I finally test drove a Z!

FlashBazbo

This won't hold any interest or relevance for most of you, but I enjoyed my first drive in a Z today and I learned a lot. Even after a number of weeks reading on this forum, there were some surprises for me.

First, of course, was the realization that a geezer test driving a 370Z Touring w/ Sport Package can very easily scare the crap out of a sales guy riding shotgun. Bwa-ha-ha-haaaaaa!

Now for the more pertinent observations for those who haven't yet driven a 370Z:

1. I found the ride and sound deadening to be very much on the luxury end of the scale for a sporty car. I was shocked. Very quiet. Some suspension jiggle, but not as bad as with a lot of less sporty cars. My 4cyl Honda Accord is much louder under acceleration (inside) than the Z. The quiet and smoothness muted the sensation of speed. I don't think I would like the added mutedness of a G37. Not knowing better, this is what I would have expected from a G37.

2. The gravel noise in the rear wheel wells is real, but it's not as bad as discussions on this forum had led me to believe. It only made itself known when we were driving across gravel patches in front of some intersections and driveways. I didn't find it that bad, at all. Of course, if I lived on a gravel road or drove a lot on roads with a lot of sand on them, my opinion would be different.

3. Rear visibility IS an issue. It is probably worse than you think it will be. You are essentially backing up in your mirrors. There is ZERO visibility directly out the rear quarter panels. You have the left and right side mirrors and the "mail slot" of a rear window. Backing out of a mall parking slot? Pray. A lot. And hope people are alert and charitable enough to slam on their brakes to miss you. You will be hard pressed to see them at the normal angle they would be coming from. When backing, the 370Z is the Mr. Magoo of the parking lot.

4. Speed. It's there. Acceleration. It's there. But you need the instruments to know it's there. The Z never appears to work for it (except for the burning smell when you park the car afterward). It seems to me that the car is so well put together that it masks what it's doing. No big shove in the back. No real jerk with gear changes. You hit 80 thinking you're doing around 40. Maybe I'm just too accustomed to the violent acceleration of my sportbike. I know the car is fast, but it was so effortless -- it seemed like a letdown.

Overall, I found the 370Z to be a highly-refined, fast car. It shares very little with a purpose-built, true race car. It lacks some of the visceral cues of the fast cars of the past -- the Gs to the back, the jerk of the shifts, the noise of the engine and transmission, the squeal of the brake pads -- but it's faster than all of them. I'm impressed. Maybe it's too civilized . . . or maybe not.

At any rate, my wife approved. If I want it, it's mine.