Driving Impressions

We had one of the best drives of our life in the Roadster GT. Seven hundred miles in two days, almost entirely on isolated winding roads in central California, in beautiful weather. The whole time, we passed just one sheriff in an SUV coming the other direction; and we were careful not to terrorize fellow motorists. We kept an eye out for animals. But the road was otherwise ours, and drove the 350Z as it was meant to be driven: fast, alert, and under control. Some of the time we had the top up because it was winter and crisp; but it was also sunny so other times we dropped it. Buffeting at high speeds was reduced by the tempered glass deflector between the rollbars behind the seats, and by the racy body fairings tapering back like headrests. Nearing the end of the first day's drive, we looked in the mirror and saw the setting sun reflecting off the rump of the Z, as it twitched on its fat tires around the curves. There was long series of second-gear twisties, no upshifting at all, just using the gas and brakes hard, keeping the engine between 4000 rpm and 7500 rpm, a rhythmic revving and braking, revving and braking. The 350Z excels at this stuff. The 268 pound-feet of torque peaks at 4800 rpm but begins to come on strong enough to use at about 3000 rpm. The engine makes a wonderful sound, a raspy roar, not a deep-chested V8 rumble but more of a junkyard dog don't-mess-with-me bark. You can especially hear it in second gear because it accelerates quickly. It's a unique sound and we can always identify a Nissan V6 accelerating without turning to look. Revving through the gears, it feels like it wants to break through its 7500 rpm redline, which represents an increase of 500 rpm over last year's engine. We love the six-speed manual. The five-speed automatic transmission is smooth and responsive; and it's neat when the engine blips on its own, with each aggressive downshift (Nissan calls this DRM, Downshift Rev Matching). But with the automatic, the redline of the engine is only 6600 rpm. If you buy an automatic, you're robbing yourself of the joy of hearing the top 900 revs. The engine belongs to Nissan's VQ-series that has been on Ward's "10 Best Engines" list for 14 consecutive years, and we can see why. The close-ratio six-speed gearbox was meant for shifting, with sixth gear being the big overdrive for better fuel mileage. And by the way, the new more powerful engine gets one or two more miles per gallon than the previous 3.5-liter. The Grand Touring model gets bigger rotors with Brembo calipers, four pistons in front and two in rear, and larger pads. The brakes are steady, secure, confidence-inspiring. We were using them repeatedly and hard. When we began to smell them, it was time to ease off. What this means is that if you plan on driving your 350Z hard, you need to go with the GT models with these brakes, because the standard brakes won't resist fade well enough. The GT also uses the lightweight five-spoke forged alloy wheels, 18 inches in front, 19 rear, mounted with 245/40WR18 and 265/35WR19 Bridgestone Potenza RE050A tires. They are super sticky, but there must still have been some slipping, because when we floored it coming out of a turn in second gear, we could see the VDC light flash. But we never felt an intrusion. Could be that the rear brakes were being dabbed, at something like 500 times a second; sometimes we never felt anything, and other times we heard a hiccup out the exhaust, indicating a split second cut of ignition or throttle or something. Driving like this, we appreciated the Tire Pressure Monitor System, eliminating worries at speed of a low tire. The suspension uses aluminum components to keep down the unsprung weight. It feels pretty stiff, but you can still use the GT as a daily driver and not be uncomfortable, although the more compliant and better-fitting seats than the GT's leather/mesh helps. The GT is stiff enough for a track day

Final Word

The Nissan 350Z offers visceral sports car performance at an attainable price. Its rear-wheel-drive chassis is rigid, and the suspension and tires are up for the challenge of hard cornering. The new V6 engine delivers good torque at reasonably low revs, as well as 306 horsepower with a thrilling 7500 rpm redline. The six-speed manual gearbox is racier than the five-speed automatic, so we recommend the Grand Touring models with the six-speed, because you'll probably be driving it hard, and the GTs have better brakes. But either way you get the style and the engine. The interior is the weakest link, but you can get comfortable with a little time spent living with it. NewCarTestDrive.com correspondent Sam Moses filed this report from central California; Tom Lankard and Mitch McCullough contributed to this report.