Who says we don't treat our 4Seasons test cars with loving care? Our Nissan GT-R was recently treated to a hand wash by executive editor Joe DeMatio.
"Hand-washing the GT-R was very satisfying," he says, "and it allows you to notice again some of the interesting shapes at work here: the convex horizontal crease in the C-pillars, the indented round taillamps, the intricate layering of materials in the front air dam, the air vents in the hood, the way the rear wing integrates (not so well) into the trunk lid-it's hard to get your chamois in there."
Although DeMatio developed a deeper appreciation for the Nissan's styling, he also identified a hesitation when accelerating quickly away from a stop with the transmission in manual mode. Online editor Phil Floraday had a similar complaint:
"Last night I was driving down a street with a series of stop signs spaced one block apart. Each one was a hit-it-and-then-wait-a-moment-for-acceleration-to-happen situation. Okay, so the GT-R wasn't designed with stop-and-go driving as a top priority, but for this kind of money it should work well in all situations."
The GT-R's turbocharged engine and its automated manual transmission are two major elements that give the car its high-tech character. The adjustable damping is another one; unfortunately, the condition of the roads in Michigan is so bad that we're nearly always selecting the softest setting. What's annoying, though, is that we have to make the selection every time we start the car. "I can understand the car not retaining the stiffer, R settings after engine shut-down," remarked one driver, "but it seems to me that it should be able to default to the softer setting if the owner chooses. Everything else is so highly customizable."
Continuing on the subject of technology, it's a little surprising that a high-tech machine like the GT-R has fairly rudimentary headlights. We really don't mind having to switch on the headlights ourselves (there's no automatic function), but active headlights are conspicuous by their absence and would be welcome in such a fast car.
Even without them, the GT-R still fairly bristles with complex technology, so we're always happy to have a routine dealer service visit. And that's exactly what we got at 14,562 miles, when the GT-R went in for an oil and filter change.
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