Autoweek's Take on the Automatic
 

I wasn't there so I can't say for sure, but it seems like they wrote that article w/o even driving the car. I've never heard anyone call the shifting speed on this tranny "slow" before. The spec puts the shift speed almost 1/2 second faster than the 350Z.

You know its gonna be a fair and objective review when they start throwing around the words "sad" and "boring" before they even drive it :p

Horrible reviews by both guys. The shifting IMO is slow only in gears 5, 6, and 7...which are meant to be cruising gears, anyway. Depending on the acceleration and engine speed of the car, downshifts and upshifts in gears 1-5 can be very fast, as fast as the SMG trans. in my old 2003 BMW M3.

The cool thing about the auto, as many seem not to mention, is that even in manual mode, 1) your rate of acceleration and 2) engine speed at which you choose to downshift...both determine the speed of the shifts. Higher acceleration and engine speed at which you choose to downshift means faster shifting, and vice versa.

Understand the nuances before bashing the transmission, people!

Very often they fail to mention the rev matching for downshifts just like the manual. The auto in these cars is fast and tight enough to be considered even harsh as far as I am concerned. All in a good way, but slow, boring, or weak? I think not! It's a matter of choice and for some of us necessity. That said this guy may have gotten passed by someone shifting a manual but to blame that on the trans. is a sad cover for his own lacking skill or intestinal fortitude. I would put my 7AT against a M6 anytime. On a road track the minor MINOR losses would come out in the driving. These guys are more like MotorWeak than week.....

Like or hate an auto that review was pathetic. It was more an opinion VS any real input or fact. The whole 6MT VS 7AT is pretty stupid since both provide "fun" it is more preference than anything else.

In the end the only thing that matters is what the driver thinks. I am amazed that any writer would post up an article like this one though. I understand how some people find automatics boring, I completely get that however, the way this article was presented is terrible. I hope the writer doesn't get paid to actually write articles if so...they need to hire someone who knows what they are talking about.

:iagree: I have a 6MT, but have driven the 7AT and was really impressed. If the Blue coupe that showed up at my dealer the night before I did the deal was an automatic, I'd own that one instead of what I have...No downsides there that I can see..

there's no chance of the dual clutch in a stock Z...lol
Nissan would never do that b/c the price would shoot up through the roof..
and a CVT for a Z... c'mon now

Yeah, careful what you wish for! I've driven DSG's in Audi's and VW's and they snap off nice shifts, but they are not a quantum leap above what the stock 7AT does now. Factor in the incredible complexity of these systems and I'm not sure they're the answer. While they've been pretty reliable with the Audi guys, there aren't enough out there with high miles at this point to really make me feel warm and fuzzy. The repairs that have been needed (aside from the recalls) have been big $$$ usually requiring transmission removal to fix..