Why I bought a brown Nissan hatchback
Discussion
TLDR. Well, yeah.
I have finally got around to writing something about my ‘new’ weekend car. My regular car is here - https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... I got it last February as a kind of birthday present to myself but decided I wouldn’t put anything in writing until I had an opportunity to get to know the car. Now 16 months plus change has passed and I still don’t feel like I have driven it enough but if I put this off any longer I will forget that I even have it.
So. Rewind. My previous Alfa GT I had for about 8 years before itchy feet, a little structural rust and the impending demise of the internal combustion engine (OK not that imminent but I keep cars for a while) began to rear their head.
I really loved the Alfa but there was always the niggling thought in the back of my mind that it was not the V6 and it was front wheel drive. And not quite fast enough. I began to consider my options and look around. This was in 2016. I like to make a considered decision. Also I like delayed gratification…
Firstly I thought back to the cars that I have owned and liked and those I had lusted after but might scrape into my budget, and what characteristics/features I was looking for. The standout cars from my owning history were two from the 80’s Toyota sports coupe triptych – the Mk1 Mr2 and the Mk3 Supra ( never had the Celica as I went for the CRX instead).
The MR2 I loved for its compact size and mid-engine sportiness, however I couldn’t now live with a minimalist sports car as I wanted something that could transport us away to nice places for the weekend and allow us to take the dog with us too.
The Supra I loved for its 6 cylinder (+turbo) grunt and GT capabilities. Less so for its length and weight – too much GT. So, compact, powerful, 2 seats/doors and able to lug around luggage with some level of comfort…
Next, I made a spreadsheet… There were a host of ‘must’ haves that included:
• Sports car - Coupe or Convertible. Also, one that was not obviously based on a regular saloon or hatch
• 2 doors
• Rear wheel drive
• Minimum of 6 cylinders
• At least 3 litre capacity (because why not?)
• Compact (within reason – not too large though. Or too small)
• 2-seater plus storage space (or failing that a 2+2) - reasonable storage space for going away for a few days and/or carrying 2 people and a dog.
• Petrol obviously
• Reliable and well-put together as I don’t want to spend my weekends fixing my weekend car.
I considered a couple of older poster cars from my ‘youth’ (If there ever was such a thing) including the TVR ‘wedges’ 350/390 and the Caterham 7 1700 Crossflow (for which was waived the 6 cyl requirement). These were discounted after some (actually quite a lot of) research because they were respectively (1) too flaky for a regular weekend car that would need to start and stop on demand and not catch fire often and (2) ‘I am not getting in one of those things’.
Set straight I realigned my thinking and added a few more ‘must’ haves to my list. Namely:
• Must be newer than 2010.
• As low mileage as reasonably possible (certainly under 40k) as I intend to keep the car. Likely for 10+ years.
• Must be ‘acceptable’ to all, which nicely led to an:
• Increase of budget - to around £15k.
With my new narrowed list I set forth on my multi-year odyssey. There were quite a few cars I considered that fell by the wayside for one reason or another:
• Audi TTS – So near yet… 4wd and not really a sports car.
• BMW Z4 Coupe – spot on in every way but in the end too old.
• BMW 135i Coupe – not really a coupe more a 2-door saloon.
• Ford Mustang – A bit too old for my money and still LHD at the time.
• Infinity Q37 – perfect but hard to find and possibly a little large and too GT.
• Jaguar XK – spot on on many levels. Even its weight wasn’t too bad with the all aluminium construction. However its size (don’t think I could get it in the garage) and its more GT character saw it come off the list.
• Lotus Evora – too expensive sadly.
• Mercedes SL 350/500 – good but far too big and has potential for big bills.
• Nissan 350Z – perfect, but age was a problem. Also, so many have been barried beyond belief.
• Porsche Cayman/S – pretty much spot on and was near the top of my list for a while, but in the end for my budget the cars in my mileage bracket were too old (2005/6) and it would be slap bang in the middle of the Porsche build/reliability wilderness years. Also the hatch in the Cayman was never going to be dog friendly.
• Porsche 911 986/7 – perfect size/space but for reliability and age see above with bells on.
