Nissan 370Z: PH Carpool
Lairy looks, lairy noise and a pleasing old-school vibe for this week's PHer ride
Car: Nissan 370Z
Owned since: Jan 2016
Previously owned: Mazda RX8 PZ, Audi A4 2.0 Petrol, Volvo S40 1.6 Petrol
"I've become the kind of guy that starts planning the next car as soon as I've bought the last one. I have to work towards something. The next savings target and the amount I need before I can upgrade. So as soon as I'd bought the Rex in 2014, I started pondering the next purchase. It had to be faster than the RX8. It had to have more grunt (aka more torque). And above all else, it had to be lairy and immature - after all, why do we put ourselves through the financial roller-coaster of owning 'proper cars' if not to live out our childhood dreams in a stupid looking bright yellow Nissan?
"In the end, this purchase happened by complete chance. I had decided to upgrade. I had a private buyer for the Rex (RIP), and I was on the lookout for my next car. £20K was the budget, so after much deliberation between an Evo X and a Cayman S, despite temptation, the servicing costs and relative leggy-ness of a £20K Cayman concerned me. So I set out to hunt for a decent Evo X, which apparently is harder than it sounds. Every 300 or 330 Evo that came onto the market in reasonable condition got snapped up instantly. Every time I'd ring to book a viewing and test drive, I'd be told it was already sold with deposit taken. So I continue scouring the websites of various Japanese performance dealers, and low and behold up pops this 370Z. A relatively old '09 plate, but with only 15K miles on the clock, and one owner from new where it had been garaged and used as a weekend toy. I don't know if it was the supposed immaculate condition and easy life this car has had, or whether it was the bright yellow paint and rip-off Porsche-esque decals on the side that hooked me in, but I was intrigued. One test drive later and the rest is history, as they say."
"Just how skittish it is over a bad road surface. This is one car that cannot operate over a poorly surfaced B-road, which in the UK, is a real daily occurrence. Traction is a real problem over bumps and/or minor pot holes, but to be fair the suspension does a reasonable job of keeping the ride comfortable."
Things I love:
"I'm still in the honeymoon period so this list is extensive. First and foremost, it's the sense of occasion from this particular set up. The exhaust has been completely replaced along with a set of high-flow cats, which combined with a new air filter makes for a raucous growl on start up and a real muscle car-esque burble at low speeds around town. It just makes me smile every time I pull away, and more importantly it addresses the biggest complaint I hear from 370Z owners which is that the stock exhaust is too quiet and too monotonous.
"The character of this car really appeals to me. It ticks so many of the boxes - it's effectively a Japanese take on a muscle car. Relatively cheap and affordable for the working class everyman; A big displacement NA engine up front, rear wheel drive, and manual gearbox. It even delivers its performance in an 'American' way. Lots of low down torque allows it to be driven very lazily under normal conditions. You can cruise easily in fourth gear at 30mph where it can make swift progress without revving it all the way out. There's no dynamic driving modes, no adjustable settings, and no messing about. It feels decidedly old-school (which is either a good or a bad thing, depending on who you are). In short, it's a thug. And that is a very good thing indeed."
"On the flipside, it doesn't reward you for really pushing it and trying to reach its limits. It's very decidedly a GT car, not a proper sports car. This was a big shock at first as I expected the opposite, and coming from an RX8 PZ, I was used to a car that felt like it wanted to be pushed and enjoyed operating at ten tenths, as opposed to a car that just wanted to cruise. Which can become frustrating at times, because in juxtaposition to this lazy GT character, the engine is still designed to deliver peak power and torque at the top of the rev range (as you'd expect from an NA lump like that), but it just doesn't feel like the car ever wants you to access it. More often than not you find yourself shifting at about 5,000 revs, which begs the question - why set the engine up with a 7K red line?
"This certainly doesn't ruin the car. I am unashamedly in love with it... it's more of a curious observation around design and set up."
Costs:
"All as expected for a car of this type thus far. £80 to fill up a tank of premium petrol gets you between 300 and 350 miles in return. The tax is £500 per year, and the insurance is £950 for a late 20s gent living in south east London with five years no claims. Haven't had to service it yet, but I've looked into it and it seems to be no more than £220 from a main Nissan dealer."
"The very first trip was an especially long one. I traveled all the way up to Mansfield to pick it up, and had a 300-mile trip back down to London. Since then there's been some decent road trips too, including a week long drive across the south coast stopping at Brighton, Southampton, Bournemouth and Poole. I'm fortunate enough not to use the car for work or commuting, although I have also on one occasion had to attend a client meeting in this bright yellow beauty - suffice it to say it's a conversation starter in the white collar world of Financial Services."
What's next?
"I'm not a big time tuner or someone who tinkers endlessly. The set up this car has at the moment is enough to keep me happy, and it's tough to extract more power from the 370 without forced induction. I'm planning to keep this until mid/late 2017 and then move on to the next one (finances pending). As previously mentioned I have a crippling addiction to the classifieds and have already narrowed down the shortlist for the next upgrade. Really want to get something outlandish next and sub £40K Audi R8s, Nissan GT-Rs and Maserati Granturismos are just too tempting to say no to. Saving has already begun, just need to get a second job to pay for the servicing costs now..."
Want to share your car with PHers on Carpool? Email us at carpool@pistonheads.com!
A gen 2 cayman will deliver this but at additional purchase and maintenance costs. Unfortunately it also doesn't have the rarity of a Zed which I really liked.
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