Great scenery, but not the best place to test the 2010 Nissan 370Z.
It was great to see the new Nissan 370Z unveiled at the L.A. Auto Show, last November, but I was left with one nagging question: would it live up to its predecessor, a truly exciting and affordable sports car?
To be honest, I was not instantly enchanted by the looks of the new 370Z, with the frivolous boomerang head lights and similar taillight design — and a side profile that unabashedly borrows from the 800-pound gorilla of the Nissan line-up, the GT-R. But as an owner of a 2008 Nissan 350Z, I was still quite eager to experience the new Z’s performance and handling.
If the press kit is to be believed, it should be better than ever. The 2010 model has all the right specs: it’s lighter, shorter, wider and lower, the right ingredients for improved handling. Then there’s the new 3.7 V-6 petrol engine (borrowed from Nissan’s luxury market sibling, Infiniti). Add more horsepower and torque and, well, you can understand that I had some high expectations.
Ah, open country, now we can confirm that the 2010 Nissan 370Z really can launch from 0 to 60 in 4.7 seconds.
Sadly though, the test drive on the wobbly roads through the historical villages in the neighbourhood of Chantilly Castle, outside Paris, was anything but ideal for a car like the Z. Finally, I found a short stretch of motorway, where I put aside my fear of being caught by the gendarmes, in their Subaru WRX STi (yeah, the car of choice for the French highway patrol).
Accelerating from the entrance onto the road to freedom felt like heaven. I immediately realized that Nissan’s published 4.7 second times for hitting 0 – 60 mph is correct. The new Z felt more eager, more aggressive than the 350Z, with a spectacular amount of grip.
Handling is improved through improve feedback from steering, along with the car’s lower ride height and stiffer suspension.
Given the lack of time, I only could drive the 2010 Z with the new 7-speed automatic that can be shifted manually, as well. It matched the engine very well and shifted gears very smoothly. But using the peddles on the steering wheel does not provide the same sporty feeling that you have with the 6 speed manual, I am used to.
It takes some gymnastics getting into the new Z, but the interior layout is ergonomic and attractive.
(Other members of TheDetroitBureau.com have had the reverse fortune, driving only the 6-speed stick. The short-throw gearbox is exceptionally easy to operate. The upper gears are well-suited for long trips, with an emphasis on fuel economy, which comes in at 18 City, 26 highway. But 1st, 2nd and 3rd are perfect for fast, off-the-light launches, and perfectly set up to match the character of the normally-aspirated 6-banger, which makes 332 hp and 270 lb-ft of torque. In a car weighing just 3175 pounds, that’s enough to sink you deep in your seat, with a broad grin spreading across your face, reports Bureau Chief Paul A. Eisenstein.)
If there was any major complaint, it was the car’s harsh pitching and tossing, especially in Sport Mode, on rough surfaces. There’s definitely less of a comfort level than the old Z, compounded by the challenge of getting in and out of the car, (as 6’2″ Eisenstein discovered during his own test drive). Even so, I could imagine making the 2010 Nissan 370Z a daily driver, much like my ‘old’ Z.
One of the nice additions to the 2010 Z’s manual gearbox is Synchro Rev Matching, a system that matches revs as soon as the shifter moves into a lower gear. Sure, heel-and-toe aficionados may feel it beneath them, but the system is uncanny in recognizing when you’re ready for a downshift, and we contend it’s faster than conventional heel and toeing (braking and keeping the revs on level).
The Z-car's side profile bears a striking resemblance to the more powerful GT-R, but the Z remains a reasonably-priced, fun-to-drive sports car in its own right.
I’ll have to wait for my own opportunity to drive the stick, and for that experience, I plan to drive out to The Netherlands’ challenging Zandvoort race track (or any other circuit in the world) and make a true test of the new true Z. For now I can only look forward, as I know I can expect even more fun – true muscle car style.