• Toyota GT86 – perfect and I could even live with a boxer 4 as it has character even if too few cylinders. But it came down to the lack of torque and that flat spot which I couldn’t live with and whilst the solution is trivial it added another £1800 to the cost of buying the car which made the GT86 too expensive for what it was.
• Vauxhall Monaro – pretty good, but few and far between and a little long in the tooth for what I was after.
And probably some others beside. Well, one other – the Nissan 370Z - the only car to really match all my criteria (and you were wondering if I was ever going to get to the point! Did I mention delayed gratification?).
This pic is the reason for the brown comment... The colour varies hugely depending on the light. It is Magma Red.
Now, the 370Z is pretty rare in the UK. It was released at the height of the financial crisis and its high tax and fuel consumption along with the UK markets disdain for non-German badges and a falling out of favour of coupes generally means they are an uncommon sight - just over 2400 on the road even though they only recently went off sale. 145 registered in 2013 (which mine is) and only a small number of those in Magma Red.
I have always loved the styling of the 370Z, though it does appear to be a bit marmite with people… I like the short length, which combined with wide arches/track and low height gives it a very squat, muscular stance – with classic coke bottle styling. It is quite unusual to find a compact sports car with a similar form. Until you get into more exotic territory (911s, Astons, F-types etc) smaller sporty cars tend to be narrower/pencil-like such as the MX5, GT86 and Supra.
When I started the search for a 370Z I looked at 'all' the options. There is only the Base V6, GT and Nismo anyway:
• The Base V6 is rare though it was the cheapest option. It comes with smaller 18” wheels, narrower tyres, smaller brakes, no sat nav, no cruise control, a lower spec stereo, and fabric only seats. None of which would have been deal breakers but you don’t see many and often they are priced similar to the GT.
• The GT builds on the base spec with larger wheels, tyre, brakes, upgraded Bose stereo, built in satnav/reversing camera and half leather/alcantara (heated) seats/door panels. The GT also has the option of the 7 speed paddle shift auto.
• The Nismo adds a whole host of styling additions with a new body kit, spoiler, wider wheels/tyres additional chassis bracing, revamped suspension, Recaro sports seats, a freer flowing stainless Nismo exhaust with a different base map on the V6 to take advantage (an additional 15 or so bhp).
Beyond the above there are no options other than body colours – about 10 in total. So, after a bit of searching it became clear that the likelihood in my price range was a GT. Nismos were too pricey, base V6 too few and far between. Which narrowed the choice down to manual or auto. I have always been a staunch advocate of a manual gearbox, particularly in a sporty car so I headed in that direction. However, after looking at a number of cars and having a couple of test drives I stumbled across an auto and thought – why not give it a try? The 370Z is a sports car with a strong GT flavour so perhaps the flappy paddle auto would suit it? And I was sold. The ability of the car to switch between sports car and GT depending on which side you knocked the selector was perfect for me. I found the best bits of the MR2 and the Supra without too much compromise.
Not to bang on about it (but if I don’t nobody else will) the 370Z GT has:
• Shorter length, a shortened wheelbase, wider body and track, is lower, lighter and has a lower centre of gravity than its predecessor the 350Z.
• Aluminium bonnet, doors, tailgate, engine cradle front subframe, and suspension components.
• 19” RAYS forged aluminium wheels with 355mm front/350mm rear brake discs and alloy calipers – 4 piston at the front, 2 at the rear.
• 245/40 front and 275/35 rear tyres.
• A carbon fibre propshaft and radiator frame.
• A 3.7 V6 with 326bhp/270lb/ft of torque. It is all alloy, with DOHC, 24 valves with Nissan’s VVEL variable valve timing/lift and a compression ratio of 11:1.
• The 370Z is assembled in Nissan’s Japanese Tochigi factory alongside the GTR and Infiniti models.
• Hydraulic power steering. Thank goodness.
• A viscous LSD.
• A 7-speed paddle shift automatic transmission (with the magnesium paddle shifters from the GTR ).
• I specifically was looking for the post 2012/3 facelift version that came with revised front grille, DRLs, the additional oil cooler, the revised euro-tuned dampers (derived from the earlier GT Edition), a number of other less obvious component level tweaks and a couple of new paint jobs.
