RE: Nissan 370Z MY18: Driven

[SturdyHSV]

When looking for a second hand, big engined, manual, rear wheel drive coupe 7 years ago, I went for a Monaro instead. The Nissans didn't even register, how would you even get up a hill with only 3.7 litres?

[GroundEffect]

Haven't driven the 370 but drove a 310PS 350 and it was a big let down for me. Felt much more of a cruiser than a sports coupe/GT. Engine was unremarkable and didn't like revs, and the handling was inert.

Want to love. Don't. Would have a V8 Mustang for £5k more and get 100PS more. And 4 real seats.

[CABC]

the rev matching works perfectly. but i left it off when i had one as really, what's the point in a sports car?
the article is a fair summary. not comfortable enough to be a GT, chassis not sporty enough for sports car.
i wanted to love it so much, but it missed the mark. a shame, because turbo tech still isn't good enough to replace na.

[tomic]

A hell of a lot of people are put off these by the £500 odd quid VED (especially used buyers). I would have thought that in ten years they could have at least tweaked it enough to get that down.

[Regiment]

When looking at cars like this, it’s amazing to see the value you get with the Mustang. An extra 2 cylinders and a historic badge.

[ilovequo]

Wheels look like something from Home Bargains...

[wab172uk]

tomic said:

A hell of a lot of people are put off these by the £500 odd quid VED (especially used buyers). I would have thought that in ten years they could have at least tweaked it enough to get that down.

Yeah, because £1.37 a day is far too much !!!!

If you can't afford £500 a year for road Tax, maybe it's not the car for them, considering the other high running costs.

[J4CKO]

Nanook said:

wab172uk said:

Yeah, because £1.37 a day is far too much !!!!

If you can't afford £500 a year for road Tax, maybe it's not the car for them, considering the other high running costs.

I drive a 350Z. It costs me £535/year to tax.

I can afford it.

I still think it's bullst though.

Indeed, pay it monthly factor it in, I had colleagues on various PCP's and leases telling me I must be mad for having a car with VED that high that only does 20 ish to a gallon, er, you pay £300 a month for your car, my tax is £42.50 (or therabouts) and your car does maybe 40 to the gallon, so double the fuel but I only do fairly low miles, so costs me maybe the same again in fuel.

So, it cost me a bit more, but I bought it for seven grand, ran it for two years and sold it for, seven grand, I bought and exhaust, replaced the crappy head unit and that was it really.

Does that diesel Golf still look such a cheap option ?

[tomic]

wab172uk said:

Yeah, because £1.37 a day is far too much !!!!

If you can't afford £500 a year for road Tax, maybe it's not the car for them, considering the other high running costs.

Thanks for that. I never said there was any sense to it, I just said it puts a lot of people off - You've only got to look at the number of people who buy diesels when they only do a tiny mileage to see that logic often goes out of the window when they're are presented with low road tax and high mpg.

[350Matt]

Sorry but these have always been far too fat to be right


1550KG!!!

A 2 seater sports car needs to be 1000kg ish, I can live with 1200kg whilst still grumbling about it but 1500+ is waaay too fat

[fido]

tomic said:

A hell of a lot of people are put off these by the £500 odd quid VED (especially used buyers). I would have thought that in ten years they could have at least tweaked it enough to get that down.

I don't think there is much you can do emissions wise with something naturally-aspirated, nearly 4 litres in size. Their new Variable Compression Ratio 2.0 litre turbo would slot in nicely though - even better if they did a 2.5 straight-five version.

[sandys]

Krikkit said:

I know it's a bit like apples and oranges, but I'd have a V8 Mustang over this. It just seems to lack that certain something that makes it special.

Quite a few US reviews that compare them and the 370 is considered a sports car in comparision due to better handling, feedback and lower weight.

I quite like these myself and as a purchase now, its under 40k so there's no £310 annual tax supplement and it is only £140 a year to tax since 2017 rules change, this means you can spend an bit more on the fuel and a few choice mods to tighten it up a bit. Which the GT86 and Mustang also need if you want to use them and perform well on track to be fair.

Felt a lot like my MX5 to drive, which out the box was not amazing but a good base which with a few tweaks becomes a weapon.Obviously heavier but managable.

Edited by sandys on Tuesday 13th March 12:41

[cerb4.5lee]

350Matt said:

Sorry but these have always been far too fat to be right


1550KG!!!

A 2 seater sports car needs to be 1000kg ish, I can live with 1200kg whilst still grumbling about it but 1500+ is waaay too fat

I fall into a similar camp aswell and I always moaned that my Z4M was too heavy(over 1400kg). I have always fancied a 350Z but I do think its weight would ultimately annoy me too much.

[liner33]

Had two 370z , one mildly modified and one extensively modded with a supercharger and 480hp so a bit of a fan , but still cant believe they are largely unchanged since 2008, I've moved on surprised they haven't especially when you look at the changes the R35 has undergone

They are very popular in the US though and much cheaper so guess that's why they still make them

[daemon]

David87 said:

An odd car, the 370Z. I always preferred the earlier 350Z and by the amount of each I see on the road even now, the sales figures would seem to agree.

Naff finance deals and poor discounts initially knackered them. Along with high road tax and fuel economy concerns.

Great cars though. We'd have another

[tonman83]

I had a 350z which I had to sell shortly before our son was born. I had wanted one forever, and I loved it. It had a straight through exhaust and sounded fantastic. None of this fake exhaust sound nonsense. Plenum spacer for bit more power and some other sensible upgrades.

Whilst it wasn't the easiest to hussle or throw around like a hot hatch, that's not what it was. I've got a golf gti for that.

I miss it very much, particularly as these types of cars may never be seen again. That V6 lump was a joy.

If I could afford it I would have another tomorrow.

[daemon]

TrickyTrevM5 said:

Good value (if you want the above) a 2-3 yr old one will look identical, pretty much, and will cost a lot less. Probably a shrewd alternative to new.

We bought an 18 month old one with 9,000 miles on it for £19,995. It was a GT too. Drove it two years, sold it for £18,000.

[liner33]

daemon said:

David87 said:

An odd car, the 370Z. I always preferred the earlier 350Z and by the amount of each I see on the road even now, the sales figures would seem to agree.

Naff finance deals and poor discounts initially knackered them. Along with high road tax and fuel economy concerns.

Great cars though. We'd have another

Yep, not as practical as the 350 as well boot wise . Never thought either of mine were bad on fuel and the insurance on a stock one was really cheap £240 FC iirc

[daemon]

GroundEffect said:

Want to love. Don't. Would have a V8 Mustang for £5k more and get 100PS more. And 4 real seats.

You can buy a new 370Z discounted for around £26,000 from one of the main brokers.

A Mustang V8 is £41,095 with no discounts, so £15K difference.

We drove a Mustang and frankly anything other than in a straight line drag the 370Z would run rings round it.

[daemon]

liner33 said:

daemon said:

David87 said:

An odd car, the 370Z. I always preferred the earlier 350Z and by the amount of each I see on the road even now, the sales figures would seem to agree.

Naff finance deals and poor discounts initially knackered them. Along with high road tax and fuel economy concerns.

Great cars though. We'd have another

Yep, not as practical as the 350 as well boot wise . Never thought either of mine were bad on fuel and the insurance on a stock one was really cheap £240 FC iirc

Agreed. Our A45 is only a couple of MPG more economical than the 370Z was, but the perception out there among buyers is that they are hard on fuel

Did the 350 not have a big strut brace across the back that restricted boot access? We always thought bootspace on the 370 was fine, given what it was.