Why does first gear in every other car feel and seem faster than the Z?

keb370z

For the on the track with the Chevy Malibu scenario, yes.

But not if you go back to my original point. Slipping the clutch every time you take off is not an option in daily driving. I'm not going to drag race every car on the road.

In daily driving, if I drive my Z spiritedly but properly (as in, not slipping the clutch), the Malibu is going to tie or beat me every time until I get into high RPMs in 2nd gear. And a Lumina, and an Accord. And a Camry. And many others.

Not that it matters. I still love my Z, and I wouldn't change a thing about it. It's just kind of eye-opening for me that a sports car's first gear feels so slow. I know Nissan has a reason for that, and I think their reasoning is because they've engineered this car to be a sports car you can drive every day. If there was so much power in 1st that the tires spun every time you took off, it would be a pain in the butt to drive. But that's just my guess.