I look at it this way. I looked around and because I felt I would have the best time driving it, I bought a Z. Do I need
Road and Track or
Car and Driver, or
Consumer Reports to agree with me? No.
A forum like this draws enthusiasts with enormous loyalty to the car. Many own a 370, others don't but wish they did. So it's natural to vocally defend our car when it is negatively reviewed or ignored.
The facts:
- The 370Z is in its third year. Not news anymore
- Most of the reviews (over the past 2 years) had some negative comments, but all (including Top Gear UK version) found the car big fun to drive and extremely fast.
- The car is noisy. Some like that, some don't. (so what)
- High performance driving or steep mountain roads can cause oil overheating. Fixable with an aftermarket oil cooler.
- One magazine found brake failure with the NISMO. All of the others, inlcluding the usually cranky Consumer Reports love the sport brakes.
- Lots of people complain about the paint quality. My car is still the same color it was when I bought it last September
- Some were surprised that summer tires came on the sport (Infiniti includes "summer tires" in the specs for the 2wd model. Nissan doesn't for the Z)
I think that list is fairly complete. Only one known complaint about the "door sound" so it isn't included.
No car is perfect. The stock Z, particularly the sports package, is a high-performance old-school sports car. When I bought mine, that's what I expected and that is exactly what I got. I didn't want a super car. I didn't want a race car. I wanted a car I could drive to work every day and on occasion take to the track and drive on windy mountain roads just for fun.
As far as I am concerned, the car has met all of my expectations. If I find I like track days (going for the first time in March for performance driving instruction), I will add the oil cooler. I already changed out the tires for all weather ultra-high-performance Plots.
I don't care if I ever see another review of the car. I like it a lot that people tell me that I have a beautiful car. They do that often. The Z is one of the most beautiful cars I have ever seen. I love to drive it. It's safe, seriously fast, and not expensive to maintain.
So who cares what the magazines do or don't say? I voted with my checkbook and I am a very happy camper.