The new Nissan Z came out last year in Sport and Performance levels
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MotorTranscript
00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 We were first introduced to this new Z car back in 2023.
00:15 I don't think I'm alone in thinking
00:16 it's one of the best looking Z cars
00:18 that Nissan has ever made.
00:21 It's a really charming mix of the original 240Z
00:25 and it's got some styling cues from the latest stuff
00:27 like the 300ZX, which I think is a really cool combination.
00:31 It's really the fitting of this kind of retro future
00:35 modern era that we're in of car design.
00:37 Design first, we've got a redesigned front end.
00:41 It's a little bit lower profile,
00:43 which is just gonna help to reduce drag.
00:45 We've also got a redesigned front grill with wider mesh,
00:49 which again, Nissan say helps to reduce drag
00:52 but doesn't inhibit the cooling factor
00:55 of that air coming up through into the engine.
00:57 Indeed, cooling is one of the ways
00:59 that Nissan managed to extract some extra horsepower
01:02 out of this engine.
01:03 More on that later.
01:04 Continuing on with the aerodynamics,
01:06 we've got canards at the front,
01:07 which help to disperse the air away from those front wheels.
01:11 We've also got a wider, taller rear wing,
01:15 which just helps to add a little bit of extra downforce
01:18 over those powered rear wheels.
01:21 Initially, you could buy the Z as either a sport edition
01:24 or a performance edition.
01:25 Now for 2024, we have the Nismo edition.
01:28 Nismo, of course, standing for Nissan Motorsport.
01:32 And with that in mind, all of the changes that have been made
01:35 have been made with performance
01:36 and specifically track performance in mind.
01:39 But here's the thing,
01:41 in the pursuit of all these performance upgrades,
01:44 this car got expensive.
01:45 In fact, it's a lot more expensive than most of its rivals.
01:49 So the question is, is it worth it?
01:52 (upbeat music)
01:55 (car engine roaring)
01:58 So then, performance was the name of the game
02:09 when it came to making this Nismo edition of the Z.
02:14 Let's do this.
02:15 Change it from drive to manual.
02:18 Now we've got these fluffy pedals
02:21 behind the steering wheel, which we can use.
02:23 And also let's change the engine mode from standard to Sport+.
02:28 See if this Nismo is indeed
02:33 a new performance Z car.
02:37 Power is fed to those rear wheels
02:41 via a nine-speed automatic transmission.
02:45 Of course, in the regular Z, you can get a six-speed manual,
02:50 but no such luck here, unfortunately.
02:53 It's nine-speed auto or nothing.
02:56 I imagine that's because an automatic regular Z
03:01 would have been quicker around the track
03:02 than a manual Nismo, but who cares?
03:05 (car engine roaring)
03:08 Woo, there it is.
03:13 Power, peak power is delivered all the way from 2000
03:18 to a little over 5,300 RPM.
03:23 And there's a quite remarkable lack of turbo lag.
03:28 They've done a really good job of getting that in the bus.
03:34 So yeah, you can get this Nismo going pretty rapidly.
03:40 And it sort of doesn't matter where you are
03:41 in the rev range if you need an extra boost.
03:44 Wow, you can get one.
03:47 Woo!
03:49 These have gone to great length
03:53 to firm up both the suspension chassis strengthening
03:56 and some revised dampers,
03:59 which are specific to this Nismo model.
04:03 Give the car a very direct ride.
04:05 It's certainly firm.
04:08 I didn't find it to be too firm on the roads coming in here.
04:12 It wasn't too uncomfortable,
04:15 but it certainly is a sports car.
04:17 There's no mistaking that.
04:18 We've also got revised, slightly uprated brakes,
04:23 wider rear wheels,
04:26 sticky Dunlop summer compound tires.
04:33 The Nismo features unique strengthening bars on both ends,
04:38 revised dampers, firmer spring rate.
04:45 It also features electronic steering.
04:47 It's the first Z car to have that.
04:49 Previously, of course, they've all been rack and pinion.
04:53 And the steering is one of the bones of contention
04:55 that we found with this car.
04:57 It's a touch light.
04:59 I don't think it's too light,
05:01 but it could certainly be heavier.
05:04 That said, you get a good amount of road feedback through it.
05:07 Nissan claim that all of these changes to the suspension
05:12 and the steering have been an aid of creating
05:14 what they call one-shot steering operation.
05:17 The idea being, of course,
05:18 that you should be able to predictably turn in with this car
05:21 and not have to adjust your steering mid-corner.
05:24 And I've got to say,
05:25 it is one of the more well-balanced,
05:28 stable cars that I've driven.
05:31 Very impressive.
05:32 The Nismo benefits from some nice upgrades
05:38 on the interior too.
05:39 We've got red anodized start button here,
05:43 and same with the drive mode.
05:45 We've got these nice manually adjustable Recaro seats.
05:50 They're a bit of a throwback, aren't they?
05:52 Some Alcantara-lined steering wheel
05:55 with this little red notch here signifying 12.
05:57 From the driver's seat, the ride feels good.
06:00 Seat hugs you in nicely.
06:02 The steering wheel's at a great position.
06:05 Pedals are nicely offset.
06:07 Beyond that, the only other criticism I have
06:09 of the AutoBox, which functions fantastically,
06:12 is the switch gear.
06:13 Look at this little thing here.
06:15 I don't know, it looks like an old-school desktop mouse.
06:20 Now, of course, I have the obligatory digital dash
06:25 in front of me, and it's infinitely customizable.
06:28 You can kind of modulate it
06:30 and put any bit of information anywhere you want
06:32 on the screen, pretty much.
06:33 Also got quite a lot going on on the steering wheel
06:35 for a sports car, but such is life, I suppose.
06:39 We've got another touchscreen down here,
06:41 a nice little nine-inch digital display,
06:44 which has CarPlay and all those sorts of things.
06:47 Physical controls down here
06:49 for my heating and air conditioning, that's nice.
06:51 And of course, look at this, this trio of gauges
06:54 for the boost pressure, boost speed,
06:57 and of course, the voltmeter for the battery.
06:59 That's a nice old-school touch, we like that.
07:02 It looks good, it sounds good,
07:04 drives really rather well.
07:06 With this, Nissan has done a really good job
07:09 of modernizing the car without losing its soul,
07:12 without losing that inherent Z-Car quality,
07:17 playfulness, spirit that we all know and love.
07:21 Overall, though, we really like this car.
07:24 We think that Nissan has done a great job
07:26 of playing the heritage of Z-Car's past,
07:30 add a little dash of GT-R goodness,
07:32 and make a car which I have a feeling
07:36 is gonna be around for a little while to come.
07:39 (car engine revving)
07:42 you