Clarkson really picks on the 350Z. http://www.funpedia.net/vids/topgear_video/064.zip

this car just isnt good, nissan probalby took minutes making it, waste of money and time

I like the Z. I wouldn't buy one, though. I think most of what he said was true. It's a shame.

wow...i don't believe he said one good thing about the 350Z...i think it's a beautiful car but just not practical enough for my lifestyle...

I driven a G35 auto... and rx-8 auto... i dont know what it is but the rx-8 feels faster.. iv'e driven
-toyota supra N/A auto 6.9
-G35 Auto 6.2-6.9
-Volvo C70 auto 6.1 - 6.9

RX-8 feels faster and drive and over fun factor is better on RX-8. If you see people driving 350Z they wont be so happy.. i saw a rx-8 driver yesterday titanium gray on 360... and boy was he smiling.

After watching that review for the first time by Top Gear, I feel almost ashamed to be driving that car :( . But Right before getting the 8, I used to dream about getting the 350Z because it looks so good! (Even though I have never driven one) . Man, Jeremy seemed really disappointed.

He seemed overly harsh on the car. The 350Z is really a great car. It is just lacking in practicality and overly harsh for some people. I don't think it deserves the rap he have it.

Maybe the Euro 350Z is more different than I thought it was.

I don't think I've ever seen a review like this. Jeremy just slammed the car. I think he was disapointed because the car was designed as a muscle car. I don't think the car is as bad as he reviewed it to be.

A lot of what he is saying is true though. I was so close to getting one, until the test drive. It is so flat and unimpressive to drive. It is to harsh and what Jeremy said hit the nail on the head. But I do disagree with what was said about the sytling, as I think it looks awsome.

There was a older thread (http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?threadid=9820&highlight=Top+Gear) about this discussion as well.

Let me translate this for you!

WELL THE 350 ZED IS NOT MADE FOR US BRITISH IDIOTS, I HATE THE "SMOOTH" RIDE AND I CAN HEAR A MOTOR, I'M GOING TO PUKE! I WANT MY DOGGIE!! hahaha

STFU YOU OLD SMUCK!

I think I have to disagree with Jeremy on one thing... the noise of the engine is ok and the engine is smooth and the acceleration is great. I did feel like not going as fast and it could be a big minus around town when you constantly need to check the speedo

It was interesting to see him slam the car too but I kept thinking in my mind if he was actually personally biased against the car.

I got the impression that he had a bias against the car as well. Having said that, I recently took one for a test drive and, while I didn’t take them as seriously as Clarkson did, his points seemed valid. Some of the plastic bits seemed flimsy and the sound of the engine was just a drone and very, very uninspiring from the inside but a fun car none the less.

I power over-steered it sideways through a large intersection (free of cars and pedestrians) sand the salesman just about crapped his pants. He yelled “Oh Sh*t” and grabbed for something to hang on to. In my defense, I asked him if I could stretch its legs and he said “Sure, do what you want”. I was impressed at how well it handled and the how easy it was to control.

Good one newfinator!!! Way to freak out the salesguys!

A friend has a 350Z and after a track session, he would come in, pop the hood, and we would watch his power steering fluid resevior boil like crazy!!!!

It was only at that time that I realized we had electric assisted power steering in the 8.

lol. The car was build for the californian.

Boy...he ripped it harder than the guys on Best Motoring...

Would post a link..but, I only have the Japanese Launguage versions...

Gonsan said the Z's engine was garbage and had lots of vibration in the in the transmision. Also that it would have been better as a grand touring car, to drive to lazily not a sports car.

And we won't even touch on what Tsuchia Keiji (drift king ) Said..

Glad I got my 8 and not the Z..

Originally posted by scottvw13



And we won't even touch on what Tsuchia Keiji (drift king ) Said..




What did he say?

I tried to take an RX8 out for a test drive but the salesman said that the sales manager was on holidays for a week and had the demo car with him. What’s up with that? If owned that dealership I would be shopping for a new sales manager, one that was interested in sales instead of self-indulgence. No test drives == no sales.

Originally posted by scottvw13
Boy...he ripped it harder than the guys on Best Motoring...

Would post a link..but, I only have the Japanese Launguage versions...

Gonsan said the Z's engine was garbage and had lots of vibration in the in the transmision. Also that it would have been better as a grand touring car, to drive to lazily not a sports car.

And we won't even touch on what Tsuchia Keiji (drift king ) Said..

Glad I got my 8 and not the Z..


WOW....funny thing is, I WROTE this and it put me under a diffrent log in and every thing.....I was suprised. Has that every happend to anyone before...

Anyway, Tsuchia said it was a good car for anybody just get in a drive.

He wasn't thrilled with it.

He loved the RX8 though..stateing the only thing he would change is give it more tourque.

There are a total of 3 bestmotoring and hot version videos featuring the RX8.

Originally posted by scottvw13
Boy...he ripped it harder than the guys on Best Motoring...

Would post a link..but, I only have the Japanese Launguage versions...

Gonsan said the Z's engine was garbage and had lots of vibration in the in the transmision. Also that it would have been better as a grand touring car, to drive to lazily not a sports car.

