Wow!!! OP here. Bit of a hornet's nest here. I'm still moving house, so I haven't been online for a few days and it's been very interesting to read the responses and reactions.
I am truly sorry if I upset anyone here with one particular part of my review. Really - I truly did not want to annoy you, I was just reporting what I found.
It is quite possible that the UK suspension set-up is different from the USA set-up. I seem to remember that the 350Z's were set differently, so my experience may not be the same as yours. However, I WAS comparing similar UK cars (350 & 370) and the difference was quite clear to me. Naming no names, but someone who knows A LOT about these cars (
with respect, quite probably more than most people here) agrees with me, although I was unaware of this before I made my judgement.
Having been a moderator on a UK 350z site for several years I know how passionate we all are about our cars and the last thing I want to do is upset anyone, but please don't think that I'm naiive or rash or indeed wrong (!) - I'm none of those things. I'm just not prepared to say something's OK when I don't think it is.
I went into the test drive really wanting to love the 370z - and I DID love many many aspects of it, but (to sort of answer one of nogoodname's points) high speed driving
is of interest to me and every time I reached a highish speed I had to back off, to the point where I only felt comfortable cruising at a speed about 20/30mph below where I'm normally comfortable. For some people this would not be an issue, for me it is. An easy fix would be for me to change the suspension - and if I get a 370z, which I may well do in a few months time, I will prioritise changing the suspension over replacing the badges (that's how important it is).
There are so many points I would like to answer, but the one that sticks in my mind is the question about my thoughts on the GTR - to answer your query, I absolutely LOVED it to bits. The handling is sublime, along with everything else about the car, except for one thing - service & maintenance costs - they are ridiculous and make it too expensive for me. The dealer recommends that buyers commit themselves to a service savings plan that is the equivalent of about $250 per month just to cover the cost of the six-monthly services for the first 3 years. A set of brake pads & dics costs the equivalent of more than $8,000!! I can't justify that kind of expense, but I really do love the car. It's an
amazing piece of machinery.
Thank you to all those people who understand that I'm not trying to trash the 370z and who respected my right to review what I found. .....And to the people who were just plain rude and insulting - I love you
ps - I don't dislike Clarkson because he's 'edgy and provocative', I hate him because he's a to$$er - and having tried it I still don't like the synchro rev match, I prefer to drive without it - so shoot me.