kroams

A guy that participated in the G35 Coupe / 350Z marketing event put his opinions on IS300.net. Sounds like he doesn't care too much for a true sports car considering he drives a sedan but its still interesting to read.

IS300.net review

Well I got a invitation to attend a market research group to evaluated new vehicles. It was located at the Hilton hotel in farmingdale.So I got to the hotel the lady takes us to the parking Lot and low and behold was the G35 coupe and the 350Z. They gave us these hand held computers and we had to go over each car in detail and rate the front, back, interior, trunk what we thought of the materials etc etc. They had two G35 coupes and two 350Z. Two were for a test drive and the others were for the rating and comparison. The two G35's were both silver and the 350Z one was white the other was blue. Now the G35 was sweet looking on appearance, but the blue Z was so gorgeous that I was determined to like that car better, plus having a SBM I am partial to blue cars now. (part of the survey was to see which one you would buy). Going over the nitty gritty of both cars, the G35 was levels above the Z. For starters the G35 has two very useable back seats. The trunk was much smaller than the IS, but the seats folded down. The 350 Z all thats behind you is a load of cheap black plastic. and the trunk is blocked by that sway bar. It looks cool from the outside, but it leaves room for half a bag of groceries, If you can get it underneath. The interior of the G35 is of a much higher quality..I expected it, but I didn't think that the 350Z would be that poor....The interior door handles on the Z are the cheapest flimsiest I have ever seen....its like some thin pale blue plastic ring...everything is dark brushed metal inside..so why the blue plastic..??? The seats are not too comfortable..similar in shape to the G35 but harder. The view from behind like I mentioned before is a huge mound of black plastic...very limited view out the back. Any way the G35 seats were very comfortable, the seats were a perforated leather. ....a bit more comfortable than the IS. The interior was cream, so it definitely seem more luxurious than the Z. Materials were much higher quality than the Z. though they shared some parts like the steering wheel for example. The instrumentation was alright...Nothing out of the ordinary. I like the instrumentation in the 350Z better. Those three center mounted gauges are nice...I liked the Real brushed aluminum dashes of both...(not the stick on crap I got).The AC controls are indentical to the IS in the Z except they have a metal finish..very cool The wheels on both cars where the same. 17 Rims. 235/50/17 on the back of both.

The test drive of both cars were pretty short, up and down RT110, but I got a decent feel for both cars. On startup, from the outside you will turn heads The exhaust note for both cars are sweet...nice rumble out of those twin pipes...Both cars were auto with shiftmatic. (I was so busy driving I forgot to try the manual shift) The steering in both cars was pretty crisp...(IS is a much better in my opinion). The Z had a much lower seating position...real low had to get used to the low visibility over the dash. ..though G35 seems to have a lower roofline, its a bit more difficult to get in the Z. Both cars have good headroom..(at least for me at 5'8") The y seemed equally powerful..maybe the edge goes to the Z. I couldn't really gun either car, but it there is no doubt that they are both more powerful than the IS. The Z got the most attention because it was that bright blue color. The G35 blended in more but still people were gawking.

In the the last questions on the survey set two prices for each car..

for example the G35 was 30,000 and the Z 28,000...you continually pick the car that you would buy if you had to choose between the two equiped how you wanted...as you choose the price of the two goes up...you keep picking. I kept picking the G35 . Anyway I guess the are gonna have a dilema with these two cars....they want to keep the G35 affordable but the price of the Z is so close and they are very close in specs...the Z had about 10 more horses G35(275) 350Z(285).
Anyway most important was the 75 bucks they gave me at the end of the day. I sorry I wasn't more detailed...if think of something and ask I might remember more.

mattyZ

he he he ....

This guy makes me laugh....he has no right commenting on the interior of these two cars considering he drives an IS300...

Have you ever seen the interior of an IS?

I'm sorry but the IS is the most impractical sedan I have ever seen...I mean, a sedan that has has rear seats that don't fold down! Come on!

AtlZ

my gs400's rear seats dont fold down either!!!

ITZBITZ

I thought he did a good job giving his opinion. Just because it doesn't match yours is no reason to be all ragging on him.

Reviews like this just reassure me that you'll be able to find Z's on dealer lots discounted by year end.

AtlZ

i hate how everybody, and i mean EVERYBODY, that reviews the Z, states that the interior is subpar. this worries me. i hope its not similar to the corvette or worse!

mattyZ

You're right ITZBITZ

Sorry if I sounded like I was ragging on him...it's just the interior thing bugs me...overall, I think it was actually pretty positive, you have to assume he would like the G35c better since he owns a Lexus sedan....I drive an Audi A4 3.0, which has one of the nicest interiors available, however, I am not buying a sports car for the interior. If the Z interior is average I will be very happy, because from my experience, most auto interiors are average, and I would say that the IS300 interior is below average.

robbyn

The Internet RAWKS. Nissan sends out a press packet with info embargoed until July 3rd. Within hours the importent info is on the internet. Nissan hires a consumer testing company for big bucks I'm sure to ask a small group of consumers to compare the two cars (a dozen people maybe). Within 48 hours, the first of these reviews gets on the Internet for the whole world to see. I'm thinkin big corps. in general and Nissan in particular long for the good old days of say 1996 when corps. could actually keep their marketing and other info secret.

mdouvris

ITZBITZ....you must not have pre ordered...Wishful thinking it is for you to believe that they will be on lots in December and discounted to boot! The pics of the interior all look similar. It's not the best but it's not the worst. I'm happy with it. You need to put the pipe down! That stuff is bad for you!

