A preface before my point...
I ordered a 370Z when they first came out in early 2009...it was what I always wanted: a (relatively) affordable, (relatively) high powered two seat sports car. I was smitten...those fenders, those subtle curves in the doors...look at a photo of one from a bird's eye view from the front and you'll see what I mean. Really enjoyed it but after three and a half years I had grown used to it. Complacent, maybe; I owned a 350Z before that so I was very familiar with the formula. Got rid of it for various reasons in March 2013. Got my FR-S in the middle of 2013 because as a car guy, a four cylinder automatic Accord couple wasn't going to cut it. To this day, I enjoy EVERY opportunity to drive it. After two and a half years I get the same feeling.
But the memory of my Smurf blue Z was getting the better of me, plus they are offering a beautiful deep shade of blue on the car, so I entertained the idea of rekindling with an old flame to see if there was anything there. So yesterday I test drove a '15 370 which was spec'd just like the one I had previously. And I was shocked. Squishy seats, claustrophobic interior, visibility is poor to the front and nonexistent to the rear. The clutch pedal felt like it was assembled with heavy rubber bands, and the seating position was bizarrely high. And though the power/torque band was really strong compared to my FR-S, the exhaust was so quiet, it was almost as if they didn't want it to be heard at all. (Full disclosure: my FR-S is on Swift springs (-1.25"ish) and I have the catback exhaust from Corsa, so this isn't a true apples to apples comparison.) There was also a distressing amount of vibration transmitted through the shifter; not the kind of tactile feedback you want in a $35k car, even stock. Did I mention they still don't have a telescope function on the steering column?
After driving the Z for the better part of an hour, getting back in my car, I IMMEDIATELY knew I'd made the right choice. The only thing, in my opinion, our cars don't have that the Z does is those voluptuous, sexy ass fender flares and half again as much power and torque. That's it. I realized in that moment that the Z had become an almost casual cruiser/GT and the FR-S was now what the Z car had originally set out to be. They lost their way and we picked up the torch. I'm sure you've heard and read stuff to this effect many, many times already, but driving them back to back REALLY drove it home for me.
TL;DR: Went out on a brief date with ex, was disappoint.
Sorry if this isn't perfectly in line with the OP's initial point, but I felt it was relevant enough.
