Roadster Touring w/ Sport vs. Coupe Touring w/Sport 6sp

Dr. JD

I am purchasing a 370z in June, however, I am undecided which one to purchase (refer to title). I would get the same options in both including nav package.

Pros:

Roadster: complete open top, nice luxery window w/z etched in back (just a nice edition), air conditioned seats and there is no open space to see into behind the seats.

Coupe: Nice leather seats, full sport car look that is aggressive

Cons:

Roadster: the back end doesn't look as good as coupe, not as "sport car" look and not as aggressive, I look convertables but not so much soft tops, and the seats are great but the coupe's leather seats feel better.

Coupe: no open top (miss the T tops) and no air conditioned seats. open behind the seats.


With these pros and cons in my opinion, which would you choose based on the pros and cons? I do plan on putting a TT in it within 2 years.

Thank you for any help! I am shopping around and getting quotes lowered...that is why I am starting early.

wishihadnav

i prefer the coupe

Modshack

If you're going to twin turbo the car then go for the coupe. More rigidity to handle the HP..

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shadoquad

Even with your pros and cons, it will inevitably fall on where you place your priorities. All things being equal, I would have bought a roadster instead of my coupe, because I grew up with convertibles or sun roofs in sporty cars. I love driving in the open environment because of a more connected feel to the surroundings, but price restrictions made my choice for me. "Better any Z than the Miata" was my purchase decision. But you may place a higher priority on the quality of the seats and agressive coupe look. I don't know. They weren't a factor for me. I valued performance over seats, yet overall interior look over pure performance for the buck. If the structural rigidity is a factor to you, then I concur with Modshack's suggestion if you TT it. But if the open air matters more to you than cornering, the point may be moot.

I also don't necessarily see the issue with "open behind the seats". To me, the pro/con status is reversed. I like space behind. When I take a quick trip for small items, I like that little shelf to stash things on. It ain't room for much, but there's room for a clipboard or small bag. That won't have to sit in the trunk if I have a passenger. But that's my bias.

Whatever you decide, I hope you end up happy with your Z. I love my coupe. It's a fantastic car. I wish you the best.

Lee123

I guess it depends on how bad you want to put the top down. It was an easy choice for me because the primary reason that I was buying a car right now is that I wanted to put the top down. To be honest, I liked the looks of the coupe better myself initially but the appearance of the roadster has grown on me since I've owned it (5 weeks) and now I really like the way it looks. You sure don't see many of the roadsters on the street. I haven't seen another one like mine since i bought it.

Red370

Yall gotta think though, look how much better the Z34 roadster looks than the Z33, hell the 350Z looked like a damn chrysler sebring. Just awful how bad the ass end stuck out on that thing.

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Red370

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DarkPath

I see you have a biased opinion... Here is mine - having recently traded an 06 350 ZR... And here at zdayz there are 4 different 370ZRs on hand to
TRY to catch my eye...

There is no comparison... Between the 350ZR and 370ZR they are different cars with similar heritage and that is as far as the comparison can go... Similarly there is no comparison between the coupe and the ZR... They have similar heritage but they are totally different cars... One was made to ride in and the other made to ride on.... Not trying to be an authority - but I have owned both and I am just saying...

Get the coupe - you'll never have a moments anxiety about whether or not the top will fail...

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Mergnthwirker

How many days per year can you drive with the top down? Man, there's nothing like a convertible! If you've got the weather for it, it's great. I came out of a convertible to buy my Z coupe, and I do miss the convertible now that the weather's turning nice here in the Northeast US.

That said, I agree with the poster who said you'll have a lot better results with the twin turbo if you go for the coupe. You'll probably want to stiffen up the suspension and upgrade the brakes/clutch/transmission/LSD if you do the TT. All of these upgrades are MUCH better with a stiff framework underneath. Slap some big brakes on the convertible, and all of a sudden you start noticing the chassis squirm under hard braking. Stiffen up the suspension and all of a sudden the cowl starts shaking, and everything starts to creak and rattle in the convertible. The softer suspension in the convertible covers up a lot of the lost chassis stiffness. If you put the stiffness back in you'll suddently discover what the engineers were covering up.

Notice the frequent use of the word suddenly? In the automotive world, you don't want suddenly happening to you. If you plan performance upgrades, stick with the coupe.

sonic370

Like he said before with the roadster how many days do you think the top will be down. I had a 04 roadster i did love the look with the top down but i live in
Texas and i could only put the top down when temps were below 80 which was about only 20 times a year! to me wasn't worth the hassle.

Lee123

It all depends on where you live and how much you like having the top down. I'm in Phoenix and am a bit surprised that you can't have the top down more in Texas. It's dryer here and is comfortable with the top down up to about 90 for me. If your willing to put on a coat most of the winter days are OK. So, 4 or 5 months out of the year will be too hot in the afternoons and another ten or twelve days will rain. That leaves over half the days. To be honest, though, I like having the top down more than most folks. Even a month ago when the highs were in the low 80's I rarely saw another top down on anything.

For what it's worth I owned several roadsters of various kinds over the years I was stuck in the cold damp climate of Seattle. They were perfect there because it was raining, actually more a weak dripping drizzle, almost every morning in the "summer" but would be nice in the afternoons. Nasty to ride the motorcycle to work unless you like to arrive wet, but the roadsters worked out fine. Top up in the morning on the way to work, top down on the way home. Sometimes you could even leave it down 2 or 3 days in a row, but that was rare.

sonic370

Your right your post has a lot of good points. Ive' always liked the look of the 370z or even the 350 roadster. i had a 05 350 but here in Texas on the coast
it can get really humid. and 80 feels like 90 and 90 feels like 105! I would guess
out in Phoenix it would be more of a dry heat,if that makes sense. But up north
or even the northeast or out west the roadster would be a blast to own and drive.

Dr. JD

Thank you all for the fantastic opinions. There are not many days here on Cape Cod that it would be "top down" worthy weather! I am leaning toward a coupe now but the top down option is killing me.....

Maybe I need to get the wife a roadster