ITZBITZ

That's funny. You can already order them in California for $1000 under MSRP. This based on another thread on this same board. And that's in California where you can sell sports cars all day long. Think about middle America, and you're talking incentives to make room for more Altimas, PathFinders and Xterras.

We'll see when that time comes. I'll either be rolling in a car that I test drove, negotiated and walked out paying somewhere between invoice and MSRP, or I'll be in my current car waiting for a deal to present itself.

I have infinite patience when it comes to automobiles. And I've bought three brand new ones in the past year. All of them "HTF, RARE and HARD TO GET!" and everyone one of them for close to invoice.

rai

Just because there was a post saying you can order at $1000 under MSRP doesn't mean it's so. I could post that I am a dealer and am giving Z's away for free, are you going to believe that?

I think the preorders are going to be going out from aug to nov, that leaves everyone waiting until dec-jan to get a Z off the lot. I think they will be sold at or above MSRP for the next 9 monhts. but this is just my opinion. I have seen it with beatles, PT's Miatias, Z3's boxsters, you name it. And let me tell you I owned a Z3 and the interior could have been made out of burlap and recycled milk cartons and they would have sold at or above MSRP.




I would like to make a point that from my perspective the Z's interior looks spartain. a lot of people think if it doesn't have a lot of wood or deep pile carpet or connely leather that a car has a cheap interior. If it is as nice as the interior on the S2000 I will be satisfied.

3rdpower

Mr. T says, "quitcho Jibba Jabba"

Nissan is going to have a tough time selling a Z over a G35 because of the fact they are so close in price and performance. Nissan really needs to pull the Z to a different level. Sharing the engine is cool and all but for goodness sake I don't wanna have to go neck and neck with a G35 sedan who can hold his own with a Z. The thing is fuggly of course but ...

G35 should be in a lower realm IMHO or a higher price.

VandyZ

iTrader: (2)

Blue door handles? I thought they were solid aluminum (they were in the ones that I saw). Maybe they were aluminum with that blue colored plastic wrap on them.

Of course we all know Mr. T's will have custom gold handles!

kroams

I think the reviewer was referring to the inside door handles. They are plastic and look like plastic. The exterior door handles are aluminum and all reports say they feel very solid. The interior handles have always looked to me a bluish white plastic rather than aluminum. Hopefully some aftermarket company will offer a true aluminum replacement or someone can get a machine shop to make us some custom. I think $100 for a set would be well worth it.

VandyZ

iTrader: (2)

I missed that part. Sorry. But still, I don’t remember thinking it was as cheap as he made it to be. I immediately thought the nav door was trouble though. Oh well.

Goober

I am actually glad if he didn't like the interior. Most likely means he put his true opinion in to Nissan and hopefully they will adjust the interior quality.

ITZBITZ

Bought a new Beetle the first year they came out amidst all the hype for $500 under MSRP with no second sticker and got the CD-changer for free...

If you're willing to look further than your local dealer for a deal on a new car, you'll find there are plenty of deals to be had.

But I agree, the interior doesn't matter for the sales of the car for the first year at least. The ZO6 has a crap interior and I'd buy one if I could afford it.

What will hurt 350Z sales is poor reviews by end users or the closeness of the model line to the Infiniti in this era of brand concious vanity buyers.

rai

These kind of posts are interesting because this guy was a IS 300 owner and member of a IS 300 forum. He obviously has a lot invested in the IS 300 so he has to give a reason why the Z or G is worse than his car. It's not gonna be because of power or performance, so the interior is crap. If you are a Z man and you test the S2000 you are going to say what a crappy car, no torque. Look at a boxster S and you will say nice car but it's too damn expencive. Look at a corvette and you will say sure it has good acceleration, but it looks like a camaro inside. It's all about preception. You won't find a car that is perfect in all ways that is cheap, great interior, great performance, great looks, no stupid antenna issues. You have to find a balance and so far the Z looks pretty good.

Pooh2002

I was very happy with the interior of the Z when I sat in it. The interior door handles are really pretty neat. They sure seemed to be solid Aluminum to me - seem to remember several others saying the same. The car I sat in had the cloth seats. It will be a bit more luxurious looking and feeling with the leather. When sitting in the car, I was absolutely certain that buying the Z was the right decision. The feeling you get from the drivers seat is of total control. Everything you need to see and touch is placed just where it needs to be. The view forward and through the mirrors made me want to fire it up and drive away. The steering wheel and stalk controls are definitely not cheap. Took a lot of slow breathing to calm me down before I could walk away from the car.

I admit that I am not very objective about the car and that's just the point. If it can inspire an old fogey like me who has been driving for over 40 years, it will blow the socks of the rest of you.