You didn't used to be like this, Nissan. Up until the GT-R arrived this year, and with the exception of the 370Z's predecessor, you've spent the last decade building modest SUVs, trucks, and sedans for the masses. Sure, there have been a few hot compacts in there, but your latest Sentra SE-Rs haven't exactly set the enthusiast world ablaze. Now it's all Porsche this, Nürburgring that. It's like we don't even know you anymore. Then, just when it seems like GT-R-a-palooza is dying down, here comes the new Z. First, in spy photos, being trailed by a Porsche Cayman. Then, with Nissan's own staff calling Porsche's baby coupe out as a benchmark. All right, we'll bite.
Disregard the fact that the Cayman S you see here is a 2008. The revised 2009 model wasn't available for our day of testing, but the dynamic changes are minimal and I drove the new car last week. My impressions of the new car are factored into the words, if not the pictures, below.
As similar as the intentions of the Nissan and the Porsche are, you'd never mistake one for the other. Their design commonalities include two headlights, two doors, four tires, and a sloping rear hatch. Actually, they also share polarization. Both are drop-dead gorgeous to some, but each has plenty of enemies. Cayman supporters will say the small Porsche has simple, classic curves that will remain timeless. The hood is shorter and the butt is longer than the Nissan's, a visual reminder that the Porsche's flat-six engine sits behind the driver. Speaking of butts, the 370Z has a huge one, and the verticality of the taillights only makes it seem more ridiculous when the two cars are parked side-by-side. From any angle that isn't straight on from the rear, the new Z has a dynamic flow to it, looking like it's in the business of one thing: going fast. I'd give it the edge on design, just because I'm used to the Cayman and its design seems more static. And small too, despite the fact that the Porsche is actually four inches longer and only a half-inch lower overall than the Z.
Read Article