roberto350z

i think its great thats hes driving it every day! Im sure if someone lent him the 2004 accord to drive around he'd be like:

"well neat. The 2004 accord. Sure looks good sitting here in my parking lot. hmmmm. maybe the parking lot will miss this car too much if I drove it to work today...OK, ill take the hennessey viper "

ariZona

That was a good one, rpgonzalez! I am pretty impressed that he is driving it myself - now I just hope he gives it some good buzz on his show...

ariZona

NissaNZ

I hope he posts his impressions soon I can't wait any longer.

AudioPat

OK..so it's 7:55 PM Pacific time..don't think I'll make 8 PM as promised but I'll do the best I can...remember, I'm not a professional driver or writer so cut me some slack...

First off this is a Silverstone Track pre-production model..I was told that there were several things that appeared on this car that would be addressed in the production model..one of them being the shift rattle at 4000 rpm that was mentioned in an early review..to tell you the truth...I never heard it rattle

Also, in my excitement I forgot to turn off the traction control...so this review for what it's worth, is with traction control (Jay asked me about this when I brought the keys back..he has already gotten in the habit of turning it off when he starts the car...I won't mention the doughnuts in the parking lot)

I brought Patrick, the mixer that takes care of Kevin's Band, with me to document the journey and give his reactions..Patrick just bought a G-35 that we took a ride in on Monday...my first problem was finding reverse..it took several tries to figure out that I needed to push down and then right and back (Thanks Patrick for the tip)

I took the car west on 101 and immediately hit traffic..this is the reason I ordered the auto trans..but I soon realized how light a touch the clutch took..it was effortless..it made me wish I had ordered the six speed..we traveled north onto the 405 and there I was able to open it up...at 80 in 6th gear it sits at 2700 rpm and with the slightest push on the throttle, reminds you there is still power to be had...If I were to be going 100 in the carpool lane, which of course I wouldn't do because it would be illegal, I am sure that I could report to you that the car was rock solid..

The seats wrap around you so that in sudden lane changes you and the car move as one. The stearing is the most reactive I have ever driven..it goes exactly where you point it as soon as you point it there with little or no body movement. The Brembos did a great job of slowing the beast down...again a lite touch was all that was required.

At a stop light off the line a good driver could easily spin the tires in first & second...maybe even third. It has been many years since I'd driven a stick so my skills aren't what they used to be. The shift pattern was very tight..maybe 1 1/2" throw..several times I missed third and right into fifth (remember It's been a long time). It won't take much getting used to.

Performance wise I love this car and don't think I'll be dissapointed with my auto...

Let me say also that the AC that some have complained about worked great..it was about 100+ today and I had it set about 3/4 fan..air flow was plenty...BTW, the mirrors adjusted with a neat little joystick, left of the driver...speaking of mirrors..visibility out the rear view is fairly narrow but OK...you see just over the rear strut brace...there are blind spots on the sides so learn to trust your mirrors...the homelink buttons are on the rear view..

The flimsy cover for the nav system wasn't that bad IMO..it is damped and retracts automaticly..you need to lift up slightly and then pull it down till it locks in place.

All guages were in perfect view...the stock stereo IMO needs the subwoofer but was OK...with the air running and the stereo at a nominal level it was hard to hear the engine (this is one of the things Jay commented on..he thought the exhaust note could have been stronger)

It's 8:30 already so I'll post this and if I think of anything else I'll jump back on...It was a great ride!!

c350z

Thanks for the info, you are one lucky guy.

What did you think of the color?

raceboy

Lucky bastard!! The rest of us are gonna be waiting another 2 months before the first of us gets to drive one!!

articfury

I second VQ's comments. Thank you very much for taking one for the team and driving the car. I know you had to hate every minute of it.

The waiting is definitely getting more difficult.

JD

NissaNZ

Can you please comment more on the accelration aspect, is it really hard, does it pull you back in the seat really hard?

AudioPat

This is a pre production car and I couldn't get Nissan to tell me if the color is accurate but it was a little lighter than I expected but gourgeous none the less..a very nice medium silver metalic

Acceleration from a stop didn't push me back in the seat but I have to say that's probably due to my lack of driving skills and not the car since at 60-80 on the freeway you could feel the acceleration more with just a slight additional pressure on the throttle

droideka

Thanks, Pat! A "commoner" getting to drive and review is much more rewarding than an auto critics' thoughts. One question, how soon did the clutch take-up and do you feel that it had that nauseating "spring" at the end of it's travel that late model Hondas are plagued with?

Maybe you can ask Jay to take you for a ride since he's been driving it for a few days and is probably not at all hesitant to flog the sh*t out of it.

ZON

iTrader: (2)

AUDIOPAT can you please tell Jay that I like him more than that David Letterman fellow? In fact I don't even like Letterman. Jay seems like the kind of filthy rich celeb that is more approachable, to me. Hey, he's just a funny, likable guy, what can I say?

350zpower

i like Jay Leno .. but the best late night comic has got to be the man Conan o'brien

AudioPat

Sorry...don't understand "Clutch take-up" but I can say that it was smoothe throughout it's travel...no change in feel from top to bottom...hope this answers the question

atl123

So what was the final verdict on Jay's opinion of the car?

AudioPat

Jay may be putting something together on his thoughts on the car so I don't want to comment too much on that

I can say that he has driven it in every day this week...very unusual for him to take the same car five days straight

ZON

iTrader: (2)

I'm not up that late. Well, if I am I'm sittin' right here!!

atl123

Sounds good. I'll have to make sure I catch the next few shows. Thanks for the great follow up, and congrats on getting to drive the car.

3rdpower

Awesome post pat I can't wait to hear what Jay has to say!

NissaNZ

I mean driving skills aside anyone can floor the throttle, did you? If it didn't slam you back in your seat when you floored it in 1st gear then I'm getting worried here.

Please reassure me.