Introduction

The Nissan 350Z is the modern interpretation of the original Datsun 240Z. It's fast. It's fun to drive. It's pure sports car. And it's affordable, or at least attainable. The new Z is as responsive as a hungry cheetah, with racecar handling, rear-wheel drive, and thrilling acceleration performance. The chassis is fantastic, as rigid as a prototype racer's. The suspension keeps the tires glued through fast chicanes. Bounce over the curbs like Michael Schumacher and the Z will hold its line. Its fastback styling and arching roofline hint at the Porsche 911. It looks like a mid-engine sports car and, in a sense, it is. Styling details like the controversial industrial-design door handles ensure this car will never be called bland. The new Z is a great value for the driving enthusiast. While the previous-generation twin-turbocharged 300ZX (discontinued in 1996) delivered stellar performance, it was too expensive for most of us. The new 350Z is far more affordable, starting at just $26,269. And that's no wimpy base model with a commuter engine. All 350Zs get the same sports suspension and Nissan's superb V6 engine, which punches out 287 horsepower and strong torque. That much power, along with a six-speed gearbox, carbon-fiber driveshaft, drive-by-wire throttle, anti-lock disc brakes vented front and rear with EBD, plus convenience features like automatic temperature control and a premium stereo, do not normally come on cars below 30K. Nissan says the 350Z was designed to be a sports car an enthusiast can live with every day. While its firm ride, abrupt throttle response, and awkward cup holders don't necessarily make it a great place to drink coffee, eat doughnuts, and make phone calls on the way to work, it is a comfortable car with usable cargo space, and getting in and out isn't impossibly awkward. Order it with the excellent five-speed automatic, and you'll have a better commuter for the daily stop-and-go. Bottom line: This car more than delivers on the promise of its stellar looks. It's no poser. It's a real sports car.

Walkaround

With its bulging front fenders and fast back, the Z reminds me of a Porsche 911. Not everyone agrees with this assessment, of course. Regardless, driving the new Z draws a lot of "nice car" comments, including one from a Porsche Carrera 4 driver. The shape of the Z suggests a mid-engine design. The engine is in fact in front of the driver, but it's behind the front axle. That's why Nissan calls it a front mid-ship placement. (In that respect, it's somewhat similar to the Mazda RX-7 design.) The Z shares its architecture with the Infiniti G35 coupe and sedan. Moving the engine rearward improves weight distribution, which improves handling balance. The new Z weighs about 3,200 pounds, split front/rear 53/47 percent. It's balanced well for accelerating out of corners. An extremely short front overhang and a short rear overhang makes for agile handling. It also means you don't scrape driveways like you do in a Corvette. Bulging fender flares make the Z look like it's ready for the racetrack, which it is. Its shape, besides looking really cool, allows the Z to slice through the air with a minimum of drag (0.29 on the Track model). Airflow is managed well underneath, with zero lift on the front (and zero lift on the rear of the Track model). All this math adds up to relatively low levels of wind noise and a stable sports car at high speeds.

Interior Features

The interior of the Nissan 350Z is a cockpit designed for driving, helping the driver quickly become one with the car. The carbon-fiber colored cloth seats are form-fitting, supportive and comfortable, made of a soft material that grips the body in the corners. The driver's seat features a mound in the center to prevent the driver from sliding forward. Aggressive side bolsters grip the waist to hold the driver in place. The leather seats in the Touring model seem a little firmer than the cloth, and are available in charcoal, burnt orange or frost. Either cloth or leather is a good choice in this case. The supportive seats and a driver's dead pedal mean you never feel like you have to hang on to the car. The seating position should be good for drivers with long legs; I felt a little close to the wheel when the seat was adjusted for my legs. It's worth noting, however, that this feeling went away the moment the key was turned in the ignition. Tilt the steering column and the main pod of gauges moves with it, ensuring a good view of the big tachometer and flanking speedometer, fuel and temperature gauges. Nestled in three pods on top of the dash are a voltmeter, an oil pressure gauge and a digital trip computer. They look cool, but reading them requires more than a glance. Two toggles to the right of the steering wheel operate the trip computer, used to check outside air temperature, distance to empty, speed, average mileage, and average speed. It has a stopwatch function (to check out those 0-60 times), and a tire-pressure monitor for 18-inch wheels. With the Trip Computer, the driver can program a shift light to come on at a certain rpm. The small red indicator on the tachometer begins flashing abut 500 rpm before the preset engine speed is reached, when it comes on solid. You can program it for the ideal shift points for acceleration or fuel economy, then let your peripheral vision pick up the indicator. If you don't like this feature you can turn it off. The interior of the Z seems to suggest a carbon-fiber racecar tub. The material surrounding the shifter and forming the center dash looks like carbon fiber. Likewise, the large expanse of gray material lining the door panels suggests carbon fiber in appearance. The quality of the materials is okay, though some of the pieces would never be allowed in an Audi. It looked austere at first, but quickly grew on us. Stylish interior touches, such as the inside door handles integrated into aerodynamic pods for the side vents, give the Z a racy, modern look. Passengers often grope for the door release the first time they try to get out, distracted by the big grab handles adorned with genuine aluminum and relieved by the Z's dot motif. Stylish audio controls include a big volume knob, clearly marked buttons for channel seeking, and six station buttons that can be preset simply by holding them down. We confess we were too focused on entertaining ourselves with the car to turn it on, and we drove various models of the Z on both coasts. Below are three large knobs for the automatic climate control system, which comes standard. Nicely designed wiper and headlamp controls are mounted on short stalks. The leather-wrapped steering wheel looks and feels great, and comes with cruise controls on the right spoke. Overhead are well-designed map lights and a bin for sunglasses. Power window switches are auto-up/auto-down. The Z is not the best place to drink things. There's a pair of cup holders in the center console, but they're mounted too far rearward for use by the driver and passengers will find them awkward. It might be best to ditch the cup holders and use the center console for storage. Another cup holder is mounted on the passenger-side dash. It pops out with the press of a button, feels flimsy, but works well and is an easy reach for the driver, just past the audio controls. The firm suspension makes drinking hot coffee from an open cup while underway a risky proposition on al