| Inside, the 240SX is human engineering at its best. | |
| Maneuverability is excellent, the 240SX being able to hang a U-turn in a
mere 30.8 ft, tighter than the Honda Prelude with 4-wheel steering. And a full 7 degrees
of caster in the conventional MacPherson strut front suspension gives good on-center feel.
Nissan's new multilink rear suspension. which you'll also be seeing on the all-new 300ZX this spring and other future reardrive and all-wheel-drive offerings, gets most of the credit for the 240SX's phenomenal road manners. The 4-link suspension (actually a lower A-arm and three upper links) does a superb job of optimizing rear-wheel camber, keeping the outside rear wheel vertical to the road surface during hard cornering. The lower A-arm is diagonally mounted, its fore and aft axial displacement checked by a rear-mounted lateral link to provide stable toe- in attitude when lateral (cornering) or longitudinal (braking) force is applied. The upper two links have an outer pivot axis outboard of the wheel, thus forming an imaginary downward-canted k . gpin axis that induces stabilizing toe-in on deceleration because of rear-wheel or engine braking. Lift offthe throttle in the middle of a high-g turn and the 240SX quietly tightens its line. without any of the trailing-throttle oversteer hyperventilating (the driver's) common with semitrailing-arm rear suspensions. Nissan's new multilink is a suspension a trackwise enthusiast can play clip-the-apexes with, yet so benign that a junior insurance underwriter isn't likely to get in trouble, no matter how hard he or she tries. Inside, the 240SX is human engineenng at its best. No frills. Just wonderfully integrated form following function. The dash is rounded to match the car's exterior and seems to flow into the center console and molded door panels. The large-dial analog gauges housed therein are attractive and easy to read. Materials are topnotch. |
Switches have a tactile feel about them. All controls are easy to reach
and use without taking one's mind off the task at hand-spirited driving. There's a real
dead-pedal, and the accelerator and brake are suitable for heel-and- toeing. The steering
wheel and shifter are leather-covered, of course. If there's one interior item that takes
some getting used to (besides the motonzed front shoulder belts now found on many Japanese
and Ford Motor Co cars), it's the mono-form seats. On first blush, the seamless fabric
gives a J.C. Whitney-terry cloth seat-cover look. Nissan bonds the seat fabric directly to
the molded foam, making an exceptional grippy support for exploring the capabilities of
the suspension. Most R&T staffers were able to get comfortable behind the wheel,
although provisions for seat-cushion rake and height would be a welcome addition. And as
with most 2 + 2 GTs, the rear seat is for children or small animals only. Aside from the rear suspension, the 240SX will offer another first. Available as an option on the coupe version only is a digital head-up speedometer display - the first import so equipped. Sure, the 240SX is space-inefficient. And maybe compared to a gaggle of torque- steering, turbo-lagged front-drive sports/ GT pretenders, the new Nissan is a bit on the heavy side. But the 240SX is balanced and fun to drive in a fashion only rearwheel-driven cars provide. It takes to twisty roads like macaroni to Tupperware, and, "Hello, good-hands people," is as easy to insure as your father's Oldsmobile. Above all, Nissan's new popular-priced sports/GT is worthy of the 240 designation. Now, if Nissan has a few more at home as delicious as this one, they might just pull off The Big Comeback - we reckon. |
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