2023 Nissan Z Review: Jack of All Trades, Master of None
After many delays the 2023 Nissan Z is finally here. It is good, but is it the sportscar we expected?
The letter Z is legendary in the automotive world. It all started with the 1970 Datsun 240Z. It was affordable, quick and good-looking. It sold well and spawned several more generations of Z cars over the last fifty years. And now the all-new (or kinda new) 2023 Nissan Z is here. Does it live up to the hype that comes with carrying that storied letter on its rear? Car enthusiasts are spoiled for choice right now when it comes to sporty cars in the Nissan Z price range. The Supra is the most obvious competitor but shoppers may consider everything from a Civic Type R to a Mustang GT while shopping for something sporty for roughly the same price.
The boys over at Throttle House recently reviewed the 2023 Nissan Z on their YouTube channel They gave it their typical review that was a mix of road driving and hot laps around a track. A sports car should be able to handle each in stride. But the impression you get from watching the review is that the new 2023 Nissan Z is tremendously OK. Not great, not bad. It has some good points as well as some frustrations. But it seems to need more development before it is really ready to take on the rest of the world. It is your typical ‘C’ average high school student that is heading to community college to figure out what they really want to do next.
Track Toy
There are probably several potential 2023 Nissan Z buyers that are looking to buy this car as their next track toy. And it may do very well in that role. After the car is upgraded with better suspension, tires, steering, and a number of other items. The point is that while it was certainly more capable around the track than say a Nissan Pathfinder. It was not the out of the box track toy that you may expect given its looks, stats and marketing. In the hands of the Throttle House guys it was slower around the track than the powerful but ponderous Challenger Hellcat Redeye. It was barely faster than the rather pedestrian Acura TLX Type-S. Not a great showing. And while that might bother some people. Do lap times really matter when you just want a fun car for the street?
OK Stuff
The trouble with this 2023 Nissan Z is that there seems to be a lot of elements that are just OK. Nothing terrible, but nothing great either. The stereo system is OK. The interior design is OK. Cargo room is OK for a sporty car like this. The quality of the materials is OK. Exhaust sound? OK. How do you think the seats are? If you guessed OK, then you are catching on. There is nothing that is really annoying about the car but there is nothing that makes you feel like you HAVE to have it either.
Good Stuff
The 2023 Nissan Z is a nice-looking car. Maybe not the best-looking car ever created. But it is sweet looking and definitely reminds you of that early 240Z. It also packs 400 horsepower in even the base trim. It is available with a manual transmission which any true sportscar should have at least the option of. The bad part if that this particular 6-speed manual tends to grind into second gear. Not something that you really want when rowing your own gears. But at least you can row your own gears.
Summary
We still like the 2023 Nissan Z. The design is slick, and it has good power and handling on the road is what you would expect from a sporty car. It won’t win many races, but do you really care? Buying a car like this is about emotion, not lap times. If you connect with the history and design of the car, the rest of it is good enough to make you want to buy it. And you will likely be happy with it for years to come.
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