And we won't even touch on what Tsuchia Keiji (drift king ) Said..

Glad I got my 8 and not the Z..

I thought Keiichi said he liked the car. Gonsan for sure hated it.

Anyway, Tsuchia said it was a good car for anybody just get in a drive.

He wasn't thrilled with it.

He loved the RX8 though..stateing the only thing he would change is give it more tourque.



He said it was a good safe sports car that anyone can get in a get a feel of what it would be like to drive a real sports car.

He deffinatly wasn't jumping up and down about it.

If you are watching the english versions, not every thing gets translated well.

Jesus......

I watched this in shock and awe. I never seen a car get so ripped up in a review than this. I felt bad for the 350Z owners who watched this video. There was a little bit of anger in me watching this, not at the fact that he tore up the 350Z since I am not really a fan of it, but that he seemed pretty negative at anything that is American. It was "designed principally for the American market, and the ideal American cars, as you know, are enormous sofas." God, he tore into that car like I've never seen before. From the way it sounded, how it felt, how it drove, how heavy it was, how awful the interior was, and how bad the engine is, he didn't give it any mercy. Man how he even said "it is one of the most exhausting cars I ever drove." "3 out of 10"

oh well, it's just odd to see since a lot of the other reviews I've seen for the Z highly praised it.

- Mike

I don’t think he is anti-American-cars. He loves classic Mustangs and the GT-40.

Originally posted by GodWhomIsMike
Jesus......

I watched this in shock and awe. I never seen a car get so ripped up in a review than this. I felt bad for the 350Z owners who watched this video. There was a little bit of anger in me watching this, not at the fact that he tore up the 350Z since I am not really a fan of it, but that he seemed pretty negative at anything that is American. It was "designed principally for the American market, and the ideal American cars, as you know, are enormous sofas." God, he tore into that car like I've never seen before. From the way it sounded, how it felt, how it drove, how heavy it was, how awful the interior was, and how bad the engine is, he didn't give it any mercy. Man how he even said "it is one of the most exhausting cars I ever drove." "3 out of 10"

oh well, it's just odd to see since a lot of the other reviews I've seen for the Z highly praised it.

- Mike

Yea, it was pretty funny to watch...luckily I didn't really care

Originally posted by GodWhomIsMike
and the ideal American cars, as you know, are enormous sofas
Actually, I kinda agree, given the average consumer.
(Enthusiasts are really the minority in the States)

Although he was overly harsh IMO, I can see why he and Japanese reviewers are dissapointed -- the 350z is a definite step down from Nissan's last sportscar, the S15 Silvia.

Let me put it this way -- imagine a new RX-7 came out and it had about the same acceleration as the RX-8, but the handling was worse, it weighed more, the interior was not as nice, and it was less mod-friendly. Also, imagine that the price of this new RX-7 was about $5k more than the RX-8. This is exactly how the 350Z compares to the Silvia Spec R.

Well when you put it like that, it makes it sound that much more worse. But it is true.

I was realy shocked with Best Motorings review of the 350 and the Skyline..

The only two that gave it truly good reviews was TAKUYA who always finds the good in every car, and NAKAYA who is more the enginere of the group.

I love Takuya's reviews because he doesn't let his personal feelings get involved in his reviews. He states the facts and calles it a day.

His father GONSAN just doesn't like anything thats not HONDA..hahaahah

I stopped taking the video (Top Gear) seriously when he started poking fun at the "French" engine. If he's so uninformed to believe that the VQ series is French made, it's really hard to view the rest of the review as an objective evaluation of the car. Just the fact that he made something up to put down the Z shows that he was just looking for any little thing that he might be able to place in a bad light.

It's powered by the VQ35...a newer version of the engine originally in the Maxima 95+ prior to Renault's takeover. They started putting it into Renault's top end car's so that's what he's referring to. It's actually a great motor but stroking it out to 3.5L kind of killed it's ability to rev quickly though it actually does a better job on top end power than previous versions.

Originally posted by PoorCollegeKid
I stopped taking the video (Top Gear) seriously when he started poking fun at the "French" engine. If he's so uninformed to believe that the VQ series is French made, it's really hard to view the rest of the review as an objective evaluation of the car. Just the fact that he made something up to put down the Z shows that he was just looking for any little thing that he might be able to place in a bad light.

That was what triggered me into thinking that Clarkson is biased against the Zed for some reason. He gave the same vibe on the video where they revealed that the 350Z and the RX-8 has the same track times.

However, his observations are quite accurate in terms of the interior quality, that crossbar impeding trunk space, and the drone of the engine.

This is freaking great!!! I'm on the floor right now.

Originally posted by downshift
That was what triggered me into thinking that Clarkson is biased against the Zed for some reason. He gave the same vibe on the video where they revealed that the 350Z and the RX-8 has the same track times.

Is there a link to that one anywhere? Also, wasn't there also a Japanese video magazine with the RX-8 doing as well as the Z at the track?

Originally posted by m477
Is there a link to that one anywhere? Also, wasn't there also a Japanese video magazine with the RX-8 doing as well as the Z at the track?
It souldn't be a surprise that an RX8 can match a 350Z on a track. The only advantage they have is in straight line speed.