A Longtime Dream, Finally Realized with the RZ34

I recently made the difficult decision to sell my Fairlady Z NISMO after just five months.

Delivered in early February 2025, the car was the fulfillment of a dream I’d had for years.

That dream goes back to the days of the Z32. As a child, I fell in love with its flowing lines and kept telling myself that one day I’d own a Fairlady Z. By the time the Z33 arrived, I was already working, but its price was still beyond what I could comfortably afford. With the RZ34, I finally got my third chance—and this time, it was the charm.

At first, I was considering the Version T. Then my dealer mentioned, “The NISMO is coming—would you like to enter the lottery?” I applied without giving it much thought, and, to my surprise, was selected. With the opportunity in front of me, I decided to go for the NISMO.

But the nearly two-year wait between ordering and delivery would change everything. In the meantime, a Cayman T and a Taycan Turbo GT arrived, followed by a Spyder RS. By the time the Z showed up, our garage looked very different from the one I’d originally planned for.

The NISMO’s Performance and Ride-Comfort Trade-Off

The Fairlady Z NISMO is certainly agile and capable. But as I’ve written in previous posts, its ride quality left me with mixed feelings. The tires roll smoothly, and the suspension’s initial response feels supple, but there was one decisive drawback.

It was the damping.

The shocks couldn’t settle the car after a single bump. In character, the NISMO is almost the opposite of a car with suspension that lets the wheels move freely and absorb the road. The Spyder RS, for example, has very stiff springs, yet its suspension moves confidently up and down, soaking up bumps with remarkable composure. Even on rough pavement, it seems to deal with the jolts almost magically.

By contrast, the NISMO doesn’t fully absorb bumps, and it has a pronounced bouncing motion. That vertical movement makes the car’s weight shifts feel less settled, with noticeable changes in balance as the load comes on and off the tires. Compared with a Cayman in a similar price bracket, the difference isn’t necessarily about outright performance so much as feel—and the sheer pleasure of driving.

That said, there’s real satisfaction in taming the car’s character and pushing it on. On a tour of Shikoku, I discovered a kind of fun that’s entirely different from what a Porsche offers. With its short gearing, the Z is engaging in second and third, and its powerful engine makes for a particularly appealing combination on rural Japanese roads.

A Comfortable Cabin, but a Specialized Role

For a sports car, the NISMO’s cabin is exceptionally good.

The seats are comfortable, the climate control works effectively, and the infotainment system is well equipped. In these areas, it has clear advantages over a Porsche.

Although the ride is bouncy and uncomfortable, the suspension itself feels soft. That unusual combination is part of why the car can still be comfortable in some ways. If you have a separate family car and are considering the Fairlady Z NISMO as a second car, this character is quite manageable.

But it’s a different story if you expect one car to do everything. For everyday trips like commuting or grocery runs, the ride is simply too harsh—or, more accurately, too bouncy, rather than stiff. When you think of the car purely as transportation, that poor ride quality becomes a major drawback. If you need one car to cover all your needs, I think a regular Fairlady Z trim is a better fit than the NISMO.

Why the Z NISMO Didn’t Fit Our Garage

The biggest reason I decided to sell was that the Z competed with the other cars in our garage.

If I’d stuck with my original plan and bought a Version T, it might have had a distinct enough personality to complement our other cars, including the Spyder RS, 981, and Taycan Turbo GT.

But by choosing the high-performance NISMO, I ended up with a car whose character overlapped with our existing Porsches. When a car is fast but uncomfortable, it’s hard not to reach for one of the others instead. As a result, the Z saw less and less use.

There’s no denying its visual appeal. Wherever I went, older guys would stop to talk to me, and the car drew plenty of attention on the road. As a car that makes you feel proud to own it, the Fairlady Z is fantastic.

I still think the Fairlady Z is an excellent car. It was this particular trim—the NISMO—that didn’t suit the mix of cars we have at home. The overlap with our other cars was simply too great, and that was the main reason I decided to sell. If I ever buy another Fairlady Z, I’d choose a version other than the NISMO.

I hope this firsthand experience helps anyone considering buying a Fairlady Z.