2017 Nissan GT-R

Godzilla’s back.

- Jason Cammisa

For its ninth model year, the GT-R has been revised to make it a kinder, gentler Godzilla. The new interior is “a step up,” Loh said. “Screens are bigger and have crisper graphics, and materials are nicer. But it’s a pretty mild step up, one that doesn’t take the GT-R a level beyond.”

Other changes were far more noticeable. The carryover six speed dual-clutch transmission wasn’t perfectly silent, but it didn’t make the constant gear-gnashing racket earlier cars did. Additional sound-deadening measures and a softer suspension conspired to make this a much more livable monster. “If there’s one thing the GT-R has lacked since its debut, its refinement,” Walton said. “This one didn’t crash on its suspension, knocking fillings lose, and the driveline and diffs weren’t always whining and clunking away. This GT-R displayed a fluidity the old ones didn’t.”