The *REAL* official 370Z test drive thread

[r1ng3r]

First post here, registered today to fill this out! Yes, it's a novel, sorry. I've hidden humor in it as an enticement?

I'm newly military, going to OCS in Ft. Benning (I leave for basic tomorrow night and will be doing OCS in January...oooooo excitement!). The pay is good and I've been shopping around comparing sporty cars before I leave so I can make a purchase as soon as I'm able.

First, my driving experience: I've been in sports cars since I was 15 and purchased an '89 IROC-Z Camaro. At 17 I'd saved up and bought a '95 Cobra. I knew I couldn't keep anything for too long so I made sure it was something that wasn't going to lose value so I could get the money back (which I did, every penny). After that I put myself in a '98 Eclipse (absolute piece of junk). I'm proud to say that my vehicles have all been mine. Nobody bought anything for me, though I have recieved help with insurance.

I kept the eclipse out of necessity for my first two years of college and then used the extra money that I saved from my loans to lease an '07 Suzuki SX4 AWD. It's an absolutely fantastic every day vehicle and I was sad when I turned it back in today. I have had zero trouble with it, the suspension is good for a little spirited driving, and it's great in snow. Suzuki's rally experience really shone through. It didn't have much engine (just under 150hp) but the suspension was taught, the steering was great, and it was impossible to screw up in. It handled better than the Eclipse by a wide margin. Anybody who wants a good everyday vehicle that can be an real hoot on a gravel road should look at the car, it's an absolute steal and extremely useful in all conditions. Better value than what subaru offers and just as much rally cred (unless you're talking WRX versions).

I've participated in as much motorsport as I've been able to, going to autocross events as much as possible. I've spent time learning to drive fast on gravel (illegal, yes, but always done in totally deserted areas and without incident...and it looked pretty cool in the videos I made for a class in college!) I'm pretty decent, can heel/toe, and have never crashed. I've been in 6 accidents, none my fault. I got my ribcage crushed in a t-bone accident by a grandma in an F-150...that was not too fun. 1 speeding ticket, ever, and it was in the Camaro, nearly 10 years ago. I never got a ticket in the Cobra...something that I think is quite the achievement for having been 17/18 at the time. I'm from South Dakota, so I've had my licence since I was 14.

Since I've had experience with sporty cars and the ins and outs of handling a vehicle, I'm really particular in what I want from a car, and I know what to look for when I test something. I'm buying a base 370z with sport package. I've compared it to other things in my price range (WRX, RX-8, used C6 Vette, '10 Mustang, '10 Camaro) and I think it's the best buy.

The first thing I noticed while driving the car:

This thing feels like it's made out of a single block of metal. No exaggeration...the chassis has absolutely NO flex or give, the doors and hatch shut like they're made of granite, the whole thing feels like one piece with no welds. I really don't want 6 broken ribs again, and this car feels like it would do as good a job as any protecting me. Naturally a viagra-stiff structure bodes well for handling and keeping interior rattles to a minimum as the vehicle ages too It feels MORE solid than the Mustang, which has about 300 extra pounds of structure. The only thing that compared structurally was the RX-8. No chassis flex in that either...but due to the suicide door layout, it really doesn't feel very strong when you shut the doors. If I can feel the doors flex inward when I shut them, that's probably not a good sign for crash tolerance.

The interior goodieness:

