- Doors and Seats
2 doors, 2 seats
- Engine
3.0TT, 6 cyl.
- Engine Power
298kW, 475Nm
- Fuel
Petrol (95) 9.8L/100KM
- Manufacturer
RWD
- Transmission
Auto
- Warranty
5 Yr, Unltd KMs
- Ancap Safety
NA
Should I buy an automatic or manual 2023 Nissan Z?
The answer is not so obvious.
Didn't the car enthusiast world light up at the reveal of the 2020 Nissan Z Proto concept car?
In the day and age of electric this and auto that, Nissan was instead teasing the idea of one last petrol-powered hurrah for its aging sports car platform.
And not any sports car – the Nissan Z – the one that put Japanese sports cars on the map globally in 1969. It's why every car nerd – including me – frothed over the concept car's 1960s to 1990s design mashup and that 298kW/475Nm twin-turbo V6 it was always meant to have.
Also adding to the allure was the small print in the press release:
"... [comes] with a manual transmission," said one line, “... the Z, as a pure sports car, represents the spirit of Nissan,” said another. Honestly, Christmas came in September that year.
This was one last petrol-powered hurrah that we could theoretically shift gears in manually and kick its imaginary clutch accordingly. Clearly, Nissan had our attention.
Fast-forward two years and that design study is now a full production car on sale in Australia as the 2023 Nissan Z. Amazingly, the beancounters didn't drop the axe over the design and engineering team, with the vehicle arriving pretty much as promised by the concept.
That includes the choice of six-speed manual or nine-speed auto, too, just as Nissan said. Which begs the question – which one do you buy?
I'm going to say this here first, it's probably not the manual. Read on to find out why.
How much does the Nissan Z cost in Australia?
The Nissan Z comes in two core models in Australia: Z Coupe manual and Z Coupe auto. Either choice costs the same, meaning it's worth $73,300 before on-road costs.
The standard and free colour is an interesting deep maroon called Rosewood, so if you want one of the eight metallic colours – some featuring a two-tone black roof – you'll have to pay $700 more.
That means in the hue you want, it costs $74,000 before on-roads or about $81,000 drive-away. There was a limited-edition Z Proto model that added unique aesthetic details, but it's sold out and therefore no longer on sale.
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Key details | 2023 Nissan Z Coupe Manual | 2023 Nissan Z Coupe Automatic |
Price (MSRP) | $73,300 plus on-road costs | $73,300 plus on-road costs |
Colour of test car | Gun Metallic | Serian Blue with Super Black roof |
Options | Metallic paint – $700 | Metallic paint – $700 |
Price as tested | $74,000 plus on-road costs | $74,000 plus on-road costs |
Drive-away price | $81,355 (NSW) | $81,355 (NSW) |
Are there spec differences between the Nissan Z automatic and manual?
Thankfully none, as both versions are decently and identically equipped – aside from automatic models receiving an extra auxiliary transmission oil cooler.
Standard exterior features include 19-inch lightweight forged-aluminium wheels made by legendary manufacturer RAYS Engineering, the same four-piston front, two-piston rear Akebono brake package as the outgoing Nissan 370Z, and the same limited-slip differential albeit now with a slightly taller final drive ratio (was 3.69, now 3.53).
On the inside, some things continue to be carried over, others inspired by history. The sports seats speak to the former point, as they are the same heated and electrically adjustable 370Z pews as before.
Something speaking to the latter is that fantastic triple-gauge pod modelled off a Datsun 240Z's dashboard. The three gauges inside are interesting, too, with regular battery voltage and turbo boost meters supported by an unusual turbo impeller wheel speed gauge.
Performance features found elsewhere and not here include adaptive suspension, and any form of user-configurable 'drive mode' – there's no varied way to set up the controls in this car like most modern hot hatches or European two-door coupes.
What does look and smell contemporary is the gauge cluster, however, a large and clear 12.3-inch display. It's configurable, too, with sports mode presenting a huge tacho emblazoned with a Z logo, and regular mode a standard pair of dials.
