A guy on 350zforum.com got to drive around briefly in a pre-production car but also got to check out a production car they air-freighted to this Nissan Regional Manager. Good review.


Breathtaking. Still do not have feet firmly on ground.
Had navigation, so problem with the empty box on the pre-production was not a problem. On the Pre-production, the door covering the empty box was just plain awful. Did not fit, could not close. All other fit and finish was very good. 3.8 or 3.9. The "Audi" comment about "plastic" instead of aluminum was false. Controls (ac, radio) too far away, gotta bend forward to reach. Had problems with seat adjustment. The tigh support adjuster seemed awkward. But good adjustment. Did not like the Bose. Sub woofer right behind driver seat. I liked the layout of the "glove box" behind passenger seat. Will hold a briefcase. (Did hold a briefcase). Good luck reaching it if you are driving, impossible if you have a passenger, as I did. (Manager!!) Small cubby hole for registration and etc in back. Liked that and is reachable. Rear hatch is nicely done. My small dog gonna be able to ride back there in style. Carpet was very thin, would think aftermarket would quickly fill that nitch. Driver position similar to my Austin Healey. Seems like you butt is dragging pavement. Lower still than the 300zx. Seats. Hey, feels gooooooood. The armrest or lack of armrest was ok, but would like to have had something higher. Aftermarket again.

Loved the interior door handles and cute lock! I forgot to check re window retraction. I did not notice and forgot it until I left. Also forgot the get the VIN.

I had not a bad impression of the panels, albeit plastic, I think they were fine. Nothing fancy, ie., not tucked and rolled as we once did. But they give a good impression. They do not look cheap like others contend. They are much better than what I had in my 240z.

Think the view out rear quarter about same as the 240z. Driver is low and some obstruction. But not that bad. Read view mirrors are good, but tricky to adjust. The rear windows appears as a slit, much like HDTV aspect ratio (16x9)! which I never have adjusted to. I was reminded that in a 350 you need to look ahead, not behind. What is behind is not relevant. Was told that was why they could not put a antenna in the window, small and polorization. The stubby did not look bad and vandals will have a difficult time breaking it.

Body was sound. Car lower than I anticipated. Is huge car (relative) and plenty of room. External fit and finish was outstanding. The car was rather grimy, as we had some bad weather today and last night.

Driving was around the circle, Got to about 35 mph. But it wanted to run. Bad bad. Instant, like right now response. Veritable growl. Brakes awesome. Clutch tight. Stick gates too tight, will take me some time to get all six in a row. Short throws, close together.

Summary: I had reservation, but do not anymore. A fine machine, Worthy of the Z heritage. I loved it. Get one.

 

Uh-oh, there's that "cute" word!!

Where's Gish?

 

Haha, he can't catch a break.

Nice short review.

 

Thanks. Hope I don't find too many "cute" items in the car, but will deal with them if I do. I wonder if by carpet he meant there were no floor mats or trunk mat - the carpeting in cars is usually not thick or "****," and mats just make good sense in keeping a car clean - its much easier to replace car mats at $60 than all the carpeting!

ariZona

 

Yeah, baby! Grrrrrrrrr.

Sorry, cannot wait for Austin tomorrow,
Todd

 

So does he mean that the nav "door" on the production model is ok now, I wonder?

Good review! Thanks!!

 

Could you compare the tranny and its shifting to some car in production now. How much better than a 6speed maxima. How close is it to the s2k league?

thanks-

 

very hard to judge while the car is parked, if I had to say on a scale of 1 to 100

S2000=98
Z3=92
Boxster=91
350Z=90
maxima = 80

just my opinion, but it's very nice