Infiniti has always been about luxury more than all out performance. The Z has been outdated for years now, I assume people still buying them are there for the nostalgia. I think Acura is guilty of the same things, ugly styling, middling performance, top dollar. The Germans have been eating their lunch for the last decade or so.
The Following User Says Thank You to burn_this_city For This Useful Post:
Yah, but that's not even a fair comparison. I'm like the opposite of your views. I look at the price of a Genesis, and I go man, that's expensive for a Hyundai. The interior looks pretty cheap. For that price, I'd rather go with a new Infiniti.
Yes, normally that would be a preposterous comparison, for sure. But if you're saying a 2009 Nissan holds up tech-wise (A rating) with current cars without any qualifiers, then I was just pointing out how much more technologically advanced modern cars are. If a 2009 Nissan gets an A for tech, where is the room to rate cars for the tech advancements of the last decade?
I like how Doug Demuro rates cars. He can love an old Ferrari, but it'll still get like a 1 for tech because obviously it has really low tech. Ratings only make sense as comparative tools.
The Following User Says Thank You to Sliver For This Useful Post:
It's a review based purely on the level of gratification I have in those categories as an owner of a Nissan, the car exceeds all of my expectations for the price, period. I didn't compare, nor will I compare it, to any other vehicle on the market. Would you like to pay me to do an Analysis? because it sounds like you want a brand to brand analysis of features/performance/price. You could've just said thanks for your input instead of immediately laughing about me liking it
You suggested it had a tape deck, which is just inanely inflammatory, and then listed a bunch of stuff that basically every car has in it's newer models and a few super obscure things. There's nothing on that list I'm not seeing on their specs, hardly brushed it off, my 09 model CLEARLY won't have tech that didn't exist in 2009
Okay, well I got caught up in you rating it literally the highest rating humans have come up with for rating things, I guess. If you love it because you enjoy driving it, that's great. To say it's an A+ for performance and give it an A for tech is really weird, though. But I see now you concede your 09 CLEARLY won't have a bunch of tech that a newer car does, so I assume you are rescinding your A rating, which I appreciate.
And it's not inflammatory to suggest it had a tape deck. Why would you think that? Would it be really dumb and backwards for a car company to include a tape deck in a 2009 or something? Because an Infiniti FX35 DID have a tape deck in 2008, and yes, it was ridiculous at the time.
Not if you actually drive the cars. They're very different experiences. Miles apart in feel; the Mustang feels higher, longer and heavier and far more grunty, because it is. FFS, the 370z barely has a trunk, much less the Mustang's semi-usable back seats. Anyone thinking "should I get a Mustang or a 370z" probably doesn't know a whole lot about cars, or at least is torn between categories. If the 370z is competing with anything it's with the BRZ twins, and even then, it's a heavier, more powerful and more GTesque car than those. It tried to some extent compete with the Cayman and did an okay job as a cheaper alternative, when it came out.
But mostly, every Z car is just competing with its own history. It's a cult vehicle line, not unlike the Miata or even the WRX STI (though that's a bit different given its age-old rivalry with the EVO).
Frankly, "the Mustang" isn't a direct competitor to anything - its range is huge from the bland mass-market junk at the bottom to the incredible vehicle that is the GT350R (trim quality notwithstanding, from what I'm told).
It sounds like you have an emotional soft spot for Z cars, which is cool, but it's not like they've always been great. There were the lame automatic ones that drove like bloated pigs in the line up over the years. My dad had a 300zx automatic with T-roof. It was a mid-90s thing. That was a bland, slow, boring-ass car, although how do you not love a T-top, so that was cool. I drove that quite a bit, but never enjoyed it. It certainly wasn't an enthusiast's car and was more along the lines of a base model V6 Mustang.
You're describing a Mustang vs Z car as though they're wildly different. Two-door, RWD sports cars that duke it out in overlapping price ranges are competitors. Somebody with an open mind and love for cars would easily cross shop those vehicles.
It sounds like you have an emotional soft spot for Z cars, which is cool, but it's not like they've always been great. There were the lame automatic ones that drove like bloated pigs in the line up over the years. My dad had a 300zx automatic with T-roof. It was a mid-90s thing. That was a bland, slow, boring-ass car, although how do you not love a T-top, so that was cool. I drove that quite a bit, but never enjoyed it. It certainly wasn't an enthusiast's car and was more along the lines of a base model V6 Mustang.
Which 300zx? The Z31 or Z32? Was it a 2 seater or a 2+2? What model was it?