In terms of performance the 370Z is adequate. Stats suggest 0-60 in about 5 seconds and 100 around 12 seconds with a circa 13 second ¼ mile. Top speed limited to 155 (though apparently without the limiter its just over 170mph). Braking from 70-0 is around 45metres. Not too shabby, and more than sufficient for me.
To contrast the 370Z with a couple of the more common PH-y cars (in terms of size, etc. if not price):
• It is a fairly weighty car (the GT has a kerb weight of around 1500kg) but that is in part the price to be paid for fitting a large V6 and accompanying drivetrain. It weighs less than a Golf R (1550kg) and comparing it to other similar size sports cars noted for their light weight – a Porsche Cayman S (1385kg) and Lotus Evora (1383kg) an additional 115 kg or so is significant but not as massive as often made out – about 1 PBD.
• Putting its size into context the 370Z has a wheelbase similar to an Evora and 7.5cm longer than a Cayman yet is 15cm shorter than both whilst being the same width as the Evora and 5cm wider than the Cayman. Height wise the 370Z is 2cm taller than a Cayman and a full 9cm taller than the Evora! So its quite compact in length, similar in width and taller than the Lotus and Porsche but weighs a reasonable amount more.
• The 370z 3.7 gives 326hp compared to 276hp in the Lotus and the 311hp in the Porsche. This gives a power to weight ratio of about 217bhp/ton, the Cayman S, 225bhp/ton and the Evora’s 200bhp/ton
Ultimately, how is it to drive, live with, all the usual things? In period it was reviewed positively by many of the usual journals (Chris Harris not withstanding, though what does he know? He doesn't even like MX5s!). Now, ten plus years down the road and as a used prospect I think it stands up very well.
As a drivers car, and in GT spec (rather than Nismo), for me, it pulls off being a 2 seater sports car combined with some of the more grown-up GT aspects. The ride (post the 2013 facelift) is surprisingly compliant even on UK roads. Certainly not as bone rending as some of the more track focused cars I looked at. This is a trade off obviously. It doesn't have the last word in body control, doesn't corner as flat as some, but that allows for a lot of enjoyment in itself - sharp turn-in, feel and feedback from the (hydraulic) steering and from your backside being plonked quite rearward. It has been getting minimal use but that is improving - going out on a few runs around North Wales with a local car club, also driving over to our office in Cheshire has been a surprisingly pleasurable experience.
The V6 combined with the 7speed paddle shift (torque converter) is great, if not a patch on a modern dual clutch setup. Switching between manual and auto shows a noticeable difference. In auto shifts feel much like a traditional autobox, which is nice for long runs or when you need to relax. In manual and using the paddles the changes are quicker and more abrupt, with a sharp lockup/little slip. The engine has lots of torque (for a n/a engine) low down and has quick throttle response. A nice V6 rumble, but gets a bit strained over 7k. Combined with the short gearing of the auto (1st 36, 2nd 55, 3rd 86 and 4th 125 @7500) and the lockup in lower gears acceleration was surprisingly swift - certainly more so than the manual 6 speed car I tried. Sound wise, the exhaust is not very intrusive - verging on the quiet - though these can be easily changed, For my purposes the sound fits nicely with a more GT focus. Braking is (for me) excellent. Possibly slightly over servoed but I got used to it fairly quickly. The braking is firm but easy to modulate and I haven't experienced any fade (though I have never taken it on a track - its not really that sort of car).
Trim/finish wise, it is what it is. Japanese. Which is not to everyone's taste but what you lose in expensive feeling materials you gain in the knowledge that the switchgear will still be working properly for some years to come. My car is 8 years old and feels as solidly put together as most new cars. Everything works. Obviously. The seats are supportive and comfortable though reach adjustment on the wheel would have been nice... Tech-wise it is firmly in the first decade of the 21st Century, which I see as a good thing. It does have satnav/reversing camera etc, but they are standalone and functional which is all (and more) than I want. The stereo is decent but I tend to turn it off and open the windows most of the time.