Either setting is good, but I quite like the extended visibility on engine speed and the multi-stage shift light found in sports mode.
2023 Nissan Z | |
Seats | Two |
Boot volume | 241L |
Length | 4380mm |
Width | 1845mm |
Height | 1315mm |
Wheelbase | 2550mm |
Does the Nissan Z have Apple CarPlay?
The 2023 Nissan Z features wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, with both accessed through an 8.0-inch touchscreen display. The system does not support wireless connectivity.
Aside from being small, the screen's graphics are rather basic. It also features AM/FM/DAB+ radio, Bluetooth connectivity, and both USB-C and USB-A type inputs for charging your phone and using smartphone mirroring.
Making music is an eight-speaker Bose premium audio system. Favouring mid and low tones rather than brighter ones, it's a good sound system for the money.
Duct Tape by Private Function sounded appropriately manic and tinny, whereas Bowie's Heroes was wonderful and separated. The system does a good job with clarity, brightness (attack), and scale – especially when you crank the volume.
Is the Nissan Z a safe car?
Like most low-volume and expensive sports cars, the 2023 Nissan Z remains untested by Australian crash-test authority ANCAP.
Safety gear isn't left out despite this car's theme, however, with adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, lane-keeping assist and automatic emergency braking coming on both manual and auto transmission cars.
Compared to similarly priced SUVs, it has a satisfactory amount of advanced driver assist systems.
At a glance | 2023 Nissan Z |
ANCAP rating & year tested | Untested |
How much does the Nissan Z cost to run?
Service costs are in line with cars of this nature and cost; however, the intervals are short at 10,000km.
Capped-price servicing for the first three years in a manual Nissan Z costs $340, $467 and $456 respectively, or $1263 for three years and 30,000km.
Years four and five are worth $718 and $368, meaning five years and 60,000km in a manual Nissan Z costs $2349.
The auto goes as follows: $340, $482, $443, or $1265 for the first three years. Years four and five are $734 and $368 totalling $2367. The intervals are the same.
A full comprehensive insurance policy came back at $2267 per year, based on a comparative quote for a 35 year old male driver, living in Chatswood, NSW. Insurance estimates may vary based on your location, driving history, and personal circumstances.
At a glance | 2023 Nissan Z |
Warranty | Five years, unlimited km |
Service intervals | 12 months or 10,000km |
Servicing costs | $1263 manual, $1265 automatic (3 years) $2349 manual, $2367 automatic (5 years) |
Is the Nissan Z fuel efficient?
The official claimed fuel consumption figure for the Nissan Z for the manual is 10.8L/100km while the auto wears a fuel consumption rating of 9.8L/100km respectively. Both vehicles saw similar fuel usage of around 11.0L/100km during a week of back-to-back testing.
As you'd probably expect of a high-performance turbocharged engine, the Z required 95-octane premium unleaded at a minimum.
Fuel Consumption - brought to you by bp
Fuel Usage | 2023 Nissan Z manual | 2023 Nissan Z automatic |
---|---|---|
Fuel cons. (claimed) | 10.8L/100km | 9.8L/100km |
Fuel cons. (on test) | 11.0L/100km | 11.0L/100km |
Fuel type | 95-octane premium unleaded | 95-octane premium unleaded |
Fuel tank size | 62L | 62L |
What is the Nissan Z like to drive?
Maybe you have, maybe you haven't, but I've been waiting two years to drive the Nissan Z.
It's a proper retrospective sports car both physically and conceptually, in that it's built on an old platform, and also looks like it's from the 1960s or 1990s depending which side you're on.
It's also the final petrol-powered chapter of the first Japanese sports car that garnered legitimate credibility in the western world, the Nissan 240Z. If that floats your boat and you're a Nissan fan specifically, I bet you're frothing at the bit.
How can you not be enticed by the idea of an outgoing Nissan 370Z with a turbo – or a good dose of 200SX? Because that's pretty much what the 2023 Nissan Z is: a re-skinned version of a good-but-old sports car now fitted with the engine it always needed.
