There should be a little space in every PHer's heart for the Nissan Z-car, shouldn't there? Well, that's what we reckon anyway, so we're putting the theory to the test by finding space in our car park for a new 370Z.
The Z has a long and illustrious history, highlighted recently by David Vivian's excellent
PH Heroes
article, and from the moment
we first drove the newest version a year ago
it was clear the 'fun factor' was still part of the core philosophy. So we had a quiet word with Nissan, and persuaded them a long-term test car was the only way we'd ever be able to properly appreciate the new machine's undoubtedly fine qualities. Charming folk that they are, they believed us...
OY10 PDX has now been with us a couple of weeks, and certainly looks the part in its gleaming Storm White metallic paint with Dark Grey interior – set off by a set of 19" RAYS forged alloys.
The Zed (or Zee as some would have it) has always been a value proposition, and as such the options list is relatively limited so it wasn't hard to pick one. All come with a lusty 3.7, 326bhp V6 VVEL petrol engine, limited-slip diff, and a six-speed manual gearbox with a seven-speed auto option.
The entry model comes in at £28,345, which seems especially good value as it's already well kitted out with Xenons, 'leccy seats and the like. However, being suckers for toys, we opted for the GT pack, giving us a full-house Bose stereo, full leather seats, bigger wheels, and synchro-rev with the six speed manual transmission – to which we also added Nissan's fab Connect Premium sat-nav. With Scratch Shield metallic paint adding £550 to the price tag, a fully-specced up 370 like this will set you back £33,350 which, when you start totting up the price of Porsche Cayman options, doesn't sound too scary at all.
Of course the 370Z isn't a Porsche, and we're not sure how many potential Cayman buyers would even consider a sports car with a Nissan badge on the nose. But that's not really the point if you're looking up at the Porsche from a more impecunious perspective, from whence the 370Z really does look a bit of a steal. After all, it delivers much of what the Porsche has to offer in terms of outright performance and grip, if not the extra topping of finesse on the limit that you'd expect to set the more exotic German apart.
But as a stand-alone driving experience, the 370Z is damn quick, and bags of fun. We like the way it looks too, so as you can imagine we’re pretty fired-up about getting to know it a whole lot better over the coming months.
Nissan 370Z Coupe GT Pack manual:
Bore x stroke: 95.5 x 86.0mm
Max torque: 366Nm/5200rpm
Brakes disks: 355x32mm(F), 350x20mm(R)
Wheels: 19" RAYS forged alloy
Tyres: 245/45 R19(F), 275 /35 R19(R)
Weight distribution F/R(%): 53/47