Car review: 2023 Nissan Z
Spanning 50 years and seven generations, the iconic Nissan Z has been the sports coupe hero car for Nissan. And like other icons, such as the Porsche 911, the Z’s silhouette is instantly recognisable.
If you look at similar cars on the market, the Ford Mustang is about the same price or cheaper, and the Toyota Supra is $20,000 more expensive, so the Nissan Z is reasonable value.
The special edition Proto model sold out before it was released, and Nissan won’t be delivering more to Australia.
The Z is a two-seater and makes no apologies for the compromises. It has reasonable luggage space, however the rear-suspension bracing intrudes into the rear cargo space.
And, while this is quite elegantly done by Nissan, it does mean you’ll need to pack soft travel bags around it when you’re going away for the weekend.
The Nissan Z is tall for a coupe and has lots of head room inside and a spacious feel about it.
Getting in the driver’s seat can be an exercise in gymnastics and even more so when extracting yourself.
The blind-spot monitoring is essential as the view out of the rear window is akin to looking through a letterbox slot.
Built with an affordable price tag in mind, the technology has been kept to a minimum with features such as satellite navigation, rain-sensing windscreen wipers or heads-up display not on the list.
Instead, Nissan has put the dollars into features like a BOSE sound system and heated leather accented, four-way power-adjustable driver and passenger sports seats.
To enhance the sports-car feel, the driver’s dash-mounted 12.3-inch display can be switched between three settings: standard, enhanced and sport.
The latter displays the tachometer centrally, with an electronic up-shift alert at the 12 o’clock position and includes G-force indicators for measuring cornering on track days.
The new Z is faster and more powerful than its predecessor. The 3-litre, twin-turbo V6 engine is linked to the rear wheels via a carbon-fibre composite driveshaft and is refined in the way the power is delivered.
The Z is offered as either a close-ratio six speed, or a nine-speed paddle-shift automatic. Nissan says that more than 70 per cent of sales are manuals.
For those enthusiasts who are genuinely buying the Z for track days, there’s a launch-control function in both manual and automatic transmission versions. The Z is the sort of car that’s on people’s bucket lists, and with its affordable pricing it’s bound to be another classic.
| The specs | |
|---|---|
| Price | $73,300 |
| ANCAP safety rating | not rated |
| Warranty | five-year unlimited warranty |
DO YOU NEED CAR ADVICE?
RAA members can call our free Car Advice Service for answers to their car questions.
Or call 8202 4689