Costs? Pretty reasonable, especially considering the type of car it is. I bought the car from a Nissan main dealer with full Nissan history and an approved used warranty. A 2013 car with 19k miles and 2 owners. Such are the crazy times we are living in it is now worth the best part of £1k more than when I bought it... Servicing at a Nissan (Nismo Centre) dealer was £250 for a major service. Insurance was just over £250. So far nothing has gone wrong or even hinted that it might consider the prospect of going wrong. Fuel consumption baffles me. I generally get around 28mpg driving locally (country A&B roads) reasonably spiritedly and on longer motorway runs on cruise at 75 I get around 33mpg - brim to brim. Nothing I have read suggests it should do this, but for the size and type of car and performance at hand I am quite pleased. The only cloud is the road tax. As its a 2013 car it falls into Band L, so £585 this year (Post 2017 cars are cheaper though). Something had to give I guess...
So, lots of words and some pictures. I am here to educate and inform. The 370Z deserves more recognition. Oh and for all the Japanese car aficionados out there:
.
And don’t forget to turn on the auto-generated English subtitles.
P.S. The dogs fit in the back 'fine'.
I have finally got around to writing something about my ‘new’ weekend car. My regular car is here - https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... I got it last February as a kind of birthday present to myself but decided I wouldn’t put anything in writing until I had an opportunity to get to know the car. Now 16 months plus change has passed and I still don’t feel like I have driven it enough but if I put this off any longer I will forget that I even have it.
So. Rewind. My previous Alfa GT I had for about 8 years before itchy feet, a little structural rust and the impending demise of the internal combustion engine (OK not that imminent but I keep cars for a while) began to rear their head.
I really loved the Alfa but there was always the niggling thought in the back of my mind that it was not the V6 and it was front wheel drive. And not quite fast enough. I began to consider my options and look around. This was in 2016. I like to make a considered decision. Also I like delayed gratification…
Firstly I thought back to the cars that I have owned and liked and those I had lusted after but might scrape into my budget, and what characteristics/features I was looking for. The standout cars from my owning history were two from the 80’s Toyota sports coupe triptych – the Mk1 Mr2 and the Mk3 Supra ( never had the Celica as I went for the CRX instead).
The MR2 I loved for its compact size and mid-engine sportiness, however I couldn’t now live with a minimalist sports car as I wanted something that could transport us away to nice places for the weekend and allow us to take the dog with us too.
The Supra I loved for its 6 cylinder (+turbo) grunt and GT capabilities. Less so for its length and weight – too much GT. So, compact, powerful, 2 seats/doors and able to lug around luggage with some level of comfort…
Next, I made a spreadsheet… There were a host of ‘must’ haves that included:
• Sports car - Coupe or Convertible. Also, one that was not obviously based on a regular saloon or hatch
• 2 doors
• Rear wheel drive
• Minimum of 6 cylinders
• At least 3 litre capacity (because why not?)
• Compact (within reason – not too large though. Or too small)
• 2-seater plus storage space (or failing that a 2+2) - reasonable storage space for going away for a few days and/or carrying 2 people and a dog.
• Petrol obviously
• Reliable and well-put together as I don’t want to spend my weekends fixing my weekend car.
I considered a couple of older poster cars from my ‘youth’ (If there ever was such a thing) including the TVR ‘wedges’ 350/390 and the Caterham 7 1700 Crossflow (for which was waived the 6 cyl requirement). These were discounted after some (actually quite a lot of) research because they were respectively (1) too flaky for a regular weekend car that would need to start and stop on demand and not catch fire often and (2) ‘I am not getting in one of those things’.
Set straight I realigned my thinking and added a few more ‘must’ haves to my list. Namely:
• Must be newer than 2010.
• As low mileage as reasonably possible (certainly under 40k) as I intend to keep the car. Likely for 10+ years.
• Must be ‘acceptable’ to all, which nicely led to an:
• Increase of budget - to around £15k.
With my new narrowed list I set forth on my multi-year odyssey. There were quite a few cars I considered that fell by the wayside for one reason or another:
• Audi TTS – So near yet… 4wd and not really a sports car.
• BMW Z4 Coupe – spot on in every way but in the end too old.
• BMW 135i Coupe – not really a coupe more a 2-door saloon.
• Ford Mustang – A bit too old for my money and still LHD at the time.
• Infinity Q37 – perfect but hard to find and possibly a little large and too GT.
