By: Peter Gregorian
Photos By : Josh Coish & Midnightvisual
June 14, 2025
The 2025 Nissan Z Performance is many things: a callback to Nissan’s sports car heritage, and one of the most talked-about new sports cars for 2025. It is a bold answer to modern rivals like the Toyota GR Supra, and a statement on how performance need not be diluted with compromise. Over the course of a recent week with the 2025 Nissan Z Performance, thanks to Nissan Canada, we had the opportunity to put the Z through its paces both in the daylight and also past midnight, a reference to the infamous “Devil Z” from the manga Wangan Midnight, which was also painted in a similar blue to the Seiran Blue exterior on our test vehicle.
Styling is always a matter of taste, but Nissan has clearly aimed to strike an emotional chord. Love it or hate it, the retro cues are deliberate and well-executed. Looking beyond the square front grille, the Z’s fascia carries the appearance of something much more exotic while pulling elements from its heritage vehicles such as the LED headlights, which evoke the classic 240Z look, along with the squared-off tail lights and elongated hood profile. The result is a silhouette that blends past and present effortlessly. A win in our books.
What sets the Nissan Z Performance trim apart visually is its set of 19-inch forged Rays wheels. Not only do they elevate the appearance with a touch of motorsport credibility, but they also trim unsprung weight. This translates into better handling and a smoother ride over broken pavement. Visually and functionally, you also get a front chin spoiler and rear decklid spoiler for added aerodynamics, and aluminum sport pedals. With only a small number of units allocated for Canada in this trim and spec, it feels like you’re driving a piece of forbidden fruit. People notice. Enthusiasts nod in approval. Strangers ask questions.
At the heart of the Z Performance is the 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 (VR30DDTT), putting down 400 horsepower and 350 lb-ft. of torque. The power delivery is smooth, with a strong midrange and virtually no turbo lag. Mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox — yes, a real one — the experience is tactile and rewarding. The clutch is light, engagement is crisp, and the shifter has a satisfying notchiness that makes rowing through gears a joy.
The steering is another highlight. It offers genuine feedback and a weight that feels organic, not artificially boosted, so whether you’re carving back roads or slicing through on-ramps, the Z shockingly communicates in a way few modern cars still do. The Nismo-tuned exhaust sings a mechanical note that’s both refined and evocative, though longer drives do expose some in-cabin drone. Surely contributing to the driving prowess is the Performance model’s added mechanical limited-slip differential, larger front and rear brakes, and performance-tuned dampers, making the upgrade to the Performance a worthwhile expense.
If you’re looking for plush comfort and expansive storage, look elsewhere. It’s clear from the supportively bolstered, leather-appointed, heated seats with suede inserts that the Z’s cabin is designed for one purpose: driving. That means compromises on practicality, starting with a rear cargo capacity of just 241 litres along with a glovebox and center console that also offer very little in terms of usable space.
In the 2025 Nissan Z Performance, physical buttons control the essentials like traction control, auto rev-matching, and infotainment — a welcome touch in a world of distracting touchscreens. The centerpiece is the digital gauge cluster, which offers three distinct modes: Normal, Enhanced, and Sport. Sport mode proved to be the most useful, offering real-time performance data like engine oil temps and even rear differential fluid temps. It’s the kind of nerdy detail that driving purists will love.
Where the Z shows its age, or at least its priorities, is in the technology department. The 9-inch touchscreen is responsive, but the absence of wireless Android Auto is a letdown. The backup camera’s resolution is also laughably poor. On the flip side, Nissan has included some driver assistance nannies, including adaptive cruise control, which adds some practicality but, for a driver-focused car with a manual transmission, proves unusable in bumper-to-bumper traffic.
Not that anyone seriously considering the Nissan Z is asking, but in terms of efficiency, the Z Performance is rated at 13.4L/100km city, 10L/100km highway, and 11.9L/100km combined. Real-world results largely align with those numbers if you’re disciplined with your right foot. Of course, if you lean into the turbos too often, don’t expect Prius-like returns.
As of mid-2025, the Nissan Z Performance trim starts at $61,998 CAD, making it about $10,000 more than the base Sport model. That premium gets you the forged wheels, upgraded brakes, mechanical limited-slip differential, and enhanced cooling systems — features that aren’t just cosmetic. Compared to the Toyota GR Supra 3.0, which starts around $69,600, the Z Performance carves out a strong value proposition for those who value driving engagement and a manual gearbox.
The 2025 Nissan Z Performance review isn’t about numbers, spreadsheets, or top-spec gadgets. It’s about the emotional connection between car and driver. It celebrates a bygone era while staying just modern enough to live with. And in its Seiran Blue paint with a Super Black roof, it doesn’t just drive like a dream — it looks like one too. In a landscape of increasingly homogenized performance cars, the Z stands out as a rare breed: honest, analog, and unapologetically fun.
