When you want a 2-seat sports car that doesn’t wear a luxury badge, you don’t have many options. The Nissan Z is one of those options, and it’s a doozy.
The Z is the latest iteration of the Nissan Z-Car models, giving us an impressive sports car with RWD and an available manual transmission. As you would expect from this car, it comes with a potent V6 engine that churns out tons of power to give it the desired performance and drive on any road or track.
Is the latest Nissan Z better than older Z-Car models? It certainly is, and here’s what it brings to your driving experience.
What powers this incredible Nissan sports car?
We know the Z comes with a V6, but it’s a whole new animal compared to the previous Z-Car. Enthusiasts who swear by a naturally aspirated engine will be a little disappointed to find a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V6 powering this sports car. That disappointment will quickly fade when they feel the 400 horsepower and 350 lb-ft of torque rocketing this car down the road. This impressive machine delivers quick sprint times and offers a choice between a 9-speed automatic and a 6-speed manual transmission.
Is there anything new for the Z?
Nissan gives the Proto Spec trim the ax and adds the new top NISMO trim to provide a highly recognized performance model at the top of the Z lineup. The Performance and NISMO trims have Amazon Alexa connectivity, making this sports car a smart choice that can work with your home Alexa system.
What does each Nissan Z trim offer?
There are three trim levels of this car: Sport, Performance, and NISMO. Let’s take a look at what each model brings to make your driving experience fun and exhilarating.
Z Sport
The Z Sport is the base trim, and it can be more than enough for most drives to experience the incredible qualities offered by this Nissan sports car. Here’s what you’ll find:
- Vented disc brakes
- Dual exhaust ports
- 18-inch alloy wheels
- LED headlights and taillights
- Black woven seat cloth
- Leather-wrapped steering wheel
- Push-button starting
- Automatic climate control
- 8-inch touchscreen
- Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, SiriusXM satellite radio, and Siri Eyes Free
- 6-speaker audio system
- Adaptive cruise control
- Automatic high beams
- Automatic emergency braking
- Blind-spot monitoring
- Lane-departure warning
- Parking sensors
The only factory option for this Nissan sports car is the choice of two-tone paint for the exterior.
Z Performance
Moving up to the middle trim of the Nissan Z brings you to the Performance model. This trim adds to the base model by giving you:
- Mechanical limited-slip differential
- Nissan performance brakes
- SyncroRev Match (manual)
- Paddle shifters (automatic)
- Sporty appearance package
- 19-inch RAYS forged alloy wheels
- Front and rear spoilers
- Heated mirrors
- Heated and power-adjustable leather seats
- Suede door trim
- Premium leather steering wheel
- Aluminum performance pedals
- 9-inch infotainment touchscreen
- Wireless Apple CarPlay
- Wi-Fi hotspot
- Navigation system
- Amazon Alexa connectivity
- Bose 8-speaker audio system
This middle trim has the same option for two-tone paint as the base model.
Z NISMO
The top model of the latest Z-Car is the NISMO trim. This name has been at the top several times for these Nissan sports cars in the past. The NISMO trim builds on the Performance model by adding:
- Engine upgrade to 420 horsepower and 384 lb-ft of torque
- Automatic transmission only
- NISMO-tuned suspension upgrades
- Steering and braking upgrades with bigger front rotors
- Launch control system
- Engine oil cooler
- NISMO appearance package
- RAYS 19-inch forged aluminum wheels
- Recaro manual seats with fixed headrests
- NISMO embroidery
- Red accent stitching
- Alcantara steering wheel
- Sort+ drive mode
What makes the Nissan Z a great car?
In addition to the features offered across the three trims, this Nissan sports car has many qualities that make it a great car. One of the most incredible aspects of this car is the iconic styling, which brings qualities from previous Z-cars to the forefront. This means the Z has items from the 240Z, which appeared in 1969 and elements from the 300ZX, which was around in the 1990s.
The availability of a 6-speed manual transmission is a big deal, too. Many sports cars are turning exclusively to automatic transmissions while this Nissan continues to deliver the good with an excellent manual to keep you engaged with your car.
Is the Nissan Z a good enough Z-Car for you? Unless you are super stubborn and must have a naturally aspirated engine, you’ll admire the performance, power, style, and drive of this new Nissan sports car. Which model will sit in your garage waiting for you to get behind the wheel?
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