My FIRST Z experience

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I have only once ridden in a Z before, a 350. Today I went to my NIssan dealership and looked at a 370Z. It was the Touring w/Sport package. The exterior looked good. It was well made. No gaps or trash in the paint or misaligned body-panels.

The interior was very nice. The suede was great, and the gauges looked well thought out. The seat fit me perfectly! I have set in SRT-4's and I couldn't fit in the seat. I am 5'10 and 175#, so I am not obese or anything. My shoulders just never seem to fit. I end up leaning back on the side-bolsters instead of actually sitting IN the seat. Not so with the 370. I loved the feel.

Closing the door, it sounded solid. Like a bank-vault, if you will forgive the overused term. This vehicle did not have the Nav system, but I see where it would have gone. Nice.

That would normally be where myexperience ended, but the sales person was ADAMENT that I drive the car. What the heck? So I went for a ride. We rode in a convertible M6 car. I don't think it had the sport package as the wheels were 245 series out back. I didn't look at the sticker.

I let the sales rep drive first, and noticed NO flexing, squeaking, or anything other than the solidity of a brick. Even going over the crappy roads we have here. I was/am VERY! impressed. The hardtop should only be more impressive.

I did notice that therewas a good bit of "clunk" and jerkiness when the rep shifted. I figured he was just ham-fisted about things, but when I drove the car, I discovered this was only part of the problem. While I connected with the interior of the car, the controls--sucked. No, they weren't shoddy or bad, they are just so numb. The clutch, I couldn't tell where it engauged unless I was taking off from a stop. I was wearing my lightweight Mizuno jogging shoes and couldn't feel a darn thing. Very dissapointing. The steering on the other hand was very precise. Crisp. I loved that. The shifting was okay. I need to get used to the throw, but other than that it was good. I had the rev-matching option turned off and rev-matched my own shifts. It seemed there was a SLIGHT delay in rpm rising vs. blipping the throttle, and it seemed to blow past the point I was aiming for by a few hundred rpm. The weight and inertia of the flywheel seemed excessive maybe?

Acceleration was okay. I am not worried about that as if I get a Z I plan on a TT kit. However, it felt about like I imagine 270whp should feel like. It had no torque, but then, I am used to an LS1.

All-in-all, the 370 was VERY VERY! impressive and I am one step closer to wanting to buy one and TT it and drop a Tein suspension and some other goodies under it instead of getting an SRT/10. I just think the Z can perform comparably and be much easier to live with on a daily basis. I also love road-trips. The Z just felt like it would be friendly as a long-driving companion.

The over-all build and interior quality really blew me away.