THE QUEST FOR THE PERFECT CAR.
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WARNING - may be offensive to Z fans, but may be worth a read.
370Z - for me was the biggest disappointment of the year. All that hype... and then pfffffffffffft....
Numbers aside, does not feel anywhere as fast as it should be. Since the red line feels like it should be at 6,000 (anything above that makes you feel that you accidentally pushed the self-destruct button), you just don't feel like pushing it. The sound just does not encourage you to rev the living daylights out of it, like in S2000. The engine feels remote and reserved compared to Mazdaspeed 3 swooshing, hissing fire dragon.
It's weird but I did not feel like I want to go fast in this thing.
Handling is respectable but the whole thing feels a little agricultural. You are conscious of the extra weight. The whole thing has the flavor of being a little ponderous and brute forced.
In 370Z you are always conscious of having to drive it. However, I am sure that the Z will grow on you within a year as the engine breaks in and the confidence grows.
Keep in mind that putting go-fast parts into 370Z may not work out because of the whimpy LSD. I believe that the last no BS great sports car Nissan built was 300ZX. Pitty.
Bottom line:
if you are tight on cash - I would suggest buying Mazdaspeed 3 GT. Most practical, fastest feeling and going, and one of the most fun. Or consider RX-8 (some great bargains out there, you can pick up a new one for 20k these days at some more desperate dealerships.
) if the FWD just does not do it for you (I considered RX-8 seriously before I drove Cayman S).
if you can spend a bit and don't care about trunk space, I would go for S2000 (if you can get one as they are being discontinued, too expensive to build and priced too low). Most fun value for the money.
if money is available - go for the Cayman S. it's worth every penny.
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How objective is the drivel above? Somewhat. I drive my cars on the street only. I keep it as legal, as I can but am guilty of being less cautious at times.
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