Nissan 370Z vs. BMW 135i, Mazda RX-8 R3, and Pontiac Solstice GXP - CAR and DRIVER 

228i, and that’s really all lol

BMW M2 still exists fortunatly

@@gilbertosantos2806 And we are blessed to have it

The Rx8 is still around

looking forward to get a manual one. any guide to what to get and what model year? btw i don’t really care about tech and display and stuff. would appreciate an answer tho!

the solstice is the only one out of production.

CJSchecter96 No, neither the Mazda nor the BMW are in production either. The Solstice is the only one whose parent company no longer exists, the other two are out of production for various other reasons.

you are so wrong man. theres still a 3 series and 5 series not just even numbers. the price gap from a 3 series to 6 would be insane.

Michael Sclafani No you daft idiot 2 and 4 series are brand new cars.

and out of these 4 cars - one's engine no longer exists, one's brand no longer exists, one got a new name, and yet one is still for sale.

I still have this magazine article same lol

bibbybeats what was that reason they stop making them? I'm curious to hear your answer.

40rty replacing it with the 2 series and they are bringing the 1 series back, but as a hatchback.

you sure do. you are suddenly in the low 4s and whoop m3s in street races

camirocz and a tune to the Kappa(Solstice) and you are looking at over 300whp on the stock turbo.

Add a jb4 tune on the 135i for $500 and it adds an extra 100HP

40rtyp yup.. put 1" lower springs and it'll hang in the curves with any of these cars...

Add a turbo or two on the rx8 and you have the best combinaison of power and handling

Meanwhile Nissan might be heading the way of the dodo real soon

@@CirocObama.94 That's why I bought a 370Z sport coupe 6M in 2019, not being sure what Nissan had planned for the car or if there would even be one.

its a car made for fun, if you want storage and rear seats, get a g37 coupe instead.

+ndk2k4 but I drove one to a golf range... And couldn't fit my clubs in the back :(

You should get a mini van

Firstly the appearance of these cars is subjective to opinion id argue that 90% would disagree with you. Secondly the 370z is an excellent almost flawless sports car with nearly no draw backs, it matches style, drama, aggression, control and power in one finely put together vehicle. The Pontiac on the other hand is a terrible car, much like the Chrysler crossfire it's badly made, brash and uncouth as well as poor to drive. Whenever entry level sports cars are compared only American reviewers include domestic vehicles, by the rest of the world's standards they don't compete enough to be even mentioned. All 3 of those cars are considerably better cars that the Pontiac. Fact.

You lost a lot of credibility after comparing the Solstice to the Crossfire. You can do better, come on.Now, I have owned an RX8 and still own a GXP Coupe. Out of the box, the Solstice handles nearly as good as the RX8. Initial turn in is better, but it's not as balanced through the turn. With minor mods that cost less than $1k. (brace package, ECM tune, brake pads, rotors) the Solstice is by far and away the best on this list. It's amazing how well the car responds to suspension mods and a tune. Tuning the ECM; power jumps from 290hp/290ft-lbs to 330hp/350ft-lbs 0-60 drops into the high 4s . Later grip improves to over 1g and it really comes alive. If you have been to a track day or autocross you'll see that the GXP is one of the top cars. The BMW is just "some car". I'm not really into sleepers and I'm sure it's a good car, but I want something that isn't going to get lost in the parking lot. As for the 370z. It's a love-hate car for sure. I've thought about buying one as they are pretty good cars. For me; they are too heavy, too expensive for what you get as far as an interior, very hard suspension, questionable appearance with the slanted back roofline and fat rear end. It just isn't for me. It just doesn't feel like a "special" car. Something I'd get excited about driving every day. It lacks that x factor that my RX8 had and the Solstice has in spades.

Dave Checkley How are you going to say such things without driving the car? You're digging in your ass too hard. 370z is overweight. Nissan's engineer that started the Z line in the 70's even apologized for the 350z being a complete 180 in the lineage. 370z followed suit. 370z's are driven by people that like to trade spouses at parties -Jeremy Clarkson lol

40rtyp Its irrelevant what type of people buy 350/370z, its the best drivers car and that's the end of it. for the record the only one I haven't driven is the hideous Pontiac.

