I have now seen the Z 3 times in person and checked various things that concerned me.

First the height issue, 5’8” are fine and in fact probably perfect as some taller people have complained the roof sloped a little; so anywhere near that range will be fine. The interior materials and handles have been a hot topic. I specifically inspected and touched the material on the door (claimed to be plastic). Well, plastic may sound as if hard – the fact is, if you push your thumb into it (sufficiently hard mind you; as if you were pushing the button from your car alarm key ring from far away (and it doesn’t activate so you press harder for odd some reason thinking it will go farther)) and it will cushion in a bit but immediately push your thumb back as it wants to be in its firm position. The interior material on the door is not smooth as silk; it has texture similar to the screen of a patio but smaller aspect and not too protruding and not faint – just right in my opinion.

The navigation door:
The navigation door, if closed as per instructions is not a problem with the movement of the door. On the other hand, I found it to be awkward though to pull out with 2 fingers. First of all, the most natural way of grabbing it is using your thumb on top and your index finger curved and sideways – (make a fist with your thumb on top then loosen your fist). Further intriguing me on this aspect, I asked someone else to close it (keenly observing) and noticed he used the tip of his thump and the tip of his index finger – the resistance to pulling may be too great for some low friction fingers though in my opinion.

In either case, you have to release that grip and switch around your fingers somewhat elegantly to start pushing it downward (elegantly because the thing is still wants to pull itself inward). And you can’t avoid this switching of fingers because, #1, you can’t maneuver your arm with your fingers in that position, and #2 if you did, you wouldn’t be able to close it as your index finger would be in the way.

The exterior door handle:
The door handle is metal. (I didn’t have a magnet with me; aluminum doesn’t stick to magnet – if anyone has one; please try it on the door handle). The tug on the door is firm; probably because the axis of rotation is so close to the edge of the handle – but a good sense of firmness and it moves with high precision (i.e. you can grab it from any edge [top or bottom, or middle] and it will not want to give way more in that area as with some other handles of other cars.

The steering wheel up/down movement:
The steering wheel has the handle on the lower left side as does most Hondas (and I presume other cars out there). I did find it to be quite stiff to move up and down (even with the handle down, it wouldn’t move by itself nor with light pressure). I think this is a good thing (perhaps not that stiff though) because when I move the handle with my Hondas, the wheel will fall down – and that may be hazardous while driving. In either case, this particular detail isn’t too bothering because we do not move the steering wheel too often. Oh, another note on the steering wheel. It goes down pretty far. I used to always tend to have my wheel all the way down on my former Prelude, but this one may have a natural aspiring position slightly 1/3 the way up.

The clutch:
The clutch feels like 15lbs of pressure. I didn’t have a pressure meter with me – sorry. It does feel a little more pressure than a VW beetle I drove not to long ago and also a little firmer than the Mini. I can’t compare it to my Prelude as it was an automatic (don’t flame me please there was a secondary reason for the auto tranny unlike my 6sp due in Oct). Oh the pressure on the clutch was consistent; it didn’t get stiffer the farther you go.

The shifter:
I think everyone already knows about this, but short and effortless “snip”. Oh yes, sometimes going from fifth to sixth you feel the bump or rub of the reverse gear channel as you slide; not at all on this one – smooth as first to second (I went back and forth a few times to make sure of this); and Reverse is really far off to the right and there is additional pressure (about 50% more than from center to fifth) needed to be applied to get there too.

Front lights:
Parking lights light up the yellow strip band in the light well in addition to a smaller bulb to the side of the high beams (the high beams are below the zenon’s for those who don’t’ already know). This small light is positioned on the outer side of the high beam area and is very low in lumens probably a little 1watt bulb or something like that. The Zenon’s, if you haven’t already inspected them, originate from inside a slit and beams it through what I would call a magnifying glass just hanging and protruding all by itself like 1.5 inches in front – I didn’t get directly in front of the light, but it was a definite pleasure to see.

Suspension:
This is going to be a tough one to describe (I haven’t driven the car by the way), but only mentioning it because of what I witnessed while in the showroom. When I sat in (160lbs), I didn’t sense any movement of the suspension. I gentleman of 300lbs (I asked his weight politely afterwards) sat in and that side of the car moved down about a quarter inch to 3/8 inch. This may not be pertinent to anyone, but thought I’d mention it because I do not necessarily want the car to be too stiff as it may be my daily driver if I end up picking it every morning (or if they give me a nice trade-in value for my SUV).

Trunk opening button:
I also think everyone knows this already, but for those who think it’s a small button to the upper right as I read elsewhere it’s not there. It’s in the middle top and it’s covered in rubber – it’s about 1.5 inches long and about 3/8 inch wide. You have to push it in the center about 1/4 inch in before it clicks and the hatch opens. I found it rather tight (or probably firm) to push in that far given the dimensions of the rubber part; so I’ll probably be opening it with the remote – which is what I recommend. I have seen many similar buttons/switches and after heavy use the middle will start wearing out and you then have an exposed button!

 

You guys are driving me crazy with all these reviews. Let me explain. I'm 16 and turning 17 in February. My family currently has two cars, a Land Rover Discovery and a Toyota MR2 Spyder(my Dad's). I think you guys know which one I prefer of the two. I've had my heart set on that car for a year since my Dad got it. My parents said I could take my Dad's car when I turn 17, and my Dad would take whatever 3rd car we purchase. But now I'm in the love with the 350Z. No knock on the MR2, but this is one serious car. So, until feb., I guess I've got some major *** kissing to do.

 

the exterior door handles are plastic.

 

ext. door handle is NOT plastic.

 

Nope, not plastic.

 

I need more info than that. I clunked on the handle with a metal object and I got a thunk like plastic. I ran my fingernail over it. Smooth like plastic

 

At least you are a little more open to the possibility of it being metal. I wish I can give you an aluminum air pressure cap I have here; you would swear 100 times it was plastic. It weighs less than a feather and has a wierd sound too when dropped on the floor.

All that matters to me is, the handles have a very precise movement no matter where you grab it from. Defintely doesn't feel like the plastic flexible handles of some honda civic. End result, not a disappoiting feature what so ever.

 

good info mike. I am scratching my head in disbelief. They should just use plastic in that case. I KNOW, when I get my car I am gonna scratch it with a screwdriver and see whats there