well, it's been one week and 250 miles since i purchased my chrome silver performance. here are some of my impressions so far.

first, the bad:
i'm not sure if it's just my car, but it seems that the window seals are far from perfect. three days after the car was washed, the window is still covered in water when i roll it down and back up. i washed it again, and three more days of wet windows (and counting). since i have to roll my window down every day to get into my work garage, i'm stuck with a perpetually streaked driver window.
the air conditioner button does not remember the last mode i left it in, and defaults to "on". i like to drive with the vent on, but not the a.c. however, when i park the car and get back, the a.c. is now on. annoying.
the rear window spray and wiper will probably get your window and car more dirty than clean. i haven't tried it at high speed yet, but at a standstill, water goes everywhere from the roof to the rear deck.
the radio sounds like crap, which is about what you'd expect from a stock system (i have the non-bose single cd system). though the 6 preset buttons are very convenient to reach when your hand is on the shift **** (and you're in 1st, 3rd, or 5th).
since the dash lights are always on, it took me a couple of days to remember to turn my headlights on right away. i think i'll remember from now on, but if you see an idiot driving a z with no lights, flash your high beams my way.
finally, the nifty metallic strip with z logo on the rear support bar (the one that kills all the trunk space). under direct sunlight, i can see it reflecting in the rear window, blocking my view. not too big a problem, though.

okay, now that we got the (fairly minor) faults out of the way, let me tell you that i ***'n love this car. those of you that are having doubts, go ahead and buy it, it's awesome. every time i see it parked there, waiting for me, it makes me smile. i have friends with boxsters, m3's, and tt's; this car does not feel inferior to any of those, despite the 10 to 20k price difference.

the steering is very tight, and it takes alot of force to turn the wheel. and the suspension is very stiff. you definitely feel every single contour of the road, but it's not like falling down stairs. that is, it's not jarring when you hit bumps (thought that's not what my gf said when i drove her home after drinking too much. had to stop and let her puke out the door). and the car STICKS to the road like glue, you can really feel it in turns.
and the power... oh the joy. so much great low end torque. no problems doing anything in any gear. and just tap the gas and the revs shoot up there. the engine is smooth and quiet and delivers strong and continuous acceleration (you're not gonna find that in a turbo'd 4-cylinder). anytime i want to make a lane change on the freeway, i just move my foot slightly and shoot ahead of the car next to me and change into his lane. i can't wait until my breakin period is over, and i can see what 6500 rpm will do.

before i bought the car, i was concerned about cargo space. i feel alot better about it now, having thrown in a full cart of groceries with plenty of room to spare. i also worried about the blind spot and visibility out the rear window. coming from a car with a huge blind spot, i'm used to turning my head, so that's not much of an issue. however, the rear view mirror does not allow a direct view back, but instead looks at an angle downward. i'm not a tall guy, and i still need to duck my head while looking in the mirror to see cars far behind me. the side mirrors have it covered, and i have to get used to using those instead. one unexpected thing is the width of the car. i never considered it before driving, but the flared fenders really make me feel like it's much wider than your average car. maybe it's just in my head.

oh, did i mention that in the past week, i learned to drive stick? i've learned the principles on friends' cars before, but this is my first manual car. the first few days of l.a. traffic were rather stressful, but things are getting to be much better.

so, that's it so far. i've been looking for a new car for 2 years now, and i'm confident i've made the right decision.

 

Interesting impressions... here are my comments.

I've never found the A/C to be defaulting to on, but I don't use auto much. I have noticed that if I do have the AC on, when I start, sometimes it starts in recirculating (and then switches to outside air, which is what I really want) and other times it does remember that it was in outside air mode.

Yeah, the stock radio is pretty lousy, but CDs sound somewhat better. As for steering effort, yeah, it's MUCH higher than that of my Max and yeah, the ride is REALLY harsh in comparison. As for handling, the Z handles FAR better than my Max. The difference is almost night and day.

As for engine, yeah, the Z feels more powerful than my Max, but it doesn't feel very quiet or smooth to me. My Max has the same engine (but different intake and exhaust setup and only rated for 255 hp) but feels smoother and sounds WAY quieter. If you're curious, try out a 2K2-2K3 Max sometime and you'll see what I mean. It's hard to believe that the 2K2+ Max shares the same engine.

 

when i test drove the z it felt really wide to me. that was coming from a 240sx, 5 inch difference in width i think, but it felt like a lot more.

 

I bet you that you have the vent set to the front windshield, since it is kind of like a "defog" feature, the AC turns on automaticlly, and when you turn the car off and back on, the AC turns back on. This feature is in all cars with AC regardless of what make. Try leave your vent setting to face or feet, you'll be fine.
Oh yeah, that the nifty metallic strip with z logo on the rear support bar is very important, it's meant to be there so you can see a big Z reflection on the car you just beat.
As far as the rear wiper. Put some RainX on your rear window and take the wiper off, you don't need it. You reduce weight and improve aerodynamic

 

nice. Here are my impressions
- I dont use the A/C. Roll the windows down biatch
-Radio is good enough for me.
- I'll never grocery shop in my Z or put crap back there
-I do agree with you on the blind spot. Sucks. Also, please don't remove your rear wiper as suggested

 

Biatch?

i too hate the auto a/c thingy... i want the auto function to be always on but not the a/c. What am i to do in the winter? Always have the a/c on even if its blowing heat? Thats just plain silly.

BTW- congrats on the car...your gonna love it!

 

Just a few comments :

I have a suggestion for your wet window problem. I know what you mean about how the windows stay wet forever. After you get a car wash, you should just roll down your windows and take a towel and dry off the rubber/carpet seals around the window, roll up the window and give it a good wipe. It usually remedies that problem.

The AC issue is not that big, you get used to hitting the button if need be.

I have the Touring 'Upgraded'??? Bose system. It sucked on the first day I got it and progressively I got used to it and now it doesnt sound too bad. You get used to it.

Otherwise, enjoy the car and avoid dings at all costs!!!!