3rdpower

Kudos enders of www.350zforum.com for the re-print.

Posted by: enders on July 14, 2002 at 02:39 am


Evo’s a British car magazine whose focus is always performance cars, a good percentage of which you’ve probably never heard of the states. Unlike American mags, if a car is crap, they say so. How often have you seen stateside mags telling readers NOT to buy some car!
This is a first impressions report and hence as brief as their time in the car. Eventually they’ll do a full-on road test though they’ll probably wait for a right-hand drive car. Their idea of road testing cars is pushing them as fast as they can go with their preferred view out the side windows as they go through turns! And that’s only a slight exaggeration, if at all. They drive the cars hard enough that if the brakes have any tendency at all to heat-up, they will. In other words your basic no-BS car reports that can also be pretty funny between the combination of British slang and their general sense of humor.

Their web site is [ http://www.evo.co.uk ] but since the August issue isn’t on-line yet, I’ve typed in some of their comments on the Z :

“ Underneath, it has multiple, pretty, sculpted aluminum suspension links like the immediately preceding 300ZX model but adds simple electronic dynamic and traction controls instead of the expensive and complex HICA-rear wheel steering. It’s also very bare-bones inside, no more luxurious than a basic rental car………

Given that Nissan believes 80 per cent of all Z-cars will sell in the colonies ( note their phrasing ! ) there’s also cruise control and a fancy dimming rear-view mirror for long stretches on Interstate 40………

The V6 revs easily, and compared with a Honda VTEC unit there’s no kick-in-the-back anywhere along the Z’s rev-range. Nissan claims maximum torque of 274 lb ft at 4800 rpm, but there’s 200 lb ft available at just 1300 rpm, and the climb to maximum is completely linear.

On the road the new Z feels light and stiff. The Bridgestones rumble and let you know the size and intensity of each impact. The suspension is tuned like a racer’s and your head rocks sideways on bumps at all speeds. Your granny would hate it. Where you really feel the ride of the Z is deep in your deepest internal organs as they swish around beneath your ribcage on ripples and ridges. This car is so alive it can change your biological rhythms.

Nearing the limits in corners, the Z squats down and stays planted, giving you the feeling the dampers are one-way valves. The handling balance feels neutral, too, resisting understeer. The steering feels slower than that of a Boxster – you can’t telepath your way from lane to lane like you can with the German car, you actually have to turn the wheel of the Z.

About the unfinished pieces of the new Z-car : during development a vibration appeared in the shift lever at about 4500 rpm. Nissan had a choice to fix the vibration, which left the shift linkage feeling slightly more numb than planned, or leave it alone. Nissan chose the latter, because the company says it wants to appeal to the basic enthusiast. Trust us, you’ll be too busy watching the tachometer as the needle rips by 4500 rpm to notice any vibration. Next, the exhaust note from the two massive round pipes sounds non-distinctive, like the roar of a Viper instead of the rasp of a Maranello or even a MX5. Nissan says it could have tuned out the major contribution to this dull roar, which was the engine’s stiff engine mounts, thereby creating a sweeter sound. Instead, the company chose to keep the stiff engine mounts because in corners the shifting weight of the V6 on soft mounts subtracted from the precise cornering feel of the car.

Two more details : the gearshift action feels squishy soft on fore/aft moves, yet the sides are hard for quick left/right moves; the driver’s seat has been specially shaped in the under-thigh area to facilitate heel/toe manoeuvres. Yes, these folks are on our side, not the poseur’s side. “

Verdict at the end : 4 stars out of 5.


== Not bad

robbyn

Thx for the post. The brief excerpt seemed like these guys really know cars. Please let us know when the entire article is on the Internet.

pointfivezero

Thanks for the post, 3rdpower.

I always get a kick out of the arrogant English perspective of the US and our infrastructure of interstates, as if their roundabouts are an enthusiast's dream.

BrianZ

I thought we won that war, like TWO HUNDRED PLUS years ago!

jran76

iTrader: (1)

EVO is a awsome mag, and if you ever get a chance to pick up a copy, do so. There car of the year is a unbeliavable comparo. They pitted a Pagani, EVO VII, Porsche, Lambo, Aston Martin, and a few others against each other. Wow, I ccan't wait to get to Europe to pick up this copy. I leave on Monday, and that will be the first thing I do when I get to the Muchen Airport.

Thanks for the info. Oh yeah, I agree, these guys know cars, it is the best car mag out there, and it's from a different side of the pond (Sports Car International slightly reminds me of EVO)....

jran76

iTrader: (1)

B and N sells it?

That's cool, I had only seen it across the pond. It is about 8-10 bucks in Germany also, what's the price at B & N?

fairladyZ in Japan

3rd Power....

Thanks for taking the time to type up a summary. Looking forward to reading the whole article.