It's great. It doesn't feel "uplevel" by any means. It doesn't feel luxurious. If you want to see a luxurious feeling interior in a vehicle in the same price range, check out the '10 Mustang. THAT cabin is absolutely plush. I'll put it this way: The new mustang's interior is like a well made fancy leather boot, extremely comfortable and coddling. The 370's interior reminded me of an expensive running shoe by comparison. No, it's not plush, it's not lined with chrome, it's not "cushy." However...which would you rather spend a day walking around in, a boot or an athletic shoe? The Z's interior is purposeful. It feels expensive for a completely different reason than the Mustang's: it's designed to do something specific. The seats hug you, the dials are well shielded from light, easy to read, and look high-tech.
I LIKE the weirdo gas gauge. I've never been in a car where the gas gauge was accurate....the depletion of the gauge is never linear, and that friggin needle means next to nothing. Little red dots provide less information than an analog gauge, sure...but when that analog gauge isn't accurate in the first place, who gives a crap? Let the dots get down to one dot and then fill it up. Easy, simple, and every bit as easy to read and reliable as an analog gauge.
As far as comfort goes...I found the vehicle extremely comfortable. The seats, though well bolstered, do not impede your shoulder movement and they provide excellent lateral support in base trim, at least for skinny little me. The driving position makes it very easy to see out of the front of the vehicle, unlike some other low riding sports cars where all you can see is hood.
The shifter is great, very crisp, and the clutch, while it took some getting used to because the engagement was on a completely different part of the travel than I'm used to, is light and very grabby, excellent for driving like you're not an 85 year old grandma in an f-150. Which you should all be doing. *glares*
Oh, almost forgot. Holy trunk space batman! I bet I could put at least 3 dead hookers back there if I bent them right. Much more space than I was expecting from a sports car. And if you need extra storage space, the passenger side seat pulls forward and there is a spot there that could easily absorb another dead hooker if she were maybe dismembered a little. Or a smallish suitcase or a good sized duffel bag.

Downsides to the interior:

Ok...yeah you can't really see out of the sides if you take a quick look over your shoulder. Those quarter windows look great but are a joke as far as visibility goes. However, and this is a big however...the mirrors are sized and placed such on the vehicle that I was able to completely eliminate all blind spots. I had the dealer walk around the vehicle after I repositioned the mirrors to my liking, and at no point did I lose sight of him. If I can see a skinny little nissan salesman, you can see a car in your "blind spot." Back out of parking lot spaces slowly (or just park that pretty sports car in the back of the lot and walk a quarter block to the store!) and you will be fine. Yeah, the rear window is a slit from the drivers seat, but it's a very wide slit (quit snickering) and when I use my rearview mirror I'm not trying to see the sky..I'm trying to see the road.
Oh yeah. The base radio sucks. The sound is slightly muddled and you can't hear much bass once the vehicle is moving due to the only other issue with the interior...it's noisy. There's a lot of tire noise, though no wind noise that I could detect. The wind noise is even muted with the windows down.
And synchrorev match is going in the negative section, because it worked flawlessly every single shift, smoother than I could ever hope to heel and toe, and it made me feel like an idiot. I loved it.

Exterior goodieness:

Um...it's hot.

Downsides to the exterior:

You might wind up dating somebody who just wants to ride around in your OooOoooOshiny.

Handling

Ok, I'll admit, I scared the crap out of the dealer who rode with me. But it's ok, because when we got back, he started raving to some of the other employees like a 40 year old mangirl. I didn't hurt it either, so if you're in Sioux Falls and you see a yellow 370z on the dealer lot...I promise there's nothing wrong with it due to me. The car HANDLES. It's tuned for understeer at the limit, which is good in a production vehicle with limits this high. The last thing you want is snap oversteer when the shoulder consists of trees or angry cattle. Grip was astounding. It gripped better than the C6 Vette I drove. If you want a bit of a safety net, the stability control is tuned such that you can have a little bit of fun before it slaps you on the wrist and calls your parents. The steering is extremely accurate and turn in is nearly as crisp as the RX-8...but the steering wheel is much higher effort. So, feel free to drive it with a cold, you won't sneeze yourself off the road.
At parking lot speeds (in a parking lot, no less), the wheel is a touch lighter, so you're not going to look like you're wrestling a bear pulling out of your driveway.
Basically, I was just extremely impressed with the handling. On high-speed sweepers (offramps....) small corrections in course result in a tiny bit of stutter from the rear end as it goes over small bumps and comes back in line with the front, due to those big clomping tires and the short wheelbase...but it's a sports car and that's good feedback.

As far as ride...due to the extremely stiff structure of the vehicle, the engineers seem to have been able to work out a no-compromises suspension tune. Since there's no chassis flex, they were able to calibrate things based entirely on the suspension itself and the end result is a vehicle that smoothed out the frost-heaved roads of south dakota with easy while still cornering almost completely flat, with almost no rearing or diving under acceleration.

