The *REAL* official 370Z test drive thread

[awesomez]

I have decided to write a review of my 370Z after seeing many posts asking to give pros and cons on the car. Hopefully it will either help turn you away from buying or it will encourage you to buy.

First of all I am reviewing a 370Z Touring with AT and every option available. Some things may or may not apply to even 6SP version with the same options. I have had it for 4 months and put on 8k miles which include long distance trips.

Cons first:
- Rear tires with sport package make a lot of road noise
- Huge blind spot on driver side
- Massive side mirrors to compensate for blind spot but create even more obstruction even for someone who is over 6’ tall
- It does not have 1 mph cruise control
- The speedometer will travel +/- 4mph while cruise control is engaged depending on terrain
- There is a major city in my state that voice recognition with navigation will not recognize no matter what (if there’s one, there must be more)
- No USB input on the deck, only compact flash card
- Stock exhaust should be a bit louder
- Remote key buttons are huge, plastic, not sufficiently indented and get pushed accidentally in my pocket all the time
- The gas pedal is too big (bus big)

Pros:
- Fun to drive
- It is fast and has a lot of grip
- The brakes with sport package are amazingly smooth and effective
- The manual mode of the AT works very well and has no slip from 2nd gear and up
- AT feels like manual but without the annoying clutch
- AT has rev match feature
- It has a luxurious feel for a change from 350Z
- The cabin actually eliminates a lot of outside noise (but not enough from rear tires)
- Gas pedal has been adjusted so that you can actually maintain speed, encourages gentle driving during low revs
- I’ve had better than advertised gas mileage when driving normally (3-5 mpg better than 350Z), during aggressive driving it’s much worse than 350Z
- Smoother ride than 350Z even with sport package
- I actually like the loud engine at high revs
- 19” Rays with sport package look great
- I like the rear wing with AD package
- Remote keys work from much greater distance than 350Z
- Leather seats are sticky so there is no slipping during cornering
- Leather seats will not make you sweat any more than cloth

Issues other reported but I haven’t experienced:
- Oil overheating - I have not ever reached 230 degrees even in 110 degree temperatures and 100% humidity
- I do not have any rattling noises so far
- I do not have an “oil consumption” problem so far
- No brake issues
- In fact there are no known problems so far

In conclusion, this car is either so beautiful that people can’t get enough or is so ugly that people can’t look away.

[370Zsteve]

Originally Posted by awesomez

Issues other reported but I haven’t experienced:
- Oil overheating - I have not ever reached 230 degrees even in 110 degree temperatures and 100% humidity
- I do not have any rattling noises so far
- I do not have an “oil consumption” problem so far
- No brake issues
- In fact there are no known problems so far

In conclusion, this car is either so beautiful that people can’t get enough or is so ugly that people can’t look away.

+1

[Brandon26pdx]

I tried out a yellow 09 touring last week. Had 6mt but no sport package so unfortunately didnt get to see the Syncro-RevMatch in action (They didnt have a 6mt/sport on the lot)

Coming out of my 08 6mt the car's controls felt eerily similar so it was a snap to jump into and drive off in without hiccups. (The first time I drove a manual 350Z was pretty hilarious...these cars have much touchier controls than average.) The clutch engagement was much more abrubt than my car, but a lot of that probably had to do with the fact that it had 8 miles on it The pedal was definitely not any lighter than in my car though...if anything a tick heavier. The transmission felt very similar but seemed to shift smoother into 2nd than my car does, but maybe I just got a notchy transmission and this one was unusually smooth...hard to say on that. I didn't get to get on it much but I goosed it once in 2nd gear at about 3500 rpms...definitely more thrust at throttle tip-in with this engine, and noticably louder compared to my car, which can be good or bad. I like loud when it's a good loud...I liked it. Not as sophisticated as, say, the blatt of a Porsche flat-6 or as awsome as the roar of an Aston Martin V12, but not nearly as dissapointing as it's been made out to be. I liked the engine sound better than my car.

The interior on a 370Z touring is pretty exciting compared to my base 350Z. The materials seem much higher quality...borderline luxurious compared to a 350Z. Doors close with a more reassuring "thunk". Alcantara seat/door inserts and keyless push-button start are hot. Leather on the seats was soft and not at all cheap feeling (ie. light years better than cheapass feeling leather you get in a Honda) The guage cluster has less of a low rent feel to it. The digital fuel level gauge was probably trying a little too hard, but it's interesting and colorful to look at nonetheless. You sit much lower in the car compared to the 350, so it's more difficult to see over the hood if you're vertically challenged When I got back in my car I felt like I was sitting on the roof, which is really saying something, considering you already feel like you're sitting in a bathtub in a 350Z a little bit!

The only thing about the exterior styling I though was a swing and a miss was the sideview mirrors. Big. Gaudy. Not nearly as attractive as the svelte 350Z mirrors. Otherwise the exterior is much more grabbing to look at IMO. The 370 will turn heads than might not have noticed a 350 and as well as *almost* any P-car.

Overall, easily the best true sports car you can buy for the money now. A 2010 Cayman S is better. A 2010 Corvette with Grand Touring package is (probably) better (havent driven one). But, those cost $20-30k more. All depends on what you're comfortable and able to spend on a car.

[370Zsteve]

Good honest post +1