Nissan
370Z Roadster/Coupe
Guaranteed to bring out the green-eyed monster in any onlooker the 370Z is fitted to the highest levels of luxury and delivers a drive that will never disappoint. Packed with technology and safety specifications, it even comes with a reasonable price tag.
The good
Great style and handlingThe bad
You'll wake up the neighboursTech Specs
Test Drive
Nissan 370Z Roadster GT
Every once in a while a vehicle comes along with enough power to blow your socks off, boasts looks to die for and handling we can generally just dream about – that car was mine for a week and is the Nissan 370Z.
Admittedly at £35k, it’s not the cheapest animal out there, but with its 3.7-litre V6 engine and roof that lowers at the flick of a switch, what a car to take out on a sunny summer’s day.
The 370Z has drivers staring at their rear view mirrors with a “what’s that?” expression on their faces and that’s purely down to the 370Z’s beautifully crafted lines with a beefy front end, 19-inch alloys and an engine roar that would put the fear of god into the king of any jungle.
It has spoilers front and rear along with bi-xenon headlights, UV reducing glass and dual exhast pipes.
Inside, the cabin is deceptively spacious for a two-seater with some useful storage space just behind the seats and for a ride that is so close to the ground, it is actually very comfortable with excellent shock absorbers that seem to eat up our network of motorway potholes with ease.
The vehicle is packed to bursting with quality creature comforts such as heated and air conditioned seats, rain sensing wipers, cruise control, remote central locking, power windows, power fold mirrors, fully automatic air conditioning, a Bose sound system with eight speakers, CD changer and sat nav to name just a few.
But to perfectly blunt, quality features aside, this car is all about performance. The engine delivers awesome power with incredible acceleration through the six-speed manual transmission. It hugs the road superbly well and cruises effortlessly through busy city centre traffic.
Like most convertibles, visibility isn’t exactly its strongest quality and I did find it very difficult to see anything in the blind spot – that changed when the roof was lowered and the visibility wasn’t impeded by the soft top roof.
Another feature worth mentioning is the size of the boot area which again is deceptively spacious and can easily hold a suitcase or two or even a set of golf clubs if positioned at the correct angle.
Nissan has fitted the 370Z with a host of safety features including a tyre pressure monitoring system, anti-lock brakes, electronic brakeforce distribution, driver, passenger and side airbags, active headrests and plenty more besides.
All in all, the 370Z is the perfect car for a sunny, summertime day with the roof down and the wind in your hair – but come the winter chill and I think I’d be clambering for my 4×4.