Engine

It's a good engine. There's a little bit of vibration that comes up the shifter and there's a little bit of harshness to the sound when you get close to redline, but the power delivery is seamless. It's definitely putting out the advertised power. I've read the other reviews on here, and seen that people are commenting that it doesn't FEEL as fast as some other things even though it is. I know why. The reason is that the VQ has a very linear torque curve, so power delivery isn't nearly as peaky as you might get in a turbo motor, or even the V8 in a mustang. That's why this engine wins awards. It's just so freaking linear. The other factor is something I just mentioned: there's almost no rearing or diving under acceleration or braking. We're all used to a car squatting on the rear tires and lifting the front a touch when you hit the fun pedal....this car doesn't do that. That's due to the suspension tuning and the short wheelbase to width ratio.
It's not exactly a great sounding engine. It seems to have a strange electric sort of pitch to it, like some strange metallic synthesizer. The engine revs cleanly and without drama and the intake sounded like something from a videogame. It sounded like somebody took a sample of the engine at a certain RPM and then used a computer to raise and lower the pitch as it revved through the range. I suspect I'll be putting on a new intake.
The exhaust sounded nice though...but obviously that'll get replaced too, especially after having read about the near 20hp gain that can be had there.
Does it FEEL as fast as a new Mustang? No, it doesn't. The torque never gets as high as that engine, though the horsepower and torque under the curve is better...so it IS the faster car and more powerful engine. It's just sneaky about it.

That's about it I guess. The car outhandled the trackpack equipped mustang I drove, and accelerated better (though not by TOO much...they did an extremely good job with the new stang). It handled equally to the RX-8 and made it look like a ninny in the power department. It's not as fast as the vette or new camaro...but vettes are expensive and the camaro feels like you're piloting a drunk linebacker by pulling on his ears. And the WRX, while impressive in handling, userfulness, and power, was slightly behind in all performance categories and looks way too tame for me.

Spring next year, I'll be in a 370z. Now I just have to decide on a color. Why oh why don't they offer a nice metallic green?! I mean, come on, they gave the friggin thing FANGS. At least let me order it in green.

[Matt]

I've done hours and hours of reading, across the [seemingly] entire Internet, trying to absorb every possible piece of information available about the 2009 370z. I actually think I got pretty close to getting it all...

I've read the bad reviews. You know, the ones where people can't stand the Z. Whether they be BMW lovers or Camaro drivers, they nitpick about every little detail and turn in negative. I've also read the euphoric reviews. You know, the ones where the driver is so excited to be driving a Z, he couldn't possibly notice anything wrong short of the steering wheel missing.

So here I go, my semi-lengthy review after driving the 370z Nismo for one day. I'll try not to make this too Nismo-specific. This will be more geared to the people that are considering buying a Z.

- The exterior is beautifully done by Nissan. While some hate the look of the Nismo body kit and spoiler combo, I absolutely love it. Pictures don't do it enough justice. You lose the fangs from the front end of the base/touring, and go more towards the 350z style (which I prefer...although I certainly like the "fangs" as well). The Nismo rear bumper is a thing of beauty. The #1 thing I've heard so far from my friends is, "I thought it would be smaller!". Love it.

- The exhaust is good, not great. Compared to the base/touring exhaust, it has a noticeable, aggressive rumble to it when you start it up, as well as in higher RPMs....however, it slower dissipates at idle and lower RPMs. It won't hold a candle to the likes of Stillen and F.I, however if you're like me and you do not want to break any noise ordinances and enjoy a [slightly] quiet cabin, the Nismo exhaust is near perfect. Loud when I want it to be, quiet when I want it to be. The tips look great as well.

- The rims and tires on all the versions of the 370z are awesome. While the non-sports version leaves a little to be desired in terms of styling, I think they all still look great. I'm not sure why some people go out and get new wheels as their first big "upgrade". I've had aftermarket rims on all my previous cars, and don't think I'd ever change these out.

