WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.310
- [Presenter] The 2024 Nissan Z NISMO

2
00:00:02.310 --> 00:00:05.430
is a decent car built on a
bunch of weird decisions.

3
00:00:05.430 --> 00:00:06.780
The weirdness starts with the fact

4
00:00:06.780 --> 00:00:08.520
that the car is only being offered

5
00:00:08.520 --> 00:00:11.490
with a pretty meh nine-speed
automatic transmission

6
00:00:11.490 --> 00:00:14.040
and continues with it being
around 100 pounds heavier

7
00:00:14.040 --> 00:00:15.420
than the Z Performance model.

8
00:00:15.420 --> 00:00:18.450
The piece de resistance is
the Z NISMO's price tag,

9
00:00:18.450 --> 00:00:21.570
which starts at over $66,000,

10
00:00:21.570 --> 00:00:24.615
which leads me to wonder who
exactly is this thing for?

11
00:00:24.615 --> 00:00:27.150
(smooth music)

12
00:00:27.150 --> 00:00:29.160
From the outside, it looks pretty good.

13
00:00:29.160 --> 00:00:31.230
The Z NISMO takes its front-end styling

14
00:00:31.230 --> 00:00:34.200
and rear ducktail spoiler
from the 240Z G-Nose

15
00:00:34.200 --> 00:00:36.210
which remains an enthusiast favorite.

16
00:00:36.210 --> 00:00:38.820
The rear end takes some
cues from the R35 GT-R

17
00:00:38.820 --> 00:00:40.410
and so is a little more squared off

18
00:00:40.410 --> 00:00:41.910
for aerodynamic purposes.

19
00:00:41.910 --> 00:00:45.900
And the RAYS 19-inch forged
wheels are unique to the NISMO

20
00:00:45.900 --> 00:00:47.700
and also look pretty good.

21
00:00:47.700 --> 00:00:50.040
Inside, things are just okay.

22
00:00:50.040 --> 00:00:53.010
Sure, the Z is miles beyond the old 370

23
00:00:53.010 --> 00:00:54.270
when it comes to tech

24
00:00:54.270 --> 00:00:57.330
but it still feels
pretty cramped and cheap.

25
00:00:57.330 --> 00:01:00.450
The Z NISMO's manually
adjustable Recaro bucket seats

26
00:01:00.450 --> 00:01:02.760
look rad and are reasonably comfortable,

27
00:01:02.760 --> 00:01:04.500
and the red accents throughout the cabin

28
00:01:04.500 --> 00:01:05.580
are nice enough too.

29
00:01:05.580 --> 00:01:07.590
The steering wheel gets
some Alcantara touches,

30
00:01:07.590 --> 00:01:08.610
which is fine,

31
00:01:08.610 --> 00:01:11.460
but if you're buying a
Z car for the interior,

32
00:01:11.460 --> 00:01:12.840
I can't help you, my friend.

33
00:01:12.840 --> 00:01:16.350
Looks aside, the Z NISMO is
really all about its performance

34
00:01:16.350 --> 00:01:18.360
and while the increased
weight is a bummer,

35
00:01:18.360 --> 00:01:19.620
it comes from real improvements

36
00:01:19.620 --> 00:01:21.180
in chassis rigidity and cooling.

37
00:01:21.180 --> 00:01:22.620
The car gets 20 more horsepower

38
00:01:22.620 --> 00:01:25.440
than the standard Z Performance
and some more torque,

39
00:01:25.440 --> 00:01:27.120
though you won't really notice it.

40
00:01:27.120 --> 00:01:29.160
What you will notice
are the improved brakes,

41
00:01:29.160 --> 00:01:30.510
stiffer suspension tuning,

42
00:01:30.510 --> 00:01:32.910
and the extra drive mode Sport Plus.

43
00:01:32.910 --> 00:01:34.590
The huge letdown here with the Z

44
00:01:34.590 --> 00:01:36.270
is that Nissan put all this work

45
00:01:36.270 --> 00:01:38.640
into making the car better and sharper,

46
00:01:38.640 --> 00:01:40.830
and then gave it a not particularly good

47
00:01:40.830 --> 00:01:42.540
nine-speed automatic transmission.

48
00:01:42.540 --> 00:01:44.490
The gearbox does shift a bit quicker

49
00:01:44.490 --> 00:01:46.290
than the unit in the Z Performance,

50
00:01:46.290 --> 00:01:47.580
but it always feels like

51
00:01:47.580 --> 00:01:49.500
you're trying to drive
around the transmission

52
00:01:49.500 --> 00:01:53.160
rather than it being pleasant
or even ignorable to use.

53
00:01:53.160 --> 00:01:56.040
The reasoning Nissan gives
for making the NISMO auto only

54
00:01:56.040 --> 00:01:57.870
is that it offers faster lap times.

55
00:01:57.870 --> 00:01:59.670
But while that may be true,

56
00:01:59.670 --> 00:02:02.430
those laps aren't any more fun
than they'd be with a manual

57
00:02:02.430 --> 00:02:05.370
or even something like
the DCT from the GT-R.

58
00:02:05.370 --> 00:02:07.710
On track I will say that
despite my criticisms,

59
00:02:07.710 --> 00:02:09.870
the Z NISMO acquits itself admirably

60
00:02:09.870 --> 00:02:12.360
especially when driven back-to-back
with the Z Performance.

61
00:02:12.360 --> 00:02:14.760
There is a difference
between the car's behavior

62
00:02:14.760 --> 00:02:16.920
but when you move from
the racetrack to the road,

63
00:02:16.920 --> 00:02:18.870
you start to see where
the sacrifices were made

64
00:02:18.870 --> 00:02:20.610
for those better lap times.

65
00:02:20.610 --> 00:02:22.950
The car is good at smoothing
out bumps when going quickly

66
00:02:22.950 --> 00:02:25.650
but the ride gets pretty jarring
when the speeds come down.

67
00:02:25.650 --> 00:02:30.000
If you wanna daily drive the
Z NISMO, my advice is don't.

68
00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:31.827
Finally, there's the price.

69
00:02:31.827 --> 00:02:36.810
$66,085 is a lot to ask for this thing

70
00:02:36.810 --> 00:02:37.830
especially when you consider

71
00:02:37.830 --> 00:02:39.930
the almost as good Z Performance

72
00:02:39.930 --> 00:02:42.900
starts at almost $14,000 less.

73
00:02:42.900 --> 00:02:43.920
So for better or worse,

74
00:02:43.920 --> 00:02:46.440
Nissan once again Nissaned to the Z NISMO

75
00:02:46.440 --> 00:02:48.810
by offering a fundamentally decent car

76
00:02:48.810 --> 00:02:51.630
that's not really competitive
on price or performance.

77
00:02:51.630 --> 00:02:54.360
But we suspect that,
again, because Nissan,

78
00:02:54.360 --> 00:02:56.880
it'll be around for at
least another decade or so,

79
00:02:56.880 --> 00:03:00.330
so if you were the hardcore
Nissan fanboy track rat

80
00:03:00.330 --> 00:03:02.610
that this car is specifically for,

81
00:03:02.610 --> 00:03:06.123
you've got time to pick one
up, hopefully at a discount.