Dave Checkley funny Ive driven the 370z. You could feel the weight in turns lumbering from one point to another. You haven't driven the Solstice so your points are invalid. Way to make shit up, spoken like a true douchbagel.

Yeah, you'd expect better sound editing from C&D.

😂😂😂😂😂I agree

Me when I lie:

+OutlawUniverse Same thing with any car, went from non competitive in local scca events to top 3 after switching to 615k's.

what were the original tire make and model and sizes that came on it...i am curious.

Renaldo Nelson I don't remember. Goodyear of some sort. They looked fine but they didn't work at all. OH and they were expensive. Soon as I got my car I shredded a tire and it was $300 to replace. But it wasn't the same with any other car. This was by far the worst I have ever experienced. The 2006 model didn't have traction control. Didn't have much power either but the 2006 guys were putting these things into gaurd rails like nothing and swear they were just driving normal. Just to put the final nail in the coffin... I had mine in cruise control on a drizzly day. Not raining but the roads were wet. Doing about 60 and the car was spinning the tires. And in contrast to that when I first put on falkens and did a tune and exhaust I was tearing down the highway at 140mph in the same sort of condition with no problem.

pretty sure they were good year rs-a

Yeah GOODYEAR EAGLE RSA were the OEM tires on most Pontiac G8's so i wouldnt be surprised if that is the same tire for the solstice. Everyone i've ever read a review from HATES to goodyear eagle RSA's

I originally wanted to get a Z4 but wound up getting a 370Z sport coupe 6M, a great car.

The solstice and the Saturn sky redline is the same car....same everything besides body style. Lol both are made by Gm , same chase , same motor, same parts!!!! Why would they do both???

Because it's related to the Solstice and both of those cars are driven by hairdressers and cougars

@@pontiacGXPfan I put 40 feet of rubber down with my Sol GXP last week. in 1st. Only 5 in second.

@@bbb462cid exceptions to the rule

@@pontiacGXPfan My first Sol GXP was faster, lol

everybody has their favourite but the numbers dont lie. nissan kicked everybodies ass. like it or not.

$hotty AR Correct, a simple tune whether the factory Stage 1(290hp 340trq) or aftermarket tune 300+hp 350+ trq and the Nissan 370z wouldn't be able to keep up. as "Jeremy Clarkson said 370Z's are driven by those that swap spouses at parties"

40rtyp yet still. The 370 IS used by Chris Fosberg to win the D1 drift world championship 3time back to back to back. A simple tune you said? You joking? Right? The 370 z takes and responds to tunning better than any bmw. Somehow you seem to be the only person who does not know this. What planet are you from?

40rtyp yet still. The 370 IS used by Chris Fosberg to win the D1 drift world championship 3time back to back to back. A simple tune you said? You joking? Right? The 370 z takes and responds to tunning better than any bmw. Somehow you seem to be the only person who does not know this. What planet are you from?

Trevon Adams a stock 370z. Yes. Consider that same amount of money on the z. Where is your gxp now? Choking on the dust. Smh.

yea bro its a beast for price

We had a 1972 GT6… fun little car! Very good handling for its time too

I have a 2019 370Z sport coupe and yes the visibility is restricted. However, the road noise is actually tire noise to a great extent. The OEM Bridgestone Potenza tires were pretty quiet and the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires that I put on later are even quieter.

A Solstice (ragtop) starts at about $7k, and 2 years ago when I wrote that I had no idea how expensive RX-8s were, after owning one, I can attest to their thriftiness, You can get a working RX-8 for $5000 or one with a million misfires and low compression for $3000, a rebuild on the broken one will get you back up to $5500. Now, you might be right about the Solstice being cheaper longterm, but you probably wont see the RX-8 catch up for about 2 years.

Not so sure about insurance, but for consumables like gas and oil, yes the RX-8 consumes more, remember though that with the car being much cheaper than the solstice, the total buy-in can be cheaper depending on how long you keep the car.

In some markets, maybe. The average price where I live for the Kappa cars is about double that of the Rexys. I'm just saying if given the option in my market, it would make more sense to go with the Mazda. That's all I'm saying.

Riley I hope you can now see your ignorance from 3yrs ago. American cars are dominating the track.