- The "road noise" is the biggest load of crap I've ever heard. I've driven MANY cars and while it's not the quietest, it's extremely far from the loudest. I have a 1972 VW bug. I've driven "Humvees". Those are loud. I've also driven a G35 and a Lincoln Towncar....those are certainly quieter. But do you seriously want to get into a 370z and not hear anything? Didn't think so. There is no "road noise"....just "the sound of your 370z".

- Gadgets and such. The FOB is great. With controls on the doors (within 2-feet) unlocking/locking the doors, the FOB never leaves the safety of my pocket. The gauges are good, except for the far left display with mpg/mph, etc. It's a little too "1990's" for me. I would think they'd have something a little more modern, but I guess they reserve some of the niceties for the Navigation owners

- One of the concerns for many people looking at the Z as their daily driver is space. Let me tell you. I take frequent trips up the east coast with my girlfriend, and we carry a lot of **** with us. Guess what? I tried to fit it all last night....and it all fits. It sure as hell blocks my entire rear view, but it fits just fine. A friend asked me last night, "What about when you go grocery shopping?". Friends, if you're biggest worry is having enough room for your groceries, get a Murano.

- Blind spots. They are there, sure as ****. Are they bad? Not in my opinion. I don't need a special side view mirror or back up camera, even with my "obnoxiously large spoiler" (as one reviewer said of the Nismo spoiler). I can see just fine. I'm addicted to backing into parking spots, and even with my 1 day old car, I still do it with ease. Unless you're in a neck brace and your peripheral vision is horrible, you're not gonna have any issues.

- Performance. I've driven the 300z. I've never driven a Porsche. I've driven a Ferrari. The most hp I've ever had beneath my right foot is 162 (only counting my own cars). I'm not going to argue with people way smarter than me on performance, but I will say it's amazing. Linear acceleration from 10-20 or 70-80. When I push the pedal, the car responds generously and vigorously. And I haven't even hit 4800 RPMs yet (obeying break-in the best I can). The brakes blow away any brakes I've had before as well.

- Sync-rev is amazing. Heel-toe fanboys out there tell us they leave it turned off, but trust me....they leave it on!

- Suspension is weird in the Nismo. I'm no pro-tuner or track guru, but the Nismo is supposed to have it's own upgraded Suspension and dampers, yet it actually rides rougher than the base/touring. While it hits bumps and reacts firmly, it immediately stiffens back out. Not sure I'm explaining it well, but it certainly doesn't handle uneven pavement, bumps, low-quality roads with the most finesse.

- Nismo specific information now. I've read all over these forums, "Is the Nismo worth it?". The best answer I've read is "if you want the Nismo, then yes". Can you upgrade the base/sport/ to achieve better performance than the Nismo, with less money? Absolutely. Can you get all the luxuries of the Touring for nearly the same price? Absolutely. Does the Nismo have enough to warrant the price difference anyways? Yes! I won't go into full detail, but with all the extras in the Nismo, and no plan (or need) to do any additional performance upgrades, the Nismo is perfect for me.


When I got the Z, I was thinking I would drive it for 3-5 years until the "next best thing" came out. But as much fun as I've had in the past 36 hours driving the car, I hope this will have a permanent spot in my garage, regardless of what future cars I may purchase.

[semtex]

I've had my 370Z for 5 days now, and thought I'd share some observations from the perspective of someone whose previous ride was a 350Z. A few things to state up front. My 350Z was an '06 Enthusiast, M/T. So that's my baseline in terms of any comparisons I make. My impressions, and comparison remarks, might be different if my baseline were an '08 HR 350Z, for instance, or an '03 model for that matter. Another thing to bear in mind is that my 370 is a Touring model, M/T, w/ sport pkg. So I'm comparing an '06 Enthusiast to an '09 Touring, vs. an '06 Grand Touring to an '09 Touring, which is slightly 'apples to oranges'. Finally, my performance-related observations at this stage are a little 'green'. That's because I'm still well within the break-in period and have yet to drive my 370 hard (I'm still under 100 miles on the odometer!).

