Subaru powered Toyota FT-86 Concept

vo2max99

I've read the reviews and driven the car myself and the reason the Z isn't as good a driver's car vs. the EVO X and MX-5 go far beyond the oil heating and brake problems.

The general consensus is that the Z isn't a very good driver's car. It consistently places near the rear in best handling / best driver's car comparisons. Not to say the Z is a terrible car it isn't and I would take one over a Genesis Coupe and ANY FWD car including my 08' MS3.

The Z simply does not offer the same steering feedback / feel, chassis control and general overall experience as either the EVO or MX-5. It's a decent car for posting quick lab times but there are much better options for driver's cars.

How you could say you would ditch a BRZ before you ditched a Z without having never driven one is kinda odd. Personally I would ditch the one that was the least fun to drive (likely the Z if the BRZ is any where near as fun as the MX-5).

Again, it just depends on what you want. I value the experience behind the wheel over the test track #'s. Other's are more about drag / street racing and chose #'s above all else.


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bigsix

I definitely understand your point of view regarding driver's cars.

I do think the Z car offers many things that are geared towards the driver:

inside the car = dash mounted gauges, prominent tachometer, sport steering wheel, sport bucket seats...

drivetrain = 3.7 liter V6 engine, 6 speed manual tranny, 7 speed automatic tranny w/ manual shift, limited slip diff...

chassis/suspension = performance brakes, RAYS sport wheels, sport tires, adavanced suspension design both front and rear, stiff/rigid body structure w/ use of steel & aluminium metals...


I think a Z car is very much a driver's car. It does put some emphasis on style and speed a little more than steering feedback, but all parts of the driving experience have been thoughtfully engineered by Nissan, I feel.

FL 4Motion

I don't know if it's your intention or not, but you are coming off in this thread as so defenisve of the frs/brz that it's almost angry.

Bottom line is some folks will want more power out of a car and some will be happy with less.

I think the brz/frs is nice, but it would be perfect with 250hp imo. I feel it's a bit underpowered.

Before you slam me for making that assumption w/o having driven one. The wife and i have previously owned 2 miatas, a 99 and on 03 shinsen ed. Referring to the 03 shinsen, I will say it had the BEST clutch/shifter feel etc of ANY car I've ever driven, the balance etc was spot on and it was a hoot to drive around even if I didn't fit in it for sh!t.

Now, having said that, after a while, you quickly realize that the miata could use another 60-100 horses. That was my takeaway from it. great car, but underpowered. Trying to merge in with traffic was an exercise in frustration.

The truth is, you can't drive even a miata as aggressively as you'd like to on the street b/c squealing tires around the corners in your neighborhood tends to be frowned upon. The only safe place to explore the limits of your car regardless of what it is is the track. And the miata is underpowered for anything more than autox and I suspect the BRZ/FRS will be too. That's not to say they won't be fun but for folks who have owned many different sports cars, I think it will be disapointing.

The 370Z is def not perfect, lord knows folks on here have seen me b1tch about it's many shortcomings, but the aftermarket has good solutions for almost all of them. Hell, a simple tire size adjustment (wider fronts) will help make the Z less prone to understeer and that is a very simple fix/improvement.

For a 3300lb car like the Z, 300-350 hp is a good starting place powerwise imo.

For a 2700-2800lb car like the brz, 250ish hp is a good spot powerwise imo.

To each his own, I think it's a nice car, but def not for me, too much $$ for too little power, regardless of the handling characteristics. Been there, done that, got the T shirt.