quality than ABS plastic. Most cars use ABS plastic extensively and it shows - badly. I had a $35K Grand Cherokee with ABS door panels. They looked cheap and when the dealer removed one of them, it created stress marks in the plastic (ABS turns white when stressed - especially near the fasteners).

By comparison, the 350Z uses much less ABS. I expect to have ABS around the instrument panels and console because it's very customizable and practical there. Conversely, I expect door panels and dash boards to use better materials. I'm not sure what material Nissan used for the door panels - they are hard, but not ABS. I think that they are strong, yet thin, lightweight and durable. They are not soft, but I can live with that. More importantly, they are not ABS!

Curiously, the dash board behind the steering wheel/instrument cluster is ABS, but the dash board on the passenger side is padded vinyl. Probably, the area behind the instrument panel required an unusual shape, so ABS was more practical there. Also, the passenger side contains an airbag and the vinyl separates when the airbag deploys - ABS would not.

I really like the way the 300ZX interior wrapped around its occupants. The 350Z interior styling is less dramatic, but I wouldn't want the same thing over again. The great thing about cars is they change and evolve. Each car has things that make it new, special, different, refreshing and modern, etc.

As far as performance, the 350Z is a fairly dramatic improvement over the old Z. Although, sometimes I think the 350Z rolls more in the turns (this could be my imagination - it was 10 years between owning both cars). Definitely, Nissan had it's work cut out for it in order to produce a high-performance car at such a reasonable price. I'm glad they put the resources into performance. It was money well spent.

My $0.02 worth.

 

Hmm .... The fact that it had a ABS dash was a plus to me. No more cracking or bubbling dashes. I guess it is just what you are used to? I had to keep my 300ZX dash covered all the time or I was replacing the dash every 4-5 years because of bubbles or
cracks.

I really like the 350Z interior. Let's see what happens after 4-5 years however.