It's the star of the show, feeling unbridled as it spreads on a thick and meaty serving of torque. There's 475Nm plied in full between 1600–5600rpm, or an early start with lots of sustain for the big 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6.
Foot flat in either car in second (or third in the auto) will entice wheel spin, and more disconcertingly than enticingly. Don't forget the 2023 Nissan Z only weighs 1550kg, and the chassis itself was designed sometime in the 2000s, so consider it part of the charm.
There's roll and play in the chassis, which speaks somewhat to its grand-touring-car DNA. As a daily driver it's pretty bloody polite, so if you'd found its direct competitor too firm, you'll like this one more.
The engine and exhaust sound okay from the inside, but it's certainly more nuanced than it is loud. On the outside it sounds like a vacuum cleaner, however – something reaffirmed to me when my neighbour cold-started his Fiesta ST one morning.
Even a shopping trolley sounds better, so this $80K sports car has zero excuses. Either way, you tend to focus more on getting the most out of the engine rather than listening to it, as it's a fantastic and fitting piece of kit to send off Nissan's Z sports car in internal combustion form.
Which is where it gets a bit funny, as you're probably already wanting the manual. Our test car's manual felt mediocre by any standard from any era.
Fast shifts into second above 5000rpm were met mostly by crunches, and the rev-hang it demonstrates during clutching efforts is infuriating.
Then you'll notice third gear is cockeyed and sitting somewhere just left of where it should be. It creates a rather churlish shift action, and you find yourself expecting more considering there's nothing much new here mechanically.
It's also a Nissan, a brand that's given us some of the world's best sports cars, engines and associated engineering. I am a proponent of the manual transmission, and arguably one who bathes in its Kool-Aid too much.
Even I bought our family SUV new with a six-speed and three pedals, so I really wanted to get behind the wheel and wax lyrical on its behalf in this comparison.
However, it's the one and rare case where the automatic offers not just a different experience, but a better one. There are nine ratios so obviously the spread is better, but the shift action here is fast and smooth.
Manual mode will hold it in gear and let you exploit the engine, which you can then parlay into smooth shifts with zero break between throttle applications.
The downtime of the slow-shifting manual transmission really does remove some of the engine's charisma.
Key details | 2023 Nissan Z Manual | 2023 Nissan Z Automatic |
Engine | 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol | 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol |
Power | 298kW @ 6400rpm | 298kW @ 6400rpm |
Torque | 475Nm @ 1600–5600rpm | 475Nm @ 1600–5600rpm |
Drive type | Rear-wheel drive | Rear-wheel drive |
Transmission | Six-speed manual | Nine-speed torque-converter automatic |
Power to weight ratio | 186kW/t | 182kW/t |
Weight | 1553kg | 1589kg |
Spare tyre type | Inflator and repair kit | Inflator and repair kit |
Turning circle | 11.0m | 11.0m |
Should I buy an automatic or manual 2023 Nissan Z?
Absolutely.
We haven't touched on the way it looks or how it makes you feel in this review, which are both important factors when assessing a love job like buying yourself an $83,000 sports car.
However, the engine is a peach, its styling epic, and you'll adore every day you get to drive it.
We discussed this twin-test at length at Drive, with managing editor Trent Nikolic assigned as my driving buddy on this twin-test.
Ironically, just the week before I was his – by driving a camera car for an upcoming Drive TV episode with the 2023 Porsche 911 GTS. That car also had a manual transmission, and one that Trent agreed is so good that it stands proud next to the unflappable PDK automatic transmission.
Another point is that the 2023 Mazda MX-5 and 2023 Subaru BRZ are another two identical to the Porsche 911. Both have manual transmissions that are a joy to row in every circumstance and just as good – if not better – than the automatic.
It's just not the case with the 2023 Nissan Z. Make sure you properly test-drive both transmissions before making a decision, as the answer may not be so obvious on the surface.