• Jaguar XK – spot on on many levels. Even its weight wasn’t too bad with the all aluminium construction. However its size (don’t think I could get it in the garage) and its more GT character saw it come off the list.
• Lotus Evora – too expensive sadly.
• Mercedes SL 350/500 – good but far too big and has potential for big bills.
• Nissan 350Z – perfect, but age was a problem. Also, so many have been barried beyond belief.
• Porsche Cayman/S – pretty much spot on and was near the top of my list for a while, but in the end for my budget the cars in my mileage bracket were too old (2005/6) and it would be slap bang in the middle of the Porsche build/reliability wilderness years. Also the hatch in the Cayman was never going to be dog friendly.
• Porsche 911 986/7 – perfect size/space but for reliability and age see above with bells on.
• Toyota GT86 – perfect and I could even live with a boxer 4 as it has character even if too few cylinders. But it came down to the lack of torque and that flat spot which I couldn’t live with and whilst the solution is trivial it added another £1800 to the cost of buying the car which made the GT86 too expensive for what it was.
• Vauxhall Monaro – pretty good, but few and far between and a little long in the tooth for what I was after.
And probably some others beside. Well, one other – the Nissan 370Z - the only car to really match all my criteria (and you were wondering if I was ever going to get to the point! Did I mention delayed gratification?).
This pic is the reason for the brown comment... The colour varies hugely depending on the light. It is Magma Red.
Now, the 370Z is pretty rare in the UK. It was released at the height of the financial crisis and its high tax and fuel consumption along with the UK markets disdain for non-German badges and a falling out of favour of coupes generally means they are an uncommon sight - just over 2400 on the road even though they only recently went off sale. 145 registered in 2013 (which mine is) and only a small number of those in Magma Red.
I have always loved the styling of the 370Z, though it does appear to be a bit marmite with people… I like the short length, which combined with wide arches/track and low height gives it a very squat, muscular stance – with classic coke bottle styling. It is quite unusual to find a compact sports car with a similar form. Until you get into more exotic territory (911s, Astons, F-types etc) smaller sporty cars tend to be narrower/pencil-like such as the MX5, GT86 and Supra.
When I started the search for a 370Z I looked at 'all' the options. There is only the Base V6, GT and Nismo anyway:
• The Base V6 is rare though it was the cheapest option. It comes with smaller 18” wheels, narrower tyres, smaller brakes, no sat nav, no cruise control, a lower spec stereo, and fabric only seats. None of which would have been deal breakers but you don’t see many and often they are priced similar to the GT.
• The GT builds on the base spec with larger wheels, tyre, brakes, upgraded Bose stereo, built in satnav/reversing camera and half leather/alcantara (heated) seats/door panels. The GT also has the option of the 7 speed paddle shift auto.
• The Nismo adds a whole host of styling additions with a new body kit, spoiler, wider wheels/tyres additional chassis bracing, revamped suspension, Recaro sports seats, a freer flowing stainless Nismo exhaust with a different base map on the V6 to take advantage (an additional 15 or so bhp).
Beyond the above there are no options other than body colours – about 10 in total. So, after a bit of searching it became clear that the likelihood in my price range was a GT. Nismos were too pricey, base V6 too few and far between. Which narrowed the choice down to manual or auto. I have always been a staunch advocate of a manual gearbox, particularly in a sporty car so I headed in that direction. However, after looking at a number of cars and having a couple of test drives I stumbled across an auto and thought – why not give it a try? The 370Z is a sports car with a strong GT flavour so perhaps the flappy paddle auto would suit it? And I was sold. The ability of the car to switch between sports car and GT depending on which side you knocked the selector was perfect for me. I found the best bits of the MR2 and the Supra without too much compromise.
Not to bang on about it (but if I don’t nobody else will) the 370Z GT has:
• Shorter length, a shortened wheelbase, wider body and track, is lower, lighter and has a lower centre of gravity than its predecessor the 350Z.
• Aluminium bonnet, doors, tailgate, engine cradle front subframe, and suspension components.
• 19” RAYS forged aluminium wheels with 355mm front/350mm rear brake discs and alloy calipers – 4 piston at the front, 2 at the rear.
