robbyn

I went out to Rosenthal Nissan in Gaithersburg MD today to see and finally sit in the Z (sorry Rai). My $.02. I am a big guy, about 6'3" and 270, I fit in the Z but only barely. With the seat in the normal position, my head did not touch the roof, but the slope of the roof in front cut off some of my vision. But by tilting the seat back slightly, my vision was fine. Based on the interior dimensions, I have always been very worried about the shoulder room (I have very broad shoulders), again I fit, but only barely. With my left arm back, I was a little cramped, but I could lean my left arm slightly forward and I was fine . . . of course when driving I should have both hands on the steering wheel, so this shouldn't matter. I asked Jeff (from the regional NNA office) when he was leaving because I would like to hear the engine. He said he was leaving in about 10 minutes, but if I liked, he would drive me "around the parking lot." HE DIDN'T HAVE TO ASK ME TWICE. He actually drove me around the block about one mile, and though he was shifting at about 4000 RPM, I was definitely pushed back in my seat. The engine sounded wonderful, and even though the entire drive was about two minutes long, it was long enough for two guys to flag us down and ask when the car came on the market and to tell us how beautiful the car is. One other thing, I don't know what that reviewer in Arizona was talking about, Jeff turned on the AC full power, and it felt like a hurricane coming out. Anyway, I AM SO PUMPED, but its just going to be that much harder to wait for my car.

ACEMAN

iTrader: (29)

How long will they have the z there, i might stop by after work.

ethan84ae

That's great Robbyn! Sounds like you had a blast- Imagine how great it's going to be when we can take our Z's out- whenever we want - for as long as we want.... damn I can't wait!


Just curious- how did you know the car was going to be at your dealership- did your salesguy call you?

Also, which model did you ride in- what options & stuff, what color?

Did you take any pictures?

Ethan

robbyn

Sorry ace, it left today at 4. Jeff (the NNA guy) told me it was going to be in Laurel (I think) tomorrow, but I don't know what time.
Ethan, I knew it was going to be there because Rai's salesman called him last week to tell him it was going to be there between 2 and 4 which he had posted here. I then called the dealer at 2:30 today and the car was there. It was a Daytona Blue Base model -- I don't believe it had the side impact air bags. But I tell you, for anyone out there who is buying a Base, you are getting one heluva car, although personally I still prefer my Enthusiast. BTW, the cover over the NAV space was very awkard, just like every one has been saying. Sorry, I just drove straight out there, no camera.

TCL

robbyn, did the blue meet your expectations?

rai

The agony. I called at 4:30 and was told the car was gone as expected. I called a local dealership in Frederick MD to see if they were going to have a car on dispalay and they didn't have any idea what I was talking about. It would be nice if there was some type of list to let us know where and when because I have occasional days that I get out early.

BTW I spoke to the sales manager at rosenthal he said he still did not have any idea when the pre-orders were going to arrive. He said it could have something to do with the model ordered if they make them in batches. He sais like everyone else the end of august, but it could be in september. There seems to be a lot of misimformation out there.

Can't think of anything to ask except do you think the interior is good quality (excepting that nav door). In other wrds did it look like the cloth/plastic/switch gear was taken out of a sentra?

I can't believe you got a ride what was the exhaust sound and or the stereo?

robbyn sounds like a tight fit but you are a "good size" as I like to say. can you give us a frame of reference? I once owned a Z3 that would be tight in the shoulders for you, but have you sat in a S2000, corvette, or a Boxster? All of these I fit in at 6'3" but I could have asked for a little extra headroom.

Xeinth

So how was the legroom? Or was the headroom the primary point of concern.

X

silvrz5

Robbyn, Im to also a big guy 6-2, and range from 280-295, depending on how many chicken wings i eat!
Im glad to hear that you fit in the car, i know it will be tighter than my f-150 4x4 reg. cab flareside, but then again i like the service cars i get to drive from ford, im on my 2nd. engine, and this truck is going bye bye when the Z and the g35C get here.
Did the drivers seat move downward, (sink) and how did the seat feel in the shoulder room area, i workout, but not steriod huge.
I just cant wait to sit in one myself, bank is the limit if I do feel good in the 350Z. Most likely I will be 3-4 grand upsidedown.

BUT IM "VERY" WILLING TO PAY IT TO GET OUT OF THIS 4X4 KICK I HAVE HAD FOR THE PAST 10 YEARS AND 3 RIDES!

A Sports car here i come,,,,, but it seems like im crawling!!!!
I feel sorry for those pre-orders having to wait!
I dont think i could sleep if I knew i was getting one, In 2 months?

Samurai

That's where I bought my Z. I wish my salesman had called me because I would not have driven all the way to Gaithersburg today.