A lot of people thought the Z31 was too much of a cruiser, because they put some softer more luxury-oriented trim it in and made it bigger compared to the S30, but there are some gems there too. The 50th AE is a great classic now. The Shiro Z concept is effectively what I'm suggesting that Nissan should have tried with the 370z once it started showing its age.
As for the Z32, I'm less of a fan of that than many enthusiasts are, but the general consensus among car people is that it's among the most beautiful cars of the 1990s and has a lot of simple modification options. It's a bit more refined and classy than some of the other imports of the era.
Regardless, the transmission was probably 90% of the problem. Just about anything with a 1980s / 1990s automatic isn't going to be much fun to drive.
Quote:
You're describing a Mustang vs Z car as though they're wildly different. Two-door, RWD sports cars that duke it out in overlapping price ranges are competitors. Somebody with an open mind and love for cars would easily cross shop those vehicles.
They are wildly different. If your only qualifications is a sports car in X price range, you aren't really into cars. Anyone who is would not be cross-shopping cars that have entirely disparate driving experiences, unless they're also torn about the sort of driving experience that they want. I should know, I've been in that boat myself.
__________________ "The great promise of the Internet was that more information would automatically yield better decisions. The great disappointment is that more information actually yields more possibilities to confirm what you already believed anyway." - Brian Eno
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to CorsiHockeyLeague For This Useful Post:
It sounds like you have an emotional soft spot for Z cars, which is cool, but it's not like they've always been great. There were the lame automatic ones that drove like bloated pigs in the line up over the years. My dad had a 300zx automatic with T-roof. It was a mid-90s thing. That was a bland, slow, boring-ass car, although how do you not love a T-top, so that was cool. I drove that quite a bit, but never enjoyed it. It certainly wasn't an enthusiast's car and was more along the lines of a base model V6 Mustang.
You're describing a Mustang vs Z car as though they're wildly different. Two-door, RWD sports cars that duke it out in overlapping price ranges are competitors. Somebody with an open mind and love for cars would easily cross shop those vehicles.
They are different. And Corsi pointed it out. No trunk, pure 2 seater vs a coupe that has a longer and wider wheel base, rides higher, can put a set of gold clubs in your car.. Top end Nismo is still a NA manual v6. Top end pony cars rock v8's.
If you're car shopping and cannot see the difference you deserve to be disappointed.
And Nissan still has Godzilla. Even as outdated as she is, she still slays almost anything you put in front of her. Including cars that cost 100s of 1000s more. Only thing that beats her now in the first 200ft of a launch is a Senna and the Tesla's. That's it.
Nissan isn't a dying brand, Infiniti is in a lull much like Lexus a while back. They'll rebound.
What's amazing is, Nissan refused to add things like carbon brakes to the GTR instead of steadfastly keeping steel brakes. If they did something as simple as that, itd still be one of the best sports car buys in motoring history.
Nissan has always been a little slow on the updates. But they're revolution makers. When they change, everyone changes.
The Following User Says Thank You to dammage79 For This Useful Post:
Which 300zx? The Z31 or Z32? Was it a 2 seater or a 2+2? What model was it?
A lot of people thought the Z31 was too much of a cruiser, because they put some softer more luxury-oriented trim it in and made it bigger compared to the S30, but there are some gems there too. The 50th AE is a great classic now. The Shiro Z concept is effectively what I'm suggesting that Nissan should have tried with the 370z once it started showing its age.
As for the Z32, I'm less of a fan of that than many enthusiasts are, but the general consensus among car people is that it's among the most beautiful cars of the 1990s and has a lot of simple modification options. It's a bit more refined and classy than some of the other imports of the era.
Regardless, the transmission was probably 90% of the problem. Just about anything with a 1980s / 1990s automatic isn't going to be much fun to drive.
I'm not sure which model he had or even the year, which is weird because I normally remember stuff like that when it comes to vehicles. It was yellow (maybe that helps you if that colour was only available in certain years), it didn't have four-wheel steering (I think some did?), had the T-tops (maybe that helps place it?), and did not corner well at all so I'd only give it an A+ for handling. It did have back seats. Yes, being an automatic was a huge let down. He bought it new from Nissan in the auto mall, but it was a couple years old, although it had never been sold.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague
They are wildly different. If your only qualifications is a sports car in X price range, you aren't really into cars. Anyone who is would not be cross-shopping cars that have entirely disparate driving experiences, unless they're also torn about the sort of driving experience that they want. I should know, I've been in that boat myself.
