TopGear 370Z Review: "This Could be THE car of 2009" 03.10.09
 

"First the GT-R and now the 370Z.... It sure seems like Nissan is on a roll with super-cool, super-desirable sports cars."

http://www.the370z.com/images/370zfo...pgear370z1.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/images/370zfo...pgear370z2.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/images/370zfo...pgear370z3.jpg

"The car retains its raw soul and passion for slinging itself through corners, it still belts out the best V6 soundtrack and it still has chunky controls - it's just it does it all with a new lever of refinement!"

Awesome! Thx for posting this, AK. I've been waiting for it to hit my local Borders.

Not bad, the man pretty much does speak the truth about the car.

Nice! i read that with a britsh accent in my head.

I read it in Jeremy Clarkson's voice. lol

Nice review, now for a top gear lap time?

5.4 0-62?

i read it in clarkson's voice too

i hate it when they say "best bang for the buck". makes it sound like the price is what makes it such a good car. i hate it!

RE: Top Gear Review
 

Actually, who *is* the author of this piece? Did I just miss the attribution? I see it for the editor and the photographer, but nothing for the writer?

Top Gear is just an awesome show. I wish we had an American equivalent.

Piers Ward

15/20 is lousy though IMHO

As I posted in the other thread, Top Gear Magazine is NOT Top Gear the TV Show. Don't confuse them - they are very different. The person who did the 370Z write-up is a proper motoring journalist.

But Clarkson, Hammond, and Capt. Slow (May) each write for them, so there must be some affiliation.

There is - and you have just described the full extent of it.

^LOL. Touche.

Actually, we get wall-to-wall Top Gear TV shows on a channel called "Dave" and I've become quite addicted to it, much to the annoyance of my wife. I just wish they would be less frivolous and self-serving - it could be an excellent show if it was just a bit more serious. In the VERY old days Top Gear was a BRILLIANT motoring show, then about 20 years ago it began to go up its own arse too much.

LOL! You already know. :icon18:

RE: Who wrote this article?
 

He wrote and edited his own article? That seems... unlikely! :)

Are you claiming that the 370Z's mileage ratings are 15 city/20 highway? That doesn't seem to be the case:

2009 Nissan 370Z specs, auto safety at Edmunds

Edmunds says 18/26. Quite a difference.

I think that's the score 15/20 NOT gas mileage.

Oy, you're absolutely right.

Hmmm... yeah... that *is* a pretty crappy score! :)

My wife loves watching it.

Read it in my head as if Jeremy Clarkson was reading it out loud for me too, haha!

This is how its gonna break down on Top Gear tv show, i can already feel it.

Hamster is gonna love it straight from the start becuase he loved the 350z.
Jeremy is gonna talk mad **** about it, get in it and start to say he still hates it, but some where near the end he may fall in love with it and change his tune after he puts it through the track.

Then captain slow, i dont know hes hard to predict, he may hate it due to the bodys alot more flashy.

Good Good!

As many members said, I was reading this with Jeremy voice in my head.

And yes!!! now we need lap times

Don't hold your breath if you're waiting to see the 370Z on Top Gear - I just finished watching the final programme of the current series ...and the next series doesn't start until Autumn (Fall) 2009. So, hopefully the Z will feature at some point from September onwards. :shakes head:



Edit - ignore this false information - I didn't realise I was watching a repeat from series 11 - ooops!

^Supposedly Filming will begin in June. I hate waiting. They will also have a HUGE budget cut. Some how though Fat head is still making Millions a season for hosting.

In regards to the review though, nice find AK.

:icon18: :icon18: :icon18: Yes

Top Gear is winding back up again, 1st episode will air June 21st in the UK.

Ah - maybe I was watching a repeat and didn't realise it! So ignore my earlier post - they were probably referring to LAST autumn! Ooops.

So maybe we'll get a 370z review to coincide with the first UK deliveries in July?

Nice article. So i was wondering if anyone else were having the same "vibration problems when shifting gears really hard. And above 5k rpm does it get really rough and transmits nasty vibes back to the transmission". I para phrased what the guy said in the article. Just wondering if this issue has been fixed. Or has anyone drove this car this hard yet.

All Zs I have driven had vibration on the shifter in higher RPM. 370Z isn't any different either. It doesn't bother me at all because it's not like I'm resting my hand on the shifter all the time. But, when you compare to other cars in it's class, then this vibration may take some points off in a review.

They usually give cars to the press to test several months before official release so I would hope that it should show up in one of the first few episodes.

It's just the way that the Nissan transmissions and shift linkages are designed. On a lot of cars you have the shifter isolated from the transmission and connected by cables or rods. On these transmissions the connection is very much direct. You'll feel it a lot more in the low gears, especially 1st and 2nd and then it gets a little better in the higher gears. I don't really see it as a problem, just a personality trait of the car.

I think this is perfectly normal with a shifter directly connected to the tranny, It doesn't bother me at all. Its a sports car, i don't even know why its even mentioned, or even seen as a fault.

I just watched a YouTube video of the McClaren F1. That car rattles your bones apart, is deafeningly loud, and I'm sure has vibration through the shifter. I can't imagine a magazine editor saying "it's a super car but the shifter vibrates a bit too much at high RPM". If you read enough reviews, you'll surely find someone with an opinion that makes little sense or is overly picky.

With the benefit of having seen the first half of the F1 season, I bet Lewis Hamilton was saying that - along with several other things.

But back to the topic - in case anyone has missed the threads, the 370z TV review airs on UK Top Gear this Sunday (27th July). It's up against the new Z4 - and I am distinctly nervous, for more than one reason. Having said that, it's the right car to pitch against the 370z, despite the price difference. Shame they didn't throw a Gayman into the equation too.

Hmmmm, it will be interesting to see what they say about the 370 compared to the Z4. Most reviewers tend to give rimjobs to BMWs, but hopefully TopGear will stay as their unbiased self when it comes to brands.

A decked out Z4 lists for $65,000. TopGear will pick the 370Z for sure based on that price. The review will be something like "The Z4 has top quality fit and finish but the Nissan isn't far behind. Given nearly identical performance numbers, the 370Z is more fun, looks better, and is a far better deal for a sportscar."

Or...we'll have to listen to Jeremy go off on one of his "look at these headlights and this front grille....they're hideous!"

Actually Jeremy said that they recommended that you "buy the BMW because its slower, more expensive, less exciting, and less well equipped."

lol

I absolutely agree with everything you said.

Personally I prefer watching the Top Gear spin-off: Fifth Gear. It's much more serious and informative. The cars are tested by proper racing drivers who know what they're talking about [unlike any of the Top Gear presenters who haven't got a clue and are just good at pretending they do].

I always found it funny

clarkson hates the sound of the 350 and 370 saying it sounds horrible and it hurts his ears

but on any form of top gear review on the magazine or website they call it the best V6 sound there is