I like the Z interior but there is always room for improvment.

Comparing an Ferrari to a Z is ridiculous. Most people who buy Ferrari's are not worried about spending money or how efficient the car is.

 

labshark
ur a funny dood!
woot

 

what he said!

I find the Zs interior 3x nicer than my honda preludes (97) which was pretty decent.

The Z is definitely simple - but tasteful and well styled. I LOVE the material on the doors (so easy to clean) In fact the whole interior is very easy to clean.

My fav part...are the climate control *****. Simple, effective, stylish.

Much better than the wash of buttons on the G35. But I guess thats what luxury buyers want - lots of buttons.

 

I would call the Z's interior "spartan" and that would be a compliment from me. I want things simple and to-the-point. All of the controls are exactly where I'd want them and everything works just fine. I'd rather concentrate on driving and enjoying myself instead of fumbling for the radio or being distracted by bells and whistles...

 

Wow, labshark. This is the second thread I've seen you seemingly intentionally start trouble. A REAL car enthusiast would recognize Ferarri's heritage, the fact that EVERY car is hand built, nothing is "mass produced," and obviously a machine like that will require more maintenance than your precious Geo. But hey, that's fine--you go buy your Geo and I'll dream about a 575 Marenello.

As for the Z's interior--I like it also. It's simple and sporty--I've never like doors with all kinds of stuff on them. I don't worry about what critics say (except when they say something REALLY stupid and I get to laugh at them), I just go by my personal tastes and I wouldn't change a thing.

 

I loved it when you went off on that Cincinatti reporter. lol What a goofball.

 

OMG ! Let's get serious here for a minute. There are only a few marques that should even be mentioned in the same breath as the Ferrari - Lombo, Bugatti, Porsche, Aston Martin, even Merc and BMW pail into insignificance. This dude just ain't talking apples and apples. I love my Z and it's interior and I am not just defending my spending choice I really mean that. But we all must surely realize that our Z's are simply not in the same class as the super cars - in any respect. I am amazed and amused. However, I still can't find a better car for less than $35K than the Z - nothing comes close whatever it's interior is like. If I wanted plush luxury I'd have bought a luxury saloon.

 

That's it in a nutshell. I don't even look at or think about Ferrari's as a possibility because I had a budget. I had 60 grand for a car.

I had not thought about getting a car for a while and had sort of fallen out of the loop..and I wanted a NEW car..so i started looking..there is very very little for that price on the market...it boiled down to the Z and mods or a corvette.

( i do not like Porsches)

I test drove the Z06 Corvette...great body style, man was it FAST...but the interior was pathetic....just standard crappy plastic gm parts.

the Z's interior was great....and sure, when I picked up the Z..right next door was the Lotus dealer..and I would have much rather gotten one of those except...150 grand for a car is not my reality.

MY Z turns plenty of heads and is a blast to drive and I'm haveing fun with the mods..it's like the new car gets 'newer' with each mod..if that makes any sense.

 

being a car designer, the z's interior IMO is as good as they get design aesthetically wise. since renault has taken over, nissan has begun implementing some french cues in both their exterior and interior designs, the z was one of the first to recieve this treatement in nissans new lineup.
recently renault has been on the top in the design world with their interior design concepts, and some of that has really come up in the z. the sparsness (used in positive context), the simplicity, the bigger bolder elements, i.e. the huge bare form for the door panel, the simple bold temp/fan gauges, the chisseled turn signal/wiper *****...etc.
i cant stand the look of most car interiors, especially after owning this z, and the fit and finish is pretty damn solid even compared to my 02 gti i traded in to get this z.

 

Clarkson never likes japanese interiors, and when he hates something, he really hates it all out. That being said, he is still a cool guy (even tho I think Tiff was better).

Anyways, I was looking at all the reviews and that seemed to be a constant that the interior seemed too plasticy. I went to see the Z for the first time on the inside yesterday (I was actually looking for more infor on the G35c) and I must say that I thought it was really well done.

One has to remember that most car reviewers ciritic an interior in comparison to other cars... ie German interiors, etc etc.

 

But the Editor never wrote back, nor have I seen my letter published. I wonder why? LOL I still stand by my statement that she needs to stick to reviewing mini vans and Lincoln Towncars.

 

ok...this may seem petty, but the Z is not a 29k dollar car. It's a 27-37k dollar msrp car; add even more of a price range now that the vert is out. I paid 39k OTD(after tax tags etc) for my loaded touring Z (yeah msrp ) It just kinda bugs me when people repeatedly call it a 29k dollar car...I worked and am working hard for that extra 10k I spent dammit...

/endofrant

now back on topic, I love my car's interior. I was honestly baffled when I kept reading reviews critical of the interior...everyone that gets in my car immediately says 'wow!' or 'damn!'. I think the navi and the burnt orange seats may help dress it up a little IMO.

 

The owner of a night club (who made his bucks ranching) recently
saw my 350 and remarked that it was CUTE. To me VW beetles are cute, but I bit my tongue, and asked about his Ferrari - "I haven't seen it for a while, do you still own it?" He replied "Yeah, it's in the shop". Now that's CUTE (and typical).

 

I remember the first time a walked up to the Z opened the door and got inside. The orange seats were over whelming. errr... over whelming in a good way. i really really liked the seats. Next was the door, inside door handle and vent. I said aloud "damn, this is really cool. I don't believe it. A simple clean interior!" Then i noticed the "Z" grilled vent opening to the door and the dash vent. "Guys, check out the vents!" we liked the side dash vents so much we put a similar vent design on a project we were working on. The steering wheel brought me down a little. the center looks a little bloated compared to the other surfaces. the shifter got me back on track, then we all whooped when we found out the instruments are attached to the steering column. I was sold, and I hadn't even driven the thing. we all liked the bold design statement of the instrument stalks but agreed that they weren't executed quite right. None of us liked the ho hum stereo layout and style.

