Nissan GT-R 2014 Review

If you want to experience the effect of being fired out of a cannon, without the scolded rear-end, may we suggest a run to 100km/h in a Nissan GT-R?

You’ve heard it all before so I won’t go into details, but under full acceleration you can forgive its chuntering differentials and industrial-sounding engine and driveline almost anything. It leaves you breathless, giggling and slightly perplexed at how such ferociousness can be legal. And it’s all over in 2.7 seconds.

A revolution in 2009, Nissan has spent the last five years refining its GT-R sports car, ironing out many of the original’s weaknesses, just as it said it would.

Today, there’s more power from the 3.8-litre twin-turbocharged petrol V6 (now 404kW compared to 357kW, with 628Nm versus 588Nm torque), improved economy (11.7L/100km on the combined cycle against 12.4L/100km), improved NVH and enhanced standard equipment (sat-nav, reversing camera, keyless entry and go, electronically-controlled damper settings which allow some ride comfort being the highlights) for your $172,000 -- an increase of $12,200 over the original Premium specification.

The Nissan GT-R Premium tested here also includes the luxury trim specification, which adds hand-stitched, semi-aniline leather bolstered front seats with matching rear trim, ‘luxury’ two-tone trim to the dashboard, console and doors, and a two-tone leather steering wheel and gear shifter.

The luxury pack builds on a competitive standard equipment list, which includes heated and electrically-adjustable front seats, aluminium pedals, carbon-fibre centre cluster, 11-speaker BOSE surround sound system, seven-inch colour touch-screen, LED DRLs, 20-inch RAYS forged aluminium wheels with specific (deep breath) Dunlop SP Sport Maxx GT 600 DSST CIT run-flat tyres and auto headlights with washers.

Of course, it’s in the hardware where the GT-R impresses most. The legendary ATESSA all-wheel drive system incorporates the six-speed dual-clutch transmission, transfer case and rear differential on the back axle, with power fed to the front via a carbon-composite prop shaft.

 A 1.5-way limited-slip centre differential can deploy up to 50 per cent drive to the front axle or 100 per cent to the rear, depending on what the yaw and traction sensors read.

Massive 390mm front, 380mm rear, two-piece Brembo rotors harness the GT-R’s enormous energy, and are clamped by six-piston and four-piston monobloc callipers respectively.

Of course, there are multiple settings for the Vehicle Dynamic Control system, accessed via one of three rocker-mounted switches on the centre console. Three modes – Normal, R(ace) and Off – progressively reduce the electronic aids to zilch.

There are also Normal and R modes for the transmission control, accompanied by a ‘Save’ mode, ‘for long distance high speed driving’; essentially, it modulates throttle response. The final toggle adjusts the Bilstein damping system through Comfort, Normal and R modes.

Putting all this hardware into action in urban streets is, initially, a little disconcerting. That’s not helped by the sheer external width of the GT-R, which immediately gives off its best 1980s Lamborghini impression of being wider in the hips than in the front. For all that size, though, front occupants sit surprisingly close together.

The dual-clutch gearbox feels at least a generation older than the units found in Porsches and BMWs, clunking into gear and sounding laboured as drive is taken up, a feeling exacerbated by those tight differentials edging into action whenever any steering lock is applied. It also misses a gear in comparison, sporting six when rivals boast seven.

Noise suppression, never a GT-R strength, is superior to earlier iterations, however, the combination of run-flat tyre roar and sheer mechanical noise sees the Nissan lagging behind European rivals.

Thankfully the Bose sound system is capable of overpowering such interruptions, and the comfort damping mode actually provides a semblance of decent ride, especially compared to earlier examples. In the context of largely German GT cars, however, the GT-R’s refinement level remains trailing.

For all of the techno-gadgetry and inevitable Gran Turismo game references, to drive the GT-R properly is actually far more challenging than you may think. It’s a busy car that takes time to learn, but at the same time doesn’t respond to tentative, feel-out inputs.

At first, the steering feels heavy and inaccurate, the front-end failing to scythe in response to an input, the rear disconnected as it lags behind. It’s a common trait of large, low-profile run-flats – 255/40/20 up-front, 285/35/20 rear – but the chassis also feels aloof.

Build confidence, however, and the GT-R starts to make sense. Tremendously.

With some heat in the tyres, brakes, engine and gearbox (the latter two easier to monitor via the driver-selectable custom digital gauges, which can be displayed on the central screen), an understanding that the grip will be there allows a more positive grab for the apex, pushing through that initial wariness into a rich vein of lateral g-force.

Suddenly the GT-R comes alive, the tricky differentials working tirelessly to distribute torque to aid braking, turn-in (drive heading rearwards to reduce understeer) and power-down, where you can feel the drive shifting around to maximise traction.

It’s at this point, the big Nissan poised on power-oversteer before the front diff chimes in, that the Nissan becomes revelatory, though it never feels less than its width.

Also betraying its high weight is the effectiveness of the brakes. Feelsome enough to left-foot brake without standing the thing on its nose, the Brembo system is also highly resistant to fade, even after repeated back-road punishment on some traffic-free tarmac near Lake Eildon.

Make no mistake; the chassis harnesses the almighty bite of the turbo-six, which becomes overlaid with turbo boost as you explore the area beyond 4000rpm, though there’s still more than enough below that figure to render any local lad in his V8 Commodore powerless at the lights.

Stretch the right foot too much, however, and 98-octane consumption, after sitting at 13.7L/100km on the highway, saddles up to 21L/100km.

As the week wears on, I am in two minds about the GT-R. On the road, its ferocious punch and tenacious grip are addictive, but can only be accessed for such short periods. The rest of the time you have to live with the slow-speed aloofness, fuel bills and lack of refinement.

There’s no doubting its road presence, as several neck-craners will attest, but is that enough to tempt you? The GT-R remains delightfully flawed as a road-car, but I now understand why it’s a perennial Targa Tasmania contender.

Also Consider: Audi RS 5, BMW M4, Porsche 911 Carrera 4