700 Miles in a Nissan Z to See How Good (or Not) It Really is

Because it only seats two, the Z’s hatch has just enough room for everyone’s luggage. Loading it up with two regular suitcases and two backpacks does make seeing out of the back, uhh, well, impossible. I’d be wrong to call the Z practical, but there’s enough space for the weekly grocery run and, yes, the occasional roadie. 

The drive home revealed nothing new, and the Z averaged 23 mpg across both journeys (just over 640 miles altogether). My time with the Z didn’t end when the road trip was done, and I wanted to see how it acquits itself as a sports car, not just a slinky road tripper. But I had a suspicion the surprise of the Z’s long-distance credentials was going to be a tough act to follow.

Wouldn’t you know it … In this case, all of the previous reporting is (mostly) correct. When you push it hard, the front end starts to fall apart. That’s due largely to the Bridgestone tires that have almost nothing in the way of grip. Those pathetic bits of rubber do not belong on a car like this, especially one that Nissan went through the trouble of engineering a double-wishbone front suspension layout for. 

What fewer people have said is that, despite the tires, the Z has a lovely balance to it. The front might not offer the strongest bite, but the equally squirmy rear matches it to a tee. The result is something that doesn’t have to be driven at the absolute limit to get real sensations from. It’s friendly, too — oversteer comes on slowly in most cases, and slides are easily caught.