Having dispensed with all the caveats, let me begin with my performance-related impressions:

- The acceleration of the 370 feels every bit as quick as the 350, if not quicker. I've been keeping the revs below 5k for now and it still feels quick. I'm sure once I'm done with break-in and nail it up to 7500rpm, this thing is going to plant a grin on my face that stretches from one ear to the other!

- It corners better than the 350. I can already tell you that. With the 350, I always felt a sort of odd hesitation when accelerating out of a corner from a stop (like when you stop at light before turning right). That feeling is gone with the 370. It also feels more agile than the 350 and turns more crisply.

- The 370 feels more stable at high speed. The rear of the 350 always felt a little 'floaty' to me at 70mph+, especially if the road got curvy. That feeling is gone with the 370.

- Braking. This one's tough. The brakes are definitely better than what came on my 350 (4 pistons vs 2 up front, 2 pistons vs 1 in the rear). BUT, I upgraded the brakes on my 350 to a set of StopTechs, front and rear, and the brakes on my 370 definitely have less bite than the StopTechs. Although...I probably just need to toss the rubber brake lines and install braided steel ones, and maybe change the pads. Anyway, definitely take my impressions on the brakes with a grain of salt, because I never drove a 350 with the Brembos, and thus have no idea how the feel of the new ones compares.

- Synchro Rev-match. I have mixed feelings on this new feature. Don't get me wrong -- it's cool, it works well, in fact it seems to work better the more quickly one downshifts. But I like blipping my own throttle. I loved to heel and toe into corners in my 350. This automatic rev-matching technology will just make it easier for people who really have no business driving a car with a manual transmission to do just that -- drive a stick and drive it reasonably well. And even with this elitist-sounding remark I have mixed feelings. On one hand, I don't like anything that makes a car more accessible to poseurs and hacks. But on the other hand, I do realize that if not enough people buy the MT model, eventually Nissan might stop offering the Z with a stick, and that would be tragic. The stuff of nightmares! So maybe it's not such a bad thing to make MT more accessible to people. I've come to think of Synchro Rev-match as a bridge between traditional MT, and paddle-shift manuals. Because what's the nice thing about paddle-shift manuals? Automatic rev-matching. But there's no clutch pedal. Well with this technology, you kinda get the best of both worlds. You get a clutch pedal, and you get the automatic rev-matching. And you can always turn the thing off if you want to go back to blipping your own throttle. This actually leads to my next observation, which sorta straddles the line between being a performance item and an interior item.

- The new gas pedal is floor-mounted instead of firewall-mounted. Not a huge deal, but it does feel different. Seems to me that you have to press down a little deeper before the engine will respond. This ties back to the whole heel and toe thing, because when I turn off Synchro Rev-match to do my own heel and toe, I find it a little harder than it was in the 350, as I have to depress the gas pedal much more with the edge of my foot to get high enough revs, relative to the 350. Well, at least the gas and brake pedals are still close enough together to heel/toe.

Now for my impressions on the interior. Overall, the interior of the 370 is definitely nicer. Not that I ever had much complaint about the 350, mind you. But there's definitely a higher quality feel with the 370. Plus, moving the rear support brace forward is a HUGE improvement over the 350 (see pic 1 below). One of the first things out of my mouth when I looked in the back was "Hey, there's enough room back here to mount two NOS bottles!"

I do have some minor quibbles, however.

- The center console of the 370Z is quite a bit smaller than the one in the 350Z, length-wise. There's barely enough room for a 3" 1911 pistol now. BARELY. And this is the shortest pistol I have! (See pic 2.) In the 350, I could put almost any of my pistols in the center console, including Commander-length 1911s (4.25"). Well, at least it's deep enough for a spare magazine and a tactical flashlight as well.

- They took away the sunglass compartment! In my 350, there was a little flip-down compartment where the dome lights are to put one's sunglasses. That's gone in the 370. (Pic 3.)

