I'm not in the U.S.A. right now but will be returning in June at which time I will pick up my new 2004.5 350Z Touring Roadster SS. There are no Z's where I am so I bought the car siight unseen based on internet research. How's that for faith? One of the complaints about the 350Z I see often expressed on forums is that the interior looks cheap. In what ways does it look cheap? And if this is so, what can be done to improve the interior so it looks less cheap?

 

I think the only part of the car that looks cheap is the doors. Just one large piece of black plastic that really needs something to break it up.

There are some pieces that can be added now, like carbon fiber pieces. Hopefully other companies will develop a nice solution to the issue.

 

i've nvr seen an 03 interior in person. I am fine w/ my 04.5 roadster.

that cheap door SeanG is talking about is motorized in 04.5 I believe.

 

The interior in the 03's are just like the 04's. With only minor additions. Like knee pads and a padded center console.

I'm talking about the regular car doors. All that plastic look, gets old.

 

Sooner or later, I'm going to get my doors redone in black leather with a BO stripe running through it. If you've seen mapleleaf's, it'll be something like that.

 

Excluding the interior door panels, I think the interior is fine; after all it is a sports car. I have the light interior although I think the black leather and plastic have the look of higher quality.

It all grew on me very quickly. Pictures of the interior didn't do anything for me, but as soon as I got behind the wheel I started to like it. If you've ever seen or been inside a Ferrari or Lamborghini, you'll notice that the Z's none leather pieces are similar in look and style. Really, I'm serious, right down to the gauges. Sure the polished aluminum pieces in the Z are most likely all just plastic, but the look is nice.

All this is coming from a guy who saw photos from the auto shows and magazines when the new Z first came out and I thought the interior was all just awful then.

As for me, I'm going to get the doors done in leather with brushed or polished aluminum trim.

theSmoothDome: Do you have a link to mapleleaf's?

 

That black with BO stripe is a good idea. I thought that if I ever get around to putting in that AVIC-N1, I would probably change out the center console to carbon fiber. Anybody had any problems with glare off the carbon fiber stuff? Other than that, I love the gauge layout and those BO seats in an LS really get noticed a lot! Nothing but oooze and awes in a crowd.

 

I personally think the interior of the ZR is looking good, The style of the nissan designer call it Minimunism, which is "less is more" The key is try to hidden all the unnessary functional object. I really think that the only thing to improve the interior looks is just put the oringe vent seat. Maybe because I m Architect I like using these sytle to design many of my design project.

 

I have to agree with LemanZ, I like the Z's interior also. I think it looks good and works just fine. I have never had anyone sit in my car and say it looks cheap. I only get compliments and people think the way the door opens on the navigation unit is pretty cool. I have the BMW with all the leather and wood and don't think my Z feels cheaper. They are just too different cars and both work well in their designs.

 

I wish they used one material in the interior instead of clashing materials. The Hexigonal pattern is not my favorite personally. Others seems to like it.

 

The INTERIOR DESIGN of the z is good. But the QUALITY isn't up to par which gives it an overall impression that it is CHEAP. The impression is caused by simple common sense that they tried to CUT COSTS wherever they could. So this is the obvious deceptive immpression brought upon us by "appearance VS quality". I wish the side door panels were similar to the s2k or rx8. You can definitely see a difference of QUALITY put together. In the end it's not the cheapest....look at the wrxSTI and evoVIII


i love my z...

p.s. one advantage about the crappy side door panels is i keep the windows open with it's slightly drizzling and I don't have to worry about any thing getting dirty.

 

I actually like the interior. Having owned two Maximas and a Pathfinder, I think the Z's interior compares well with others that Nissan has done. And if you look at the interior of cars like the Cobra, it compares very well. The aluminum and dimples just add a bit more high style. IMHO, it also looks much better than the interior of the G35. I just couldn't get into that. The Z gets good reactions from some others, too, as long as you keep in perspective what you're driving. Even my neighbor, who has an S class with the Designo interior, was commenting on how much he liked the Z's interior (and the exterior). The interior offers a very tactile experience, with its different textures and materials.

 

I like the Z's gauges as opposed to the G35's.

And boldenmd does have a point, compared to american cars (ie mustanges and vetts), the Z's interior is way better. Seem liks the american cars don't spend anytime on interior, all on the engine. Although the recent Chrysler interiors are quite nice, they are learning from the germans.

Hopfully Porsche learns a thing or two from VW/Audi with their collabo on the tourge (sp) and cayenne (sp). Porsche interiors are not very impressive either (for the price).


my 2 cents....

 

I am planning to have the door panels re-done with leather. A local shop said that they could do a black leather cover, with a burnt orange accent for about 200 per door.

 

Sounds like a great price.

 

I recently painted my center console with OEM silver roof rack paint which matches the interior accents perfectly. After alot of sanding to smooth out the textured parts the mod is fairly cheap and looks great.

 

do you have pix ThreeFitty?

 

You could always get a dash kit from Burtman Industries I've seen his kits for Infiniti's. This looks pretty hot. There is also a piece to cover the NAV console, but the owner didn't put it on.

http://www.burtmanindustries.com/

 

Here are some of his kits on G35's...