Nissan Z NISMO COTY Review: A Stupendous Sports Car Held Back by Old Bones

The odds were stacked against the Nissan Z when it first landed for the 2023 model year. We welcomed its cool retro styling and powerful twin-turbo V-6 engine but lamented its outdated platform. Then, the automatic transmission only Nissan Z NISMO came around with a high price tag and performance that was just barely better than the mainline Z.

Now, Nissan is attempting to right its wrongs with the latest Z NISMO, a heavily updated version of the automaker’s two-seat sports car. Brake rotors poached from the Nissan GT-R, a retuned engine torque profile with improved throttle response, a smoother stroke for the suspension dampers, and reduced friction for the steering rack highlight the changes. Most important, the new NISMO uses a toughened-up version of Nissan’s FS6R31A six-speed manual gearbox that’s been available for the rest of the Z lineup since its debut. These changes have considerably improved the Z NISMO, but were the upgrades enough for it to take home our 2027 Car of the Year award?

From a performance standpoint, we found the Nissan Z NISMO to be a well-sorted driver’s car. Our judges loved the rich torque curve of its 3.0-liter twin-turbo V-6 engine, satisfying power delivery, and rumbling exhaust note.

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We also spent more time rowing the Z NISMO’s manual transmission, which gets a different pivot point than the regular Z’s unit, lending the gearbox a more mechanical feel. It also gets a stronger clutch pressure plate as well as upgraded mounting points designed to handle the NISMO’s extra torque.

Some judges appreciated the extra notchiness of the Z NISMO’s six-speed, while others thought the setup was too much effort for too little payoff. “The gear shifts are abrupt,” Detroit editor Alisa Priddle said. “I didn’t like the manual six-speed shifting nearly as much as in the Hyundai Elantra N TCR Edition. The Z’s shifter is harsher, requires more effort, and slams into the next gear instead of sliding in smoothly.”

But around our figure-eight test track and the test facility’s handling course, the Z NISMO proved itself a star car, thanks in part to its sticky Dunlop SP Sport Maxx GT 600 tires and powerful brakes. “What a surprise,” road test editor Erick Ayapana said of the super Z. “It’s super capable on the figure eight, with impressive grip and stopping power. It’s also very easy and satisfying to get into a rhythm and put down some consistent lap times.”

Unfortunately, the Nissan Z NISMO was held back in our competition due to more practical matters than high-performance driving. We found its ride quality to be highly compromised on choppy or rough pavement, limiting daily usability.

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Then there’s the cabin, in which you’ll find ample visual evidence of the Z’s aging platform. There are modern touches like well-integrated digital displays and a magnetic wireless phone charging mount, but the materials used and layout of the cabin are decidedly yesteryear.

The seats and seat controls earned a particular amount of scorn from the judges. You can’t adjust the angle of the seat back without opening the door to use the knob (we aren’t joking), and the seats themselves flex under hard cornering. For a sports car with an as-tested price of $70,080, it’s tough to look past these meat-and-potatoes issues.

Although the judges felt that Nissan exceeded expectations overall with the Z NISMO, its shortcomings held it back from advancing to the finalist round of our Car of the Year competition. We’re glad Nissan has stayed true to its heritage as a purveyor of sports cars, but we’d love to see the automaker build a truly new, next-generation sports car when this model’s time is up. And despite Nissan’s solid work to make the Z NISMO better, that time has come.

This review was conducted as part of our 2027 Car of the Year (COTY) testing, where each vehicle is evaluated on our six key criteria: efficiency, design, safety, engineering excellence, value, and performance of intended function. Eligible vehicles must be all-new or significantly revised.