- The rear storage compartment behind the passenger seat is a joke. In the 350, the rear compartment sloped out at a 45-degree angle. You had to drop the passenger seat forward to open it, but the thing was huge. I put my emergency road flares in there, as well as jumper cables, my manual, and a first aid kit. In the 370, they chopped the rear off so that it's vertical instead of coming out at an angle. (See pic 4.) The result is that there's a little 'drawer' that pulls out at an angle that's more like a little file folder. There's now an open shelf behind the passenger seat as a result of making the rear compartment vertical. That's fine and well if you want to just put stuff on top of it. But I won't ever put anything on top of it. Call me crazy, but I don't like to have anything unsecured in my car, because in an accident, loose items become projectiles that could cause injury. Heck, forget about accidents -- just spirited driving could cause issues with anything that's just sitting loose on the shelf. Ah...but there's now a real glove box, you say? That brings me to my final quibble.

- The glove box is a nice touch, but it's also a bit of a joke. Check out pics 5, 6, and 7 below. In the first one, the glove box is closed. Looks big, doesn't it? But open it up, and it's not nearly as roomy as one might have assumed. To give a better sense of scale, in the last photo, I threw my key fob in. Keep in mind that the key fob is pretty small.

So that's pretty much it for now. The gripes that I have are indeed just minor quibbles. None of them make me regret getting the 370. None of them make me want to take a 350 over a 370. I love the updated look of the exterior, and I really really like the new blue! (See last pic.)

[Z_U_later]

I went to my local Nissan dealer last week to test drive the new 370z roadster and had one of the worst test drives of my life. Fist of all the sales person I got did not know a thing about the car, she couldn't find the gas pedal in an automatic to pull the car out of the parking structure. I got to take it on the freeway for a bit and boy it has great pick up. We got off the freeway and I was about to turn in to the dealership she asked me if I wanted to see how it handles on the side street so we went for a ride around the block and this is where the fun starts. I make a right turn to go back to the lot and a 100ft after the turn the engine cuts off and I turned into a side street. I tried starting the car again but no luck. At this point we were in the middle of the road on a small street and cars were going around us in both directions. Not wanting to get read ended, I had the sales girl get in the driver's seat and steer the car out of traffic while I pushed it. Once we were safe I went back to figuring out what had happen. Well after a few minutes of looking around I found out what the problem was, the car was out of gas. The sales girl contacted the dealership and they sent someone out to fill the tank. Apparently this was the sale's girl 3rd on the job which explains her lack of knowledge of the car and that this dealership has a system of informing sales people weather a car has enough gas for a test drive. If the wipers are up that means that the car needs gas if the wipers are down then the car has gas. The wipers were down on the roadster we took so she thought it has gas. Well after the horrible experience I had you would think they would give me a deal on the car, they didn't. I told them that the car guy at my credit union was going to get it for me for 45K and if they can beat that I would go with them but she said the sales manager wanted 2K over invoice so I thanked them for the test drive and left. One good thing came out of this, at least I know the car is light enough for me to push by myself LOL. Anyways my roadster should be coming in by the first or second week of December.
P.S. I got the automatic because I live in So. Cal. where the freeways are known as parking lots.

370z Roadster 7AT
Touring/Sport/Nav
Black w/ wine interior
Bordeaux Canvas Top

[antbear]

Will it be a 2009 or 2010?

You will love the AT. With the AT all attention can be devoted to making those corners work for you. For that reason...AT's seem are showing up in the best cars these days..Tokyo 2009: Lexus reveals $375,000 LFA supercar...finally [w/VIDEO] — Autoblog

[Z_U_later]

Originally Posted by antbear

Will it be a 2009 or 2010?

You will love the AT. With the AT all attention can be devoted to making those corners work for you. For that reason...AT's seem are showing up in the best cars these days..Tokyo 2009: Lexus reveals $375,000 LFA supercar...finally [w/VIDEO] — Autoblog

Picked my 2010 Roaster on Monday and have been taking the long way back and forth to work
2010 370z Roadster
Magnetic Black
Wine interior bordeaux top
Touring\Sport\Nav packages
7AT

[smashbar]

Originally Posted by Z_U_later

Picked my 2010 Roaster on Monday and have been taking the long way back and forth to work
2010 370z Roadster
Magnetic Black
Wine interior bordeaux top
Touring\Sport\Nav packages
7AT

Congrats! A/T is the way I went too... I'm relatively young but I've got bad hips and I can't imagine being stuck in traffic with a manual car anymore.

