2009 Nissan 370Z: Keeping Cool on a Hot Day

Originally Posted by Edmunds.com

This weekend was a scorcher with temperatures in the mid to high 80s and that was just at 10 in the morning! So when I had gone out to brunch and parked our 2009 Nissan 370Z in the hot midday sun, I was dreading slipping back into its darkly swathed cabin.

Before I got in, I even opened both doors to get a nice cross breeze going and then sunk into the seat with a premature "Ow!" but there was no need. The faux suede was, as expected, comfortable but the leather on the sides was only just warm against my bare skin. The amazing part was the cabin itself was only warm as well as opposed to the searing heat that I had initially expected. And all that dark gray on the dash? I could actually rest my hand on it without suffering any burns.

Is this special technology? I know BMW has technology to keep its leather 20 degrees cooler than usual leather but I couldn't find any mention of something like this on the Nissan site. Another editor supposed it was the tinted glass that helped filter out the infrared light but whatever it was I was grateful.

And I also loved how quickly the air-conditioner cooled down the warm cabin. Really made the hot days bearable.

By the way, here's how we enjoyed the beautiful weather this weekend: a leisurely cruise in the Santa Monica Mountains.

Caroline Pardilla, Deputy Managing Editor @ 5,374 miles