Keeping the engine on a boil shouldn’t be a problem either as the base car comes with a basic manual transmission, the enthusiast’s choice and a solid if unspectacular gearbox. Clutch weight is moderate (I survived a long rush-hour commute without my foot cramping up) without feeling flimsy. The shifter is short with a leather-wrapped knob that offered good grip and the throws were suitably short and gates easy to find, though the gates felt a little cushioned and soft for my tastes. Overall, it’s an easy transmission to use, with good pedal spacing for heel-toe downshifting, and offers a direct, visceral connection to the power source.

Touring trim cars ($39,998) and above add Nissan’s trick rev-matching on manual transmissions, which to me would take away part of the joy of this transmission and mastering the art of the heel-toe downshift. Touring trim also includes a viscous limited slip differential that would help balance out power distribution between the rear wheels. I found little need for it on public roads in the moderate conditions we saw during our test, but it would be welcome for anyone putting it to track use, and in winter months when rain, cold and snow will inevitably lead to some loss of traction, even with the best winter tires.

Throttle response was a bit slow for my tastes (another reason I rarely felt the need for the differential), and I kept looking (hoping) for a Sport mode button that would sharpen that up and put more of that power on tap from early on. Gearing was generally acceptable and nowhere near as frustratingly long as a V6 Mustang we sampled recently, a car whose price and mission the Z has in its sights. As we had those two and others out for a comparison that we will soon publish, I won’t comment on how they stack up, but it highlighted the similarities as much as the differences between these rear-drive sports cars.

As mentioned, getting power down to the ground through the rear wheels posed no problems in our warm, mild week, and the substantial 18-inch wheels with 225/50R18 Yokohama Advan Sport tires. Tires are definitely one area where Nissan didn’t skimp to hit that magical $30K price. They’re plenty sticky, but add to the cabin noise when cruising, so the four-speaker radio was a bit challenged overcoming tire, wind and engine noise.

The combination of sticky tires and 320-mm vented disc brakes made for very good stopping, and it’s only at the $47,998 Nismo model that we see big 356-mm front discs and 350-mm rear brakes with aluminum calipers, four-pistons in front and two in the rear. Front and rear stabilizer bars and front strut tower brace keep the car planted in directional changes, though perhaps not as much as you’d expect for a car this low, but there was a bit of nose dive evident under hard braking and a bit more roll in the corners that the Nismo setup would no doubt alleviate.

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