They're different in that they aren't sister cars or anything, but FFS, RWD sports cars in the same price range does place them fairly close together in the scheme of things in the auto world. Determining your price range and the type of vehicle you want (sports car, SUV, van, truck, sedan, wagon, etc.) is pretty much the first step in starting a vehicle search whether you're into cars or not. Figuring out which vehicle you like better between a Mustang and a 370Z wouldn't be that hard after that, but I don't think it's that crazy to consider both no matter how brief.
And having said all that doesn't change the fact that the interior and many other aspects of the 370Z are totally outdated, as you said yourself. And this thread isn't only about the Z, anyway. I believe the entire Nissan and Infiniti line up has fallen behind its competitors.
They are different. And Corsi pointed it out. No trunk, pure 2 seater vs a coupe that has a longer and wider wheel base, rides higher, can put a set of gold clubs in your car.. Top end Nismo is still a NA manual v6. Top end pony cars rock v8's.
If you're car shopping and cannot see the difference you deserve to be disappointed.
I can obviously see the differences. What's weird is you guys can't see the similarities. Like, is there a single automotive magazine or website that hasn't compared the 370z to the Mustang? I just Googled 370z vs Mustang and got 17,500,000 results. I started clicking and I think 17,499,999 were legit comparisons.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dammage79
And Nissan still has Godzilla. Even as outdated as she is, she still slays almost anything you put in front of her. Including cars that cost 100s of 1000s more. Only thing that beats her now in the first 200ft of a launch is a Senna and the Tesla's. That's it.
Nissan isn't a dying brand, Infiniti is in a lull much like Lexus a while back. They'll rebound.
What's amazing is, Nissan refused to add things like carbon brakes to the GTR instead of steadfastly keeping steel brakes. If they did something as simple as that, itd still be one of the best sports car buys in motoring history.
Nissan has always been a little slow on the updates. But they're revolution makers. When they change, everyone changes.
Is this true? I don't see them being that revolutionary at any point ever. And they certainly aren't leading the industry now, although I'm open to hearing your argument on that.
I only get offended when I see a Nissan Juke. Never driven one, but it seems to me like it would have all of the drawbacks of a sports car without any of the fun, and all of the drawbacks of an SUV, without any utility...
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to powderjunkie For This Useful Post:
They're different in that they aren't sister cars or anything, but FFS, RWD sports cars in the same price range does place them fairly close together in the scheme of things in the auto world.
You're simply wrong. This is like saying the GTR TE and FType SVR are competitors, or worse, a Porsche 718S and a Dodge Demon. This just isn't reality when it comes to performance cars.
Quote:
Determining your price range and the type of vehicle you want (sports car, SUV, van, truck, sedan, wagon, etc.) is pretty much the first step in starting a vehicle search whether you're into cars or not.
We're already talking about sports cars. Not sports cars versus vans. The assumption is that if you're buying a sports car - an inherently impractical vehicle - you're either a car enthusiast or you just want to look cool. If you're the latter type of person, sure, you might cross-shop totally different cars despite them being totally different, but, well, those people suck.
Quote:
And having said all that doesn't change the fact that the interior and many other aspects of the 370Z are totally outdated, as you said yourself. And this thread isn't only about the Z, anyway. I believe the entire Nissan and Infiniti line up has fallen behind its competitors.
Right, and I don't care about the Altima or the QX80. I'm only talking about the Z... and to a lesser extent the GTR, which I don't see as a car I could practically own given how infrequently I'm likely to drive it on track. But that's still a great car despite being outdated, and again, something of a cult car. It's only really comparable to other cars in the sense that it eats the lunch of much more expensive vehicles; it may be faster off the line than most Lambos but it doesn't drive anything like them and its market isn't at all similar. So there you go, another example of cars that are vaguely similar (2 door AWD dual-clutch turbo 6s) that have no real market overlap.
If Nissan makes a new Z with either the VR38DETT under the hood or some new VQ38HR-like engine, I'd certainly be tempted. But if they announce they're coming out with an R36 GTR? That'll be the most anticipated car in years.
__________________ "The great promise of the Internet was that more information would automatically yield better decisions. The great disappointment is that more information actually yields more possibilities to confirm what you already believed anyway." - Brian Eno
Yes.
I've driven four Infiniti SUV vehicles for the past 15 years consecutively. Two leased new (and bought out) and two bought new. Got good money at the time of re-sales (I always re-sold myself, no trade-ins). Not a single experience with a technical issue requiring extensive/expensive repairs. Not a single bad experience with vehicle performance on or off-road. Excellent driving experience from the comfort perspective (both driver and passengers). Excellent sound system quality (I drive a lot and listen to the music constantly while driving). Excellent warranty (I've even got my tires replaced free of charge after one year of driving when the treads got worn way above normal levels). On top of all this, amazing service quality at the local dealership. Overall, each one of the four vehicles felt like a great value for money.