[antbear]

"Picked my 2010 Roadster on Monday and have been taking the long way back and forth to work : driving"

That's the way it is...........these are sooo much fun to drive you hate to get to where you are going!

Congrats. for getting your Z. Any................

[amill94]

Took out a Touring Sport 6MT last Monday. I've liked the look of the 370 since it was revealed. I have an RSX Type S with i/h/e and ecu reflash that I'm going to replace. The 370 will not be daily driven except in the spring and summer. Local dealer had 7 09's and only one that was 6mt. The sales guy was new which I didn't mind since I knew all about the car before I showed up at the dealer. I just wanted to drive it. Got to take it on a 20-25 minute ride of back roads and highway which was great. The car felt very solid throughout the drive. The s-mode rev match feature was pretty cool. The car felt pretty quick and had a nice low rpm pull, which coming from my Acura I really wanted. The best time I personally ran in my car was a 14 flat at 100mph. This car felt quicker and was ALOT more responsive in handling.

I'm going to drive the Camaro SS and see how that compares. I already know the Z will come out on top. The Camaro has a worse interior imo and is ALOT heavier so handling will not be in the same league as the Z, but I still have to drive it.

My only gripe was the blind spot when merging, but that is to be expected with the profile the car has. I was kinda hoping that if you upgraded to the touring you'd get the lcd screen w/ out the nav function like the G37 coupes. I really liked my friends G and the ipod integration. But if I get a base with the sport package I can swap the stereo for an aftermarket double din Navi unit.

After the drive I browsed the web for 370 forums and found this one. I was very surprised to see the benefits of bolt ons with the VQ. I didn't expect to see the gains these cars get. My RSX benefited heavily form the cold air intake and header in similar gains to the Z, so that's good to see. Overall I'm impressed with the car and will probably pick one up this spring in Pearl white or Platinum Graphite.

Been reading alot the past few days and appreciate all the info found here.

[Horsie]

Test Drive: NISSAN 370Z Roadster - 2010
- Autoevolution.com



Actually, the tested car was mine.

As you can see, it has some mods:
- painted parking sensors
- smaller antenna

A lot of pictures!

[Hithere]

I'm impressed with 370Z after my first test drive. Coming from a 6.0litre V8 manual, I wasn't sure if the auto really could live up to the high praise. I've heard people talk about the cabin noise as well as quiet engine.

There is a 'hum' inside the cabin like any other moving car but nothing too loud. I could hold a conversation with the sales guy at a normal talking voice cruising at 70kms/h on a sealed road. It was not intrusive, and at no time, did I think, "gee, the cabin noise is too loud!" To me, the noise level was no more than inside a sedan.

As for the exhaust sound. None existent! There is no way anyone can buy this car as a "sports car" and not change the exhaust. Stock Holden VE SSV has more note. And that is saying something. BUT once you put your foot down, and the Z down shifts to an optimum gear, boy does the cabin fill with ROAR! Bordering on too loud. It is not a nice sound but it is not a bad sound. It is pure and simply described as ROAR!

Now to the all important 7 speed auto tranny. It is pretty good. Actually, very good. The demo car had 18" tyres so it might not be as grippy as 19" but it had no plates so I think the engine was still new and tight. If it was, I didn't feel that. Initially, I left the auto in full auto mode and drove. While cruising at 40kms/h, I put paddle to the metal and held it there for 2 full seconds. And guess what? Nothing happened! I kid you not! I thought that was odd. I tried again the second time. This time, gears kicked down and it took off with almighty roar. It felt fast! VDC kicked in as the car started to wheel spin as it accelerated. Nice!!