...but that's all thousands of miles ago.

>meatwad79
>being a car designer, the z's interior IMO is as
>good as they get design aesthetically wise.
>...
>and the fit and finish is pretty damn solid even
>compared to my 02 gti i traded in to get this z.

Wheew, i knew i wasn't on crack! However, the leather textured molded and vinyl parts are so tired to my eyes. i really wish they hadn't done it to the Z. But those matt finishes in the new AUDI/VW lineup scuff so easy.

>z2so4
>Clarkson never likes japanese interiors, and
>when he hates something, he really hates it
>all out. That being said, he is still a cool guy
>(even tho I think Tiff was better).

Yeah, true. i've never seen him give a good review of a Japanese car, ever. NSX? his review of the Skyline was funny but pretty sad.

z2so4 welcome to the forum.

>kozik
>I test drove the Z06 Corvette...great body
>style, man was it FAST...but the interior was
>pathetic....just standard crappy plastic gm parts.

Agreed!! Cool sounding and moves you quick when you push the loud pedal, but didn't the back/trunk sound hollow and cheap? Lot's of road noise! I had to look back and make sure the hatch wasn't up. that's 'prolly how they made that big thing so light by not putting any thing, of any quality, in the cabin.

>D'oh
>I don't even mind the NAV door, although the front
>cupholder is a joke.

Same. I think an engineer was rushed to design that one and didn't have any space to put it in because the air bag guy already took all the dash space! the SAAB 95 cup holder wins the "cool, really small, fun to watch, works really well cupholder award" in my book.

I must say, however, the rear cross bar nullifies almost everything i want to put back there.

thanks guys,
koryo

 

I kinda agree with you there, but check out the audio/interior forum. Someone had a custom box made to fit flush under there and it looked really nice. Just one idea that came out really well. I'm sure there are plenty of others.

For me, I was thinking of putting the battery there, but I just got the hks circle earth grounding kit. I think I'm gonna but a Nitrous Intercooler Kit there once I get FI (if I get FI )

 

I apologise, my reply should have read "Nice try but the Z is a 27K car for a reason"

I understand that u paid alot, bear in my mind that here in Aus a Track model, albeit with leather is a US $46K ask. But the topic of this thread was interior quality and design. I was under the impression that whether u pay 27K or 39K, the quality of plastics used for the dash, doors and centre console r still the same

 

it was an off topic comment as i pointed out in the post itself.

....AND....being an off topic comment, it had no relation to the 'topic' which was interior quality.


btw....'paris hilton yum'? I take it by your icon and comment that you're supposed to be some kind of ferrari driving world traveler right? LOL I'm SO very impressed as i'm so very sure everyone else here is too.

 

Ok, i will bet money on this one, give me a Toyota, Nissan, or Honda and see if any Audi or Ferrari can drive as long or dependable. There is a reason why a lot of people are driving Hondas and Toyotas in California, they will go 200,000 miles consistantly without major problems. I am not talking race track and lets get it straight, I bet no one here has driven a Ferrari. Talk to Mechanics, people that work on cars 40+ hours a week, they will tell you how dependable a Porche, Audi, or Ferrari's are? I have never spoken to anyone that works on car professional (master Tech Level) that has ever said anything about German cars or exitics being dependable. Take a MB, i know Techs that work for them, they leak oil, almost all models.

There is a big differance between a track race and driving a car for 10 years. Car mag review really bother me because all they do is dive a car 0-60, 60-0, handling etc. So does that mean any car that has nice suspension and brakes is made well? Engineering is more than performance, it is building a product for a set price that performs well and will last a long time. I wish they would drive a car 200K, then review it and tell me how good it is! Hell, even a Fiat will run dependable enough for a car road test for one week.

To me, you can keep your Audi interior or Ferrari performance because they are both going to have problems along the road. Any one that want to argue, lets make a bet my 350Z will drive further than your Audi A4 without major repairs.

 

I think this post is really amuzing. People need to stop listening to these car reviewers and realize that you bought the car because you liked it. That's all that matters. The fact is, most of what these people say is so subjective, it's rarely helpful.

I'm a minimalist and I think that my Z is beautiful in every way. True some of Nissan's choices on the interior don't make all that much sense, having driven a Honda previously, I see where Honda does some things better, but also where Nissan does better.

I could ask for a little more in this price segment but overall I'm happy.

Now as far as the Ferraris go, I think we all need to be careful how we evaluate that car. I have great respect for the Ferrari name and of the cars they produce. I think they perform beyond my wildest dreams....however, they are the biggest waste of money in my opinion. If I'm going to spend 200k on a car it better run like a dream for as long as I damn well please!

The car is amazing...when it starts...and watch out if the humidity changes! The car coughs like an early morning smoker in the rain.

All a bit of an exaggeration but I think you get the picture. I am a person of functionality though. I don't see things for just their max potential. I see them for their SUSTAINED potential. Because of that I would choose the Acura NSX over a significantly more expensive Italian car simply because I know that for a sacrifice of just a few seconds on the track I would save 50% and have an engine that I could put as many miles on as the Ferrari's MSRP in dollars.

And there is a lot to be said about the technology on the Z. I wouldn't downplay it when comparing it to European cars. Japanese manufacturers have been benchmarking the German brands and are not far off the mark. I'm sure the Z would perform to German satisfaction on the autobahn. I drove a BMW 325I the same day I bought my Z. The interior was very luxorius but that was the point. I don't think it was made any better. The Z is solid..
just remember-each car is exactly what it's supposed to be. If you're trying to make it anything else, you bought the wrong car.

Sorry for the long rant. I hope you all enjoyed.

 

Subjective.

JMS in TX