Alright so having driven it a bit today, here's my short take on things.
Pro's
1. BRAKE ASSIST!! WOO HOO!
I'm getting a kick out of this. What can I say? It comes in handy.
2. Seats. Much better than the Z. Not that the Z was bad but these are p-l-u-s-h. It's like my old Evo Recaros mixed with plush leather. Win win.
3. MOAAAR powaaaa!!! What can I say about the V8? Oh I know... when I hit the "power" button, VAVOOOOOM! Damn... what a difference over the normal driving mode. Normal driving mode definitely feels like less torque than my Z (granted my Z was modded and tuned). I'm guessing that pressing that magic little button changes the air/fuel mapping. With power mode engaged, all thoughts of
"will this pecker in the CLK next to me at the stop light show me his tail pipe when the light turns green" go away. Far away.
4. Shifting. Hmmm... Silly thing but I'm pretty much re-learning it since I don't have rev-match. Goddamn I loved rev-match!! That and the throw is longer of course but since I had a short throw shifter in the already short throw Z, it feels a mile long. It's getting better though.
5. Suspension. The car feels every bit on rails as my Z. Honestly. But this is just normal driving around town with the occassional spirited corner. I took my Z to the track 4 times so that is where the proof is in the pudding so to speak. But for a 4 door, I am quite pleasantly surprised to be honest.
6. It's got every creature comfort and the controls are within easy reach. Also, it feels as if it were hand crafted for a person with legs as long as mine.
Cons:
1. The idrive is a bit of a mystery. Alright... it's a total F'n mystery
but I'm starting to get the hang of it slowly.
2. The gas guage is normal and not just a bunch of lights. That's cool. The fact that I actually literally watched it go down without really even driving anywhere major today isn't.
3. It sits on 19's so replacing rubber is going to require a refi.
4. I can't think of anything else yet.
A couple side notes...
I don't think whoever owned the car before me ever drove it in the rain. I checked out the underside of the car pretty extensively and there's not one hint of rust. Anywhere! I mean not even on any of the exhaust. In 17.5k miles you would think that something would have at least a smidge. Alas.. no. They DID however drill the front bumper to mount the front plate... sunuvabitch! Oh well... can't win 'em all
