I was in Barnes & Noble for a little while today, before my movie began, and I saw the 2007 Consumer Reports Car Guide. I was very happy to see them talk about the Z favorably, by giving it a check-mark and a "recommended" stamp. On top of that, the car's depreciation mark was noted as "Excellent", which put us above Benz and BMW, and right next to Lexus. Their 0-60 estimate was beyond wrong (6.2 seconds, lawlz) but hey...can't win them all.

Just thought I'd share.

 

More to 5.5 seconds !!!!

 

more like 5.2 lol

 

6.2??? was that an automatic roadster they tested?

 

Consumers Reports has rated the 350Z highly for at least 3 years and has given them a Recommended stamp each time. Engine reliability has been consistently above average. They are very complimentary of the Z's V6 and its performance. Their main complaint with the pre 06 models was the hard ride. They describe this as improved in 06 and I suspect will do so also for the 07. The Z is described as significantly better than the Corvette (which does not have a Recommended stamp). The Corvette's mechanical reliability record has been well below average for as far back as I can remember. Its almost a trademark of the car. The main advantage for the Corvette is a hell of a cult following that keeps sales and resales up regardless of what level of mechanical quality you get for your money (which is probably close to twice what you'd pay for the average 350Z.)

 

The Z always does well with car mags...

 

car$driver dissed it over an rx8, mustang, and a new tt. as i remember, they tested a base Z, it won in almost all performance categories, but they picked an rx8 ( fully loaded, BTW )

 

It was an RX8, and they liked it more than the mustang. But still. It made no sense what so ever.

 

Yeah.... depreciation rating is excellent. For the people buying used ones it's excellent. Resale is sh*t.

JET

 

I read that review too. Their main reason for not picking the Z seemed to be that the Base model was less luxurious inside and not as loaded (no leather seats, etc) as the other models. If that was one of their criterea why didn't they pick a Z model that was at the same price level as the other cars? Didn't make sense. Almost got the feeling they were looking for a reason to avoid having the Z come out on top.

 

Bob,
I bought that C&D and read it on a flight recently and I agree it made little sense. The testing results would seem to make the Z first or second pick but you can't ignore the driver reactions to the perceived car quality/luxury factor. They did mention that the Z tested was the base model but failed to make the differences clear when they posted their results. It wasn't fair or balanced reporting and as a former C&D subscriber I don't miss my monthly edition at all.

Bad test...period
Ed

 

 

They have not rated the 2007 as of yet !!! the car tested was a 2005 roadster

 

IMHO, I really don't care much for these car magazine reports. Most of us have personally test driven other sports cars before purchasing our Zs. We all have our own reasons why we purchased a Z and no one can deny that the Z is a great car at a great price compared to other similar sports cars.

 

I thought it was an OK article. they were comparing sporty coupes, and while the Z is OK at being a sporty coupe, its really far too hard core for that category. The fact of the matter was that they weren't looking for the best performance in the 30K-40K price range, they were looking for style, luxury and just a little bit of sport. They make it pretty clear that if you're looking for the best bang for your buck in terms of speed you should buy a Z.
I was, I did. No regrets.

 

How was the movie?

 

I saw that C&D article also, and had the same thoughts.
Oh well, I'll just read them to amuse myself.

 

I saw Ratatouille, and it was fantastic. Hahaha.

 

yup i read the C&D too, wasnt the mustang some special edition too? plus every car was not tested using the base model like the 350 was. its kinda like like comparing the base Z to a loaded one then completely bashing the base one for not being as equipped.

 

+1 ya that movie was great... sorry this is off topic but that movie turned out better than i expected