Having said that, after driving friends' 2018 Range Rover Sport and 2018 Mercedes GLS, which feature some really cool stuff, I do see that Infiniti's technological advancements are getting behind other luxury vehicles; so it's true, they are. But, and it's an important but: a) these new toys are not necessarily "wow, I was waiting all my life to have them!" kinda toys, and b) Infiniti vehicles are still significantly less expensive then comparable Mercedes, Lexus and RR SUVs. So, you get what you pay for.
__________________
"An idea is always a generalization, and generalization is a property of thinking. To generalize means to think." Georg Hegel
“To generalize is to be an idiot.” William Blake
I only get offended when I see a Nissan Juke. Never driven one, but it seems to me like it would have all of the drawbacks of a sports car without any of the fun, and all of the drawbacks of an SUV, without any utility...
Not sure there's anything sports car related about a Juke. It's basically one of those crossover/hatback things. They are actually pretty solid choices for people who live in cities. They let you carry stuff without taking up too much room. Performance wise the Juke is also solid, compared to the rest of its segment.
The styling on the Juke is absolutely offensive though. It has horribly ugly design points like the oversized wheel arches. I guess it's supposed to look retro? It also looks like they've limited cabin and trunk space in order to accommodate the styling...
The Juke was pulled from Canada due to poor sales. It's being pulled from the USA too. Apparently Europeans are all over it though....weirdos.
It sounds like you have an emotional soft spot for Z cars, which is cool, but it's not like they've always been great. There were the lame automatic ones that drove like bloated pigs in the line up over the years. My dad had a 300zx automatic with T-roof. It was a mid-90s thing. That was a bland, slow, boring-ass car, although how do you not love a T-top, so that was cool. I drove that quite a bit, but never enjoyed it. It certainly wasn't an enthusiast's car and was more along the lines of a base model V6 Mustang.
You're describing a Mustang vs Z car as though they're wildly different. Two-door, RWD sports cars that duke it out in overlapping price ranges are competitors. Somebody with an open mind and love for cars would easily cross shop those vehicles.
Based on your description and colour, it was the Z32 300ZX that your Dad owned. The Z32 (1990-96 NA production) is still one of the most revered Sports Cars of the 1990's. It was on C&D's 10 best list every year it was produced along with every pretty much every other magazines 'best list'. The 4 speed automatic is woeful, good reason it sat unsold at Brasso for so long until your Dad bought it. Why did your Dad not get a 5 Speed?
Like Corsi, I'm a Z fan and currently own a 1990 Aztec Red Z32 with 60K that was purchased new at Stadium Nissan. I have also owned a 1990 Pearl Yellow TT, 1973 240Z. I have also owned a 1965 Datsun 1500 Roadster, 1991 D21 truck and a 2006 FX35 and 2011 FX50. The FX's were both awesome, especially the 50.
My gripe with current Nissan/Infiniti is the broad use of CVT's and the rather uninspiring dynamics on many of their platforms. The QX80 is essentially a Patrol which is an awesome 4 wheeler. I would still dig a new 370Z NISMO or R35 GT-R. The Q50RS is still great fun, although in need of a re-fresh however.
The Following User Says Thank You to FLAME ENVY For This Useful Post:
I had a 2011 Titan that never had one recall or never saw the inside of a shop. My only complaint was I paid for the 7 year 160k warranty that was never needed. Traded it on 2017 Titan. Still happy.
Have a 2013Armada. Saw it’s first warranty work last week when the window motor went. Great to drive. I will consider another in a few years. As a former Chev guy I will take Nissan over Chev. Tech could use some upgrades though. I do agree with you there.
I was a huge fan of the Infiniti G series and had a sedan and coupe. For me, just great value and I had no mechanical issues with either vehicle. When I decided to upgrade, I checked out the new version of the G and I was quite surprised at some of the features that were lacking. I think this was in 2015, but none of the models of Q series sedan had blind spot monitoring. I found the interior was still nice, but it just felt like it was lacking something. Funny enough, my sister drives my “dream attainable car” a 2017 QX60S coupe and I couldn’t believe how the interior and displays were almost exactly the same as my 2009 version. There’s something to be said for the familiarity, but it does definitely feel dated.
I recently rented a newer Altima and I’m surprised at some of the comments in here saying that the vehicle is lacking in its class. To me, nothing really stood out as amazing, but it just felt and drove like a solid car with the same features that almost all new cars have.