• 245/40 front and 275/35 rear tyres.
• A carbon fibre propshaft and radiator frame.
• A 3.7 V6 with 326bhp/270lb/ft of torque. It is all alloy, with DOHC, 24 valves with Nissan’s VVEL variable valve timing/lift and a compression ratio of 11:1.
• The 370Z is assembled in Nissan’s Japanese Tochigi factory alongside the GTR and Infiniti models.
• Hydraulic power steering. Thank goodness.
• A viscous LSD.
• A 7-speed paddle shift automatic transmission (with the magnesium paddle shifters from the GTR ).
• I specifically was looking for the post 2012/3 facelift version that came with revised front grille, DRLs, the additional oil cooler, the revised euro-tuned dampers (derived from the earlier GT Edition), a number of other less obvious component level tweaks and a couple of new paint jobs.
In terms of performance the 370Z is adequate. Stats suggest 0-60 in about 5 seconds and 100 around 12 seconds with a circa 13 second ¼ mile. Top speed limited to 155 (though apparently without the limiter its just over 170mph). Braking from 70-0 is around 45metres. Not too shabby, and more than sufficient for me.
To contrast the 370Z with a couple of the more common PH-y cars (in terms of size, etc. if not price):
• It is a fairly weighty car (the GT has a kerb weight of around 1500kg) but that is in part the price to be paid for fitting a large V6 and accompanying drivetrain. It weighs less than a Golf R (1550kg) and comparing it to other similar size sports cars noted for their light weight – a Porsche Cayman S (1385kg) and Lotus Evora (1383kg) an additional 115 kg or so is significant but not as massive as often made out – about 1 PBD.
• Putting its size into context the 370Z has a wheelbase similar to an Evora and 7.5cm longer than a Cayman yet is 15cm shorter than both whilst being the same width as the Evora and 5cm wider than the Cayman. Height wise the 370Z is 2cm taller than a Cayman and a full 9cm taller than the Evora! So its quite compact in length, similar in width and taller than the Lotus and Porsche but weighs a reasonable amount more.
• The 370z 3.7 gives 326hp compared to 276hp in the Lotus and the 311hp in the Porsche. This gives a power to weight ratio of about 217bhp/ton, the Cayman S, 225bhp/ton and the Evora’s 200bhp/ton
Ultimately, how is it to drive, live with, all the usual things? In period it was reviewed positively by many of the usual journals (Chris Harris not withstanding, though what does he know? He doesn't even like MX5s!). Now, ten plus years down the road and as a used prospect I think it stands up very well.
As a drivers car, and in GT spec (rather than Nismo), for me, it pulls off being a 2 seater sports car combined with some of the more grown-up GT aspects. The ride (post the 2013 facelift) is surprisingly compliant even on UK roads. Certainly not as bone rending as some of the more track focused cars I looked at. This is a trade off obviously. It doesn't have the last word in body control, doesn't corner as flat as some, but that allows for a lot of enjoyment in itself - sharp turn-in, feel and feedback from the (hydraulic) steering and from your backside being plonked quite rearward. It has been getting minimal use but that is improving - going out on a few runs around North Wales with a local car club, also driving over to our office in Cheshire has been a surprisingly pleasurable experience.
The V6 combined with the 7speed paddle shift (torque converter) is great, if not a patch on a modern dual clutch setup. Switching between manual and auto shows a noticeable difference. In auto shifts feel much like a traditional autobox, which is nice for long runs or when you need to relax. In manual and using the paddles the changes are quicker and more abrupt, with a sharp lockup/little slip. The engine has lots of torque (for a n/a engine) low down and has quick throttle response. A nice V6 rumble, but gets a bit strained over 7k. Combined with the short gearing of the auto (1st 36, 2nd 55, 3rd 86 and 4th 125 @7500) and the lockup in lower gears acceleration was surprisingly swift - certainly more so than the manual 6 speed car I tried. Sound wise, the exhaust is not very intrusive - verging on the quiet - though these can be easily changed, For my purposes the sound fits nicely with a more GT focus. Braking is (for me) excellent. Possibly slightly over servoed but I got used to it fairly quickly. The braking is firm but easy to modulate and I haven't experienced any fade (though I have never taken it on a track - its not really that sort of car).
