2025 Nissan Z review
The Z car has been part of the Nissan lineup for more than 50 years, and while there have been significant changes over those decades, the Z has remained true to its roots as an affordable, powerful two-seat sports car. With proper sports car proportions, the Z features modern styling with a number of design elements paying homage to its storied past. The Z’s cabin has a high-tech, purposeful vibe with a digital gauge cluster and a large infotainment display, and the sport seats are supportive and comfortable. One of the few sport coupes available with a manual gearbox, the Z boasts a powerful V6 engine driving the rear wheels in proper sports car fashion.
Explore the evolution of the Nissan Z
Get our expert take on used Nissan Ariya models, or view year-by-year changes.
Seventh generation Nissan Z
When the new Nissan Z arrived in 2023, it ended a three-year hiatus for this popular sports car. Nissan dropped the numerical part of the historic badge, sticking simply with Z for this generation. But it nods to those past versions with styling cues, looking every part the Nissan Z with a long, sculpted hood, sleek roof line, and bold fender flares framing the 19-inch alloy wheels. Its sporting intentions continued inside, where a mix of classic gauges and digital screens featuring Android Auto™ and Apple CarPlay® give it modern convenience while paying homage to its past. The sport seats were stylish and supportive, although storage space was somewhat limited.
The seventh-generation Z came standard with a new 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 that sent 400 horsepower to the rear wheels—a substantial bump from the previous generation. Most importantly, a six-speed manual gearbox came standard. One year after the new Z arrived, Nissan upped its game with the addition of the higher-performance Nismo Z, sporting more power and improved handling; however, the only transmission choice was a nine-speed automatic.
Model highlights
Sporty new styling
More powerful V6 engine
Standard Apple CarPlay®/Android Auto™
High-performance Nismo edition (added in 2024)
New Heritage Edition (added in 2026)
Changes by year
Latest generation from 2023 - present
2026 Nissan Z
2025 Nissan Z
2024 Nissan Z
2023 Nissan Z
Perry Stern has been writing about cars for almost 30 years and has been an enthusiast for much longer than that. Contributing to multiple automotive publications, Perry drives almost every new car on the market, ranging from base-level Kias to exotic high-performance Lamborghinis. But his favorite is still the 2006 Mazda Miata parked in his garage.
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