By the way, I'm 6'4", 195 lbs, and I thought the car had a ton of room. My rule is that I need to be able to put two fingers between my head and the roof to fit. In the 350Z I could get my whole hand ( 5 fingers) between my head and the roof and I had the seat in an upright position. Leg room was good to, although I would have like another inch or two.

rai

thanks a bunch, I may be getting out early tomorrow and my wife is also off so she can come with because I would get lost. I have no sence of direction, but I didn't get the nav, I am afraid I would still get lost and people would really laugh then. Also $2k is a lot of dough. I'd rather get a $2K stereo because I use that everyday.

robbyn

Krazy -- I REALLY liked the gauges, especially the 3 over the center. They are very visable and I thought they paid homage to the original Z. My first car was a 260Z and they brought back memories of it.

TCL -- I had seen this same car before in the parking lost at NNA in Herndon, so I knew what to expect in terms of the exterior. But yes I absolutely love the Blue, especially in the sun. Pictures just cannot show the deep metallic sparkle that the Blue shows in direct sun. Also as regards the exterior, the car looks MUCH better in person that in pictures, especially the rear end. I thought the read end looked kinda empty in the pictures, but in person, the lines of the hatchback ending in the taillights are gorgeous, and the rear fender flares look so much more aggressive in person.

Rai -- First, sorry you missed out -- I do hope you get a chance to see it sometime soon. The interior is not a strong point in this car. I would describe it as adequate, certainly no better than my 2000 Maxima. I have one observation, but not really a complaint. The shifter looks very small. While I agree its an advantage in that the throws are much quicker, it really looks itty-bitty for such an aggressive car. Also, from a functional standpoint, I think the short throws will lead to more accidental upshifts. The front cup holder is useless, but why anyone would want to use it is beyond me. Although not perfect, I had no problem reaching into the rear cup holder from both the passenger and drivers seats. I don't understand the many complaints about the rear cup holder. The view at the rear view mirror is adequate, but that's the most I can say for it. The rear "glove box" is much deeper than I expected, but I think it will be difficult getting things out of it because it is so deep, especially considering you must reach around the passenger seat, which must be leaned forward to get anything out of it.

Sorry, I have not been in any of the cars you mentioned but headroom in this car is kinda different. In most cars, if my head doesn't touch the roof, I am fine. But this car is different, because of the bubble to the roof, even though your head does not touch the roof, the roof is closer to eye level and the rear view mirror is at eye level when looking forward. I found I could solve that problem by changing the angle of the seat. I am sure I would quickly get used to it, and eventually not even notice the rear view mirror when looking forward, but that is not anything I had experienced before. Also it appears that the low sloping roofline and rearview mirror did not bother Samarai.

BTW, the roof line is not near the issue for the passenger seat, because your not looking straight at the rear view mirror at eye lever.

The exhaust sounded great, deep and agressive. Had the stereo on briefly in the show room, but it was turned way down, can't really comment on that.


Xenith -- the leg room was fine for me, but I had no extra room. I had the seat all the way back but the point the seat was at would have been the same, even if I could have moved it farther back. I have a 34 inch inseam BTW. I think if someone had a 36 inch inseam, it would be a little tight. Again, as could be expected no problem whatsoever in the passenger seat because leg room is not used up by the peddles.

Silvrz -- Jeff (from NNA) claimed that only the touring model seats moved up and down. I don't think he was correct, but I did not try to change the height.

rai

I may get to see it tomorrow if everything works out and it is in silver spring.

I owned a 96 maxima and thought the interior was fine, not the best ever, but better than a lot of cars particularly domestics.

I have driven probably 20 manual transmission cars in my life, most of them just test drives, but so far the best was the S2000. That had the shortest shifter, but you can shift with just a flick if the wrist. kind of like F1 drivers when they used to actually shift gears. My maxima was a 5-speed but it's leaver was longer and not as nice. I used to own a Z3 and that shifter and linkage was also great.

I own a 99 passat everyone raves about it's interior, but it has flimsey cup holders. No one ever brings that up. I think it is stupid to even mention them.

One thing I forgot to ask, is there anything to rest your right arm on like a center console or arm rest???

robbyn

You know I really tried to pay attention to detail, but I just don't remember what my right arm was resting on. It was resting on something padded , because I was watching where it fell in terms of the shoulder room (which I was most interested in), but I just don't remember whether it was a console -- with storage space, or just an arm rest. Sorry, but I'm sure someone here will know the answer.

blueshift

I couldn't go to Gaithersburg today....too much going on at work....so i took off Tomorrow, and I'll be off to Silver spring...actually it's closer to my home.....cya guys there

-Andrew

Goober

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I flew into DC this last weekend with my flight student to see a buddy of mine and headed out to Herndon to find the car was already gone. The ironic thing was that he lives in Silver Spring. Damn the luck!

TJZ

Do you not like having a small shift **** or do you not like the short throws? If its the throw you could learn to drive (j/k). But if its just the shift ****, you could always just buy a bigger one to suite your tastes for pretty cheap.