Our long-term Nissan GT-R and I enter Colorado on Interstate 70, but quickly divert to U.S. 24 and I-25. We're headed to Walsenburg, south of Pueblo. We'll cross the state via the southern east-west highway, U.S. 160, which, judging by my atlas, looks like it has its share of twists, turns and elevation changes. Later, I have second thoughts and wish I'd picked twistier U.S. 50, but with a motel booked in Cortez for the evening, we have to press on.
The GT-R isn't the least bit concerned about the road selection. It loves the cooler mountain air, doesn't seem to mind that I gave it 91 octane in Colorado Springs, and is barely fazed by the altitude. We drop as low as 4,700 feet in Pueblo, but mostly we're traveling at 6,000-7,000 feet, and it still feels fast. I love the sound of the turbos -- I don't remember them having as prominent a role in the soundtrack of the pre-production silver car I drove a couple months back.
Ride quality takes a turn for the crappy, though, as I-25 is pretty ugly through Pueblo.
I would cautiously recommend U.S. 160 as a good driving road.
The mountainscape scenery is superb and there's an excellent series of high-speed turns through the Rio Grande National Forest. At a moderate pace during a light thunderstorm, the GT-R exhibits almost no body roll, delights its driver with authoritative, rev-matched downshifts and outruns every other motorized vehicle on the road without breaking a sweat.
This national forest does include the headwaters of the Rio Grande River, by the way. And after the GT-R takes a peek into the valley, I do the same.
But the 160 also goes through a lot of small towns, nearly all of which drop the speed limit down to 35 mph. Combine that with a healthy population of vacationers towing trailers, and the pace can be infuriatingly slow when you're driving something like a GT-R. The upside is that it ends up averaging 20 mpg the whole time we're in Colorado. Still, next time I'll be taking U.S. 50.
One thing I've forgotten to mention yet is that the GT-R notified me it was ready for its first service at 1,030 miles. I later learned that this service is only required if you've been driving it on a racetrack, so after consultation with the crew back in Santa Monica, we opt to wait until I'm back in LA.
For good measure, I manually check the oil at 1,782 miles (though the car automatically does a self-evaluation at each startup) and find the dipstick right at the front of the engine bay. Nice. And I don't need to add any oil right now.
Although my backpack is riding up front with me, the cockpit remains comfortable and it hasn't yet begun to stink of fast food. I've been sitting in the seats for hours on end, and they're fine, too. Even the cupholders are adequate. In short, the 2009 Nissan GT-R is not a one-dimensional performance car.
Tomorrow we'll take Highway 145 to Telluride.
Erin Riches, Inside Line Senior Editor @ 2,144 miles
ctsantafe says:
03:49 PM, 08/ 8/08
Sounds like a nice trip thru Colorado, so far. I used to live in Denver so I can remember some of the roads you've mentioned. Route 50 would have taken you over Monarch Pass and later past Black Canyon of Gunnison. Since you took 160, you must have driven over Wolf Creek Pass and then thru downtown Pagosa Springs. After "Too Hell you ride", one possiblity might be continuing north on 145 and then taking 141 shortly after Redvale. I've not taken 141 but it does go over Slick Rock pass which looks somewhat twisty.
roomwithaview says:
04:03 PM, 08/ 8/08
Nice photos! Sounds like a great trip.
"...and is barely phased by the altitude." -- That's "fazed," right? ;)
Erin Riches says:
04:07 PM, 08/ 8/08
Oops. Let me do a correction.
7driver says:
04:31 PM, 08/ 8/08
Every time I see the passenger side profile on the GT-R, I always think "There goes car number seven" (the chromed vent behind the front fender looks like that numeral to me)
ewilfong says:
07:26 PM, 08/ 8/08
That is a nice looking engine, beautiful almost. And the mountain scenery's great, too!
dougtheeng says:
07:38 PM, 08/ 8/08
R8 or GT-R as a road tripper. I'm starting to think I'd take the GT-R.
billt9 says:
09:22 PM, 08/ 8/08
The front looks uglier by the day.
The back looks great.
speeder31 says:
10:22 PM, 08/ 8/08
What's up with the hood hold rod--with all the cash owners drop on this ride, you'd think they could toss in a high-pressure strut or two...
arm51 says:
06:21 AM, 08/ 9/08
I agree with speeder31, there are sub $30k cars without a hood hold rod, why did Nissan put one on the GT-R? I think the third picture makes the front end look a lot better than it used to. For some reason seeing the distinction between the bumper and the grill looks better to me. Also, as mentioned earlier, the engine bay is really nice, no silly engine covers here!
lime679 says:
08:13 AM, 08/ 9/08
I absolutely love the side profile of this car. I think it is the best way to view it. Looks like an architectural masterpiece.
billt9 says:
10:36 AM, 08/10/08
All Toyota Camrys have struts for the hood.
Are you saying you want to lump the GT-R together with the Camry?
No, this is a high performance machine. Like race cars, they don't have struts for the hood.
louiswei says:
08:12 AM, 08/11/08
"The front looks uglier by the day.
The back looks great."
Couldn't agree more...
sgude says:
08:33 AM, 08/11/08
This car may drive great and is a performance legend, but its ugliness is eternal. The GTRs of the 80s and 90s were a lot better-looking than this creature.
Erin, you're doing a nice job. I appreciate it.
santiagofdz says:
11:36 AM, 08/11/08
The fourth pic from the bottom up is spectacular.
I envy you :)
ddoouugg says:
09:59 AM, 08/21/08
I was just in that part of teh country last week. I stayed only about 20 miles east of cortez. I did a lot of driving on US-160, although i don't think my dads I30t is as much fun as a GT-R