Nuts & Bolts
2009 Nissan GT-R
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Complaint: The Nissan GT-R is a situation piece. If you are situated well with cash and time, it is a wonderful toy. If you lack one of those things, the car makes no sense. It is best enjoyed at the track.
Ride, acceleration and handling: Superior in all three categories. It is the fastest car most of us will ever have a chance to drive. It's an easily addictive ride.
Body style/layout: The transmission is in the rear, which is unusual for an all-wheel-drive car. Although all-wheel-drive, the power bias is with the rear wheels. Up to 50 percent of that power can be shifted to front wheels via a center differential. It's a coupe with 2+2 seating.
Head-turning quotient: Exterior styling is ugly. But the interior is attractive, high-tech, a pleasant mixture of leather and electronic gadgetry.
Engine/transmission: The GT-R comes with a hand-built, twin-turbocharged, 3.8-liter, 24-valve V-6 that develops (officially) 480 horsepower at 6,400 revolutions per minute and 430 foot-pounds of torque at 3,200 revolutions per minute. The engine is mated to a six-speed transmission that can be shifted automatically or manually.
Capacities: There are comfortable seats for driver and front passenger. The two rear seats offer inadequate space for most adults. Luggage space is 9 cubic feet. Fuel capacity is 19.5 gallons of recommended premium unleaded gasoline. It makes sense, in this case, to follow the factory's fuel recommendation.
Mileage: Mileage is low -- an average 15 miles per gallon in city driving and barely 20 on the highway. But the people who are buying this car are not looking for fuel economy.
Safety: Standard equipment includes front and rear ventilated disc brakes with antilock assistance; electronic brake force distribution; electronic stability and traction control, rigid body construction.
Price: The base priced on the 2009 Nissan GT-R Premium (as opposed to the available GT-R Base) is $71,900. Dealer's invoice price on that model is $67,672. Price as tested is $72,900, including a $1,000 transportation charge. Dealer's price as tested is $68,672. This is a high-demand, limited edition car. Expect to pay a substantial premium even in the currently troubled economic environment. List prices are sourced from Nissan and Edmunds.com.
Purse-strings note: This is the car as toy. Those who have the money and time to play with it will enjoy. For the rest of us . . . stay tuned.
