Yahoo Autos The Nissan Z Nismo Is an Acquired Taste
It took four days for me to warm up to the Nissan Z Nismo. I didn’t like it on Interstates, I couldn't figure it out during quick stints on medium-paced back roads, and it couldn’t even win me over on track during last year’s Performance Car of the Year test. But on Tail of the Dragon and Cherohala Skyway—two of the best roads on the East Coast of the U.S.—I saw the light.
The Z Nismo is a hard to place car. It might not seem that way at first glance, but it is. It requires a very specific kind of buyer; one who has over $65,000 to spend on a hardcore car that excels at very few tasks, isn’t swayed by the massive amount of sports car competition at that price, and can look past the lack of a manual transmission and slightly dated interior. Surely that person exists, and hopefully for Nissan, there’s a good number of them, but it’s an awkward proposition in a part of the market with so many stars.
If you are that person, though, just know I get it. You made a good call. I just hope it’s not your only car.
I spent just short of a week with the Z Nismo, leading part of the pack during our Smoky 600 driving rally. My first experience with it was departing the Nashville Airport and heading north on I-65 through a downpour. This was far from enjoyable. A drive that should’ve taken me about an hour lasted significantly longer, as I slowed to baby the Z’s Dunlop SP Sport Maxx GT600 high-performance summer tires through the wet. That’s understandable, though. It’s a track-ready performance car, with dry-track-ready rubber—not a cross-country mile-eating grand tourer.
Unfortunately, though, the rain continued throughout the week, and with it, my lack of patience for this tightly wound, sharp-steering, wet-road-hating performance car. Even when the rain would stop, the tree-covered backroads we were parading down were too shaded for the pavement to dry or warm up. On these warm spring days, I couldn’t get any heat in the tires to produce a reasonable amount of grip, and the moist surfaces meant potential disaster with every heavy-footed throttle application. It was impossible to put any meaningful amount of the Z’s 3.0-liter twin-turbo V-6’s 420 horsepower down, even with clear skies. The only traits of the car I got to know were the ones worth hating.
On the final day of our driving experience though, things changed for the best. The sky remained rain-free long enough for the roads to dry, and I was finally granted the chance to meet the Z Nismo’s best self. Just in time, too. The only remaining driving highlights on our trip through Kentucky and Tennessee were the Tail of the Dragon and Cherohala Skyway.
Once on the Tail, it didn’t take long for me to find a rhythm with the Z. As the tires warmed up on the lightly cambered switchbacks, the Z started to shine. Concerns about the need to make delicate power application to not upset the rear axle faded into the back of my mind, and I could finally put the Nismo’s steering agility to work. On a road like this, with these perfect conditions, it all made sense.
The Z had no problem keeping up with the Porsche Boxster GTS 4.0 in front of it. We weren’t doing lightning speeds—peaks of just 35 mph feel rapid in most of the Tail’s technical sections, which constitute pretty much all of it. But even that was a workout. My mind was completely dialed into calculating throttle application, steering input, and braking points, with the occasional paddle-directed shift of the impressively swift nine-speed automatic transmission. My breathing intensified. This was serious driving. This is what the Z excels at.
The Z hugged every dip and degree of banking in the road. The steering is well-weighted, precise, and easy to maneuver. The Alcantara-wrapped steering wheel never gets old to the touch. The automatic transmission’s paddles are shockingly delightful to engage with. However, keep it out of the Sport Plus drive mode, as this tends to upset the car when shifts aren’t perfectly timed—it felt like it wanted to toss me into the trees. Holding gears, revving it to redline, you’re also accompanied by what’s arguably the best-sounding Nissan VQ engine the company has produced. Toward the end of the Dragon, brake fade became slightly noticeable, but nothing of serious concern.
On these roads, with these perfect conditions, the Z’s downsides were out of sight and out of mind. Out of nowhere, it delivered supercar levels of joy.
Clearly, I started to fall for the Nismo. But as I mentioned earlier, there’s a problem, beyond just its aggressive tires, and I couldn’t get it out of my mind. As is the case with the non-track Z, which starts around $43,000, in a vacuum, this car has potential to be brilliant. Today, though, the Nismo Z is far from alone in the sports car market. At $65,000, there are so many other performance car choices that are arguably easier to make. The Ford Mustang Dark Horse and BMW M2 are both options that make more sense for the majority of buyers. As I learned last year at our Performance Car of the Year test, the Mustang provides similar levels of engagement and track readiness, while the M2 is the most daily-driver-friendly of the bunch, yet still a competent performer in any environment. Also, the Nismo was almost three seconds slower than the 500-hp Dark Horse around Thunderhill West last year, so there’s no reasonable argument to be made about the compromise benefiting lap times—whether it’s about the lack of manual transmission or the lower levels of comfort.
The Z Nismo is a great, but tricky car. If you’re a Nissan die-hard with around $70,000 to spend on a hardcore performance vehicle, it makes sense. If that’s not you, keep looking.
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