For the rest of the test drive, I had the car in manual mode and just used paddles behind the steering wheel. Unless you kick down couple of gears, the rev does not rise high enough and therefore I could not tell if the gear has changed. Once I started to down shift two gears and started to play, it was a different matter.

Upshifting with manual paddles, it shifted overtime as quickly as I expected. When downshifting, when I pull the 'down shift' paddle, I hear the engine rev up first instantly and but the actual shift does not occur for about 0.3 seconds from the moment you instructed Z to shift. I know, 0.3 sec does not sound like a long time but it sure isn't instant. Having said that, if driving a manual, I'm not sure if I could shift it quicker manually.

My wife and I are thinking of going to a single car family and auto is the tranny of choice for my wife. This test drive is to see if I can live with an auto. My veridic is still out. I'm just not 100% if I can live with an auto.

Stuff I noticed about the rest of the car is how flat the Z corners. Suspension felt firm but not rock solid (but I was in a car with 18" wheels).

I was able to take the car to the back streets and test out the cornering in the industrial estates. Nothing crazy! Just open 90 degree corners, one after the other and one dead-end court for a tight turn.

The Z stayed flat in every corner but I was disappointed with the grip of the Z (with 18" tyres). As I performed a U-turn at a reasonable speed, VDC kicked in to guide the car. Tyres obviously lost traction. Even with open 90 degree corners, VDC kicked in to save the day. I negotiated these corners as the speed I could take in my commodore with OEM tyres so I'm not sure what the deal was with those 18" tyres. I just expected Z to stick to the road better. Of course the road was dry and it was beautifully 22 degree day.

Conclusion. I like it, I want one. I'm just not sure if I can live with an auto but it is one of the better autos I have driven.

[NoZYet]

I finally got to test drive a 370Z yesterday. Me and the wife went down to the local Nissan dealer and saw them up close and personal. This may sound strange but I have never even sat in a Z car except for my 1972 Datsun (loved that car, should never have sold it) and I've always loved the Z's. Anyway, after owning mostly SC v8 cars, I was alittle skeptic about the 330hp V6. I drove the 2010 with the 6 spd, big brakes and Rays. They had a Nismo on the lot but it was well guarded in the showroom area
Long story short, I enjoyed driving it, high revs, tight cornering and cool cabin made it a must have. Only thing I will really need to get used to is that damn blind spot

[chompy]

I test drove a 2010 base model MT in Pearl White and it was what I was looking for in a sports car. Bought it on the spot after haggling it down to 28,250 without registration and tax. It is a step up from my 04 VW r32 (I'm used to driving awd) with 100 more horses to 2 wheels instead of 240hp to 4 wheels. The suspension is much more comfortable to drive. The clutch feel is a little soft but engages properly. Steering wheel is not as stiff compared to a German car, but is very responsive and the car goes exactly where I want it to. Great Bose sound system

However, there are more blind spots than I am used to in this car, and the rear-view can be a little tricky to spot cops when driving faster than normal. Trunk space is almost non existent compared to my r32 hatchback, but enough for groceries.

Next step I would like to start modding my car, but my friends over at a performance shop advised me not to start modding until warranty is over. I only have 350 miles on the car and I'm still breaking in the engine, but sometimes I can't help but let it rev up to 6k.

[oleg]

so finally got to test drive a 370z yesterday with a sport package and i absolutely loved it. The power is there, seemed planted on the ground through corners, and i loved how fast it gets up to speed. The transmission is an improvement from the 350z, it seemed smother to me and i don't know why people complain about the sound, the car sounds amazing when your inside driving it. The blind spots are a pain and the car seems big, i guess you'll have to get used to that. I was honestly scared of the car while i was driving it primarily because of my lack of experience with sports cars as I'm only 18, but a 350z with all bolt ons can not in my opinion cannot compare to the performance of a 370z.

[z me fly]

I got my roadster in a manual trans. The synchro rev has saved me a few tickets and it sounds great. I do have the sports and performance package on mine. I've changed the the speakers and still fooling with them to get the right mix. I'm also thinking of getting dual ram intakes. It doesn't sound as mean as my 350z. Good luck. I have made a great choice.