New Nissan 370Z. Finally. Again. Still.
After Carlos Ghosn spent an hour blowing a green smoke screen at his keynote address about the future of the auto industry, Nissan released the new 2009 370z, the most powerful Z car so far. With 332hp going to the rear wheels and a new seven-speed automatic transmission, Nissan one-upped themselves with a manual transmission that rev matches for you. With new sheetmetal that could have been penned by Porsche, and an interior that goes to “Infiniti” (but not beyond), the new Z is the poor man’s, uh, Porsche. The coupe starts at $30k. And what a sound it makes…
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Hopefully they've learned to make it sound good on the inside as well as the outside.
Quote: the duke Second, look at what Nissan has done with the VQ V-6 and compare: 2009 Z: 3.7L V-6, 332hp (EPA 17/26 w/6MT)* 2010 Mustang: 4.0L V-6, 210hp (EPA 17/26 w/ 5MT) 2010 Mustang: 4.6L V-8, 315hp (EPA: 15/23 w/ 5MT) 2010 Camaro: 3.6L V-6, 300hp (EPA highway 26)** You fail to mention the Z requires premium fuel while the Mustang and Camaro use regular to make the power shown. The Z’s motor does not use direct injection (as does the Camaro) - but it does have variable valve lift - and still has a higher specific output while achieving essentially the same (if not better) fuel economy. The mustang numbers speak (quite poorly) for themselves). The Camaro's engine wasn't designed for premium fuel. Had it been I would expect higher numbers. While I admit the current Mustang's numbers aren't great, the future 3.5 v6 Ecoboost will have some great figures. This car is everything the 2010 Mustang and Camaro are not. You are absolutely right. The Z is missing 2 usable rear seats and a good sized trunk. If fuel economy is your big issue you just answered your own question. The Z really isn't special. The Corvette on the other hand is with it's lower weight, 104 more hp, 16 mpg city/26 highway.