Trim/finish wise, it is what it is. Japanese. Which is not to everyone's taste but what you lose in expensive feeling materials you gain in the knowledge that the switchgear will still be working properly for some years to come. My car is 8 years old and feels as solidly put together as most new cars. Everything works. Obviously. The seats are supportive and comfortable though reach adjustment on the wheel would have been nice... Tech-wise it is firmly in the first decade of the 21st Century, which I see as a good thing. It does have satnav/reversing camera etc, but they are standalone and functional which is all (and more) than I want. The stereo is decent but I tend to turn it off and open the windows most of the time.
Costs? Pretty reasonable, especially considering the type of car it is. I bought the car from a Nissan main dealer with full Nissan history and an approved used warranty. A 2013 car with 19k miles and 2 owners. Such are the crazy times we are living in it is now worth the best part of £1k more than when I bought it... Servicing at a Nissan (Nismo Centre) dealer was £250 for a major service. Insurance was just over £250. So far nothing has gone wrong or even hinted that it might consider the prospect of going wrong. Fuel consumption baffles me. I generally get around 28mpg driving locally (country A&B roads) reasonably spiritedly and on longer motorway runs on cruise at 75 I get around 33mpg - brim to brim. Nothing I have read suggests it should do this, but for the size and type of car and performance at hand I am quite pleased. The only cloud is the road tax. As its a 2013 car it falls into Band L, so £585 this year (Post 2017 cars are cheaper though). Something had to give I guess...
So, lots of words and some pictures. I am here to educate and inform. The 370Z deserves more recognition. Oh and for all the Japanese car aficionados out there:
.
And don’t forget to turn on the auto-generated English subtitles.
P.S. The dogs fit in the back 'fine'.
Great looking car, I seriously thought about getting one myself. That tax is a bummer though that seems to affect a number of Japanese cars.
I love the old Supra; I'm impressed you managed to discuss both the Supra and MR2 without mention of their greatest shared feature so I'll do it for you: pop-up headlights
I love the old Supra; I'm impressed you managed to discuss both the Supra and MR2 without mention of their greatest shared feature so I'll do it for you: pop-up headlights
Snubs said:
Great looking car, I seriously thought about getting one myself. That tax is a bummer though that seems to affect a number of Japanese cars.
I love the old Supra; I'm impressed you managed to discuss both the Supra and MR2 without mention of their greatest shared feature so I'll do it for you: pop-up headlights
I do miss the pop up lights. The Celica had them too. Often a feature of 70s and 80s 'performance' cars and gave a real feel of driving something out of the ordinary. Also a useful way to see where the corners of the car were too...I love the old Supra; I'm impressed you managed to discuss both the Supra and MR2 without mention of their greatest shared feature so I'll do it for you: pop-up headlights
take-good-care-of-the-forest-dewey said:
I'm curious... How reliable?
Nissan's more mainstream cars are dire when it comes to reliability. We test drove one and we liked it but decided against having had rubbish experience as a wider family with Nissans.
Mine has been totally reliable, but I have only had it 16 months or so. Nissan's more mainstream cars are dire when it comes to reliability. We test drove one and we liked it but decided against having had rubbish experience as a wider family with Nissans.
From the forums in the UK, US (where they sold A LOT) and elsewhere they are seen as pretty bulletproof. Often doing 150-200k miles. There are occasional issues (more with the pre facelift/2013 cars) with things like an issue with the steering lock, high oil temps on track, and clutch release bearing on older manual cars but nothing on a large scale. Certainly nothing on the scale of the European counterparts.
They are made in the Toichigi plant in Japan:
Which is Nissan's premium facility where they also build the GTR and Infiniti models - akin to Lexus. The suggestion is that QC in the Japanese factory is superior to other Nissan facilities.
take-good-care-of-the-forest-dewey said:
I'm curious... How reliable?
Nissan's more mainstream cars are dire when it comes to reliability. We test drove one and we liked it but decided against having had rubbish experience as a wider family with Nissans.
As above, 350Z & 370Z are fairly reliable, a few slightly pricey suspension parts, consumables in line with the weight/power, the odd issue but largely affordable to maintain. These longitudinal engine cars are 100% Renault-free unlike Nissan's family fare, probably more in line with their 80s/90s cars which were pretty solid.Nissan's more mainstream cars are dire when it comes to reliability. We test drove one and we liked it but decided against having had rubbish experience as a wider family with Nissans.
now that is a fantastic colour!!!
A few of my work colleagues have 370z including 2 Nismo ones, they like to try and park near each other. 3 grey, 2 black and a white one, yours would stand out in the car park FAR MORE !!
Also, top marks posting the Best Motoring video, those blasts around Tsukuba are brilliant. The quality of driving combined with it not being one pro racer on a closed track make these tests seem much more useful for making comparisons with cars. 6 laps of a 1 and a half mile track seems to give a good indication of how much a car relies on it's power more than it's handling if it's going to nail a good lap.
A 1min 05sec lap around Tsukuba puts the 370z in the company of the Nissan Skyline R34GTR & BMW M3 e92, it's half the price of either of those so it should be considered a bargain sports car
A few of my work colleagues have 370z including 2 Nismo ones, they like to try and park near each other. 3 grey, 2 black and a white one, yours would stand out in the car park FAR MORE !!
Also, top marks posting the Best Motoring video, those blasts around Tsukuba are brilliant. The quality of driving combined with it not being one pro racer on a closed track make these tests seem much more useful for making comparisons with cars. 6 laps of a 1 and a half mile track seems to give a good indication of how much a car relies on it's power more than it's handling if it's going to nail a good lap.
A 1min 05sec lap around Tsukuba puts the 370z in the company of the Nissan Skyline R34GTR & BMW M3 e92, it's half the price of either of those so it should be considered a bargain sports car
Pilotguy said:
With no steering wheel reach adjustment, what would the cockpit be like for a 6 footer?
I'm 6foot4 and found it comfortable. Stunning car OP, I've had 2 350z and an almost new 370, I think the 350 HR was one of the best, but the 370 was a good step up. I sold it after a few months though for a Cayman S. Must admit I always felt worried the Porsche would go wrong, I never had that with my Nissans, fantastic reliability - didn't spend a penny in replacement parts for any of them.
take-good-care-of-the-forest-dewey said:
I'm curious... How reliable?
Nissan's more mainstream cars are dire when it comes to reliability. We test drove one and we liked it but decided against having had rubbish experience as a wider family with Nissans.
Car looks great OP!Nissan's more mainstream cars are dire when it comes to reliability. We test drove one and we liked it but decided against having had rubbish experience as a wider family with Nissans.
As far as Nissan reliability goes, I did 60k in my 350Z and we've done 120k in our Qashqai, both have only needed routine servicing plus some suspension bits for the Qashqai more recently. Id love a 370 once our house renovation is finished.
Mr Tidy said:
That looks great OP, and I wouldn't call it brown!
I thought about a 350Z before I bought my first Z4 Coupe, but never got as far as trying one - although the Nissan looks much more dog friendly than a Z4C.
I looked at the Z4 coupe 3.0. Lovely car but annoyingly BMW stopped making them far too soon. I thought the boot was a reasonable size to be honest.I thought about a 350Z before I bought my first Z4 Coupe, but never got as far as trying one - although the Nissan looks much more dog friendly than a Z4C.
Om said:
I looked at the Z4 coupe 3.0. Lovely car but annoyingly BMW stopped making them far too soon. I thought the boot was a reasonable size to be honest.
The boot is a decent size but the rear bulkhead is much higher, which is why I think they may be less dog-friendly. 
And in the M Coupe the boot is smaller as well to house the battery.
They stopped making them in early 2009 ahead of the release of the folding metal top E89 model, but all 3 of mine were registered in December 2006!
But there is something special about a 2 seater with an N/A 6 cylinder petrol engine, RWD and manual gearbox.
I hope you enjoy yours as much as I enjoy mine.
Your 370 looks great. I'm a big fan of your red/brown. I think I've posted a pic of mine elsewhere but thought I'd add here after a long drive from Fife to Oxford.
Your write up leaves very little to say! I think they're ace cars. I see they get commonly criticised for their weight. I note that they're almost the same weight as the new 911 GT3!
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