Esquire Review and recommendation on the 370Z

[BanningZ]

Esquire:

The Greatest followup of the decade: NISSAN 370Z

THE $30,000 PRICE RANGE offers a lot of interesting choices. You have your Camaro, Mustang, and Challenger: the BMW 1-series: the upstart Hyundai Genesis coupe. But the Nissan 370Z stands out as the only true sports car in the crowd. The Z alone is a tightly wrapped two-seater, with a trim curb weight of about thirty-two hundred pounds and hardcore options like forged Rays wheels and a manual transmission that automatically blips the throttle for perfect rev-matched downshifts. In terms of performance, mission, and hardware, the 370Z is right on top of the Porsche Cayman S. But it's half the price.

With the 370Z, Nissan has pulled off that hardest of tricks-the successful follow-up. I honestly thought Nissan had painted itself into a corner with the 350Z, an instantly recognizable car that won an immediate loyal following. I figured that the next Z would either look so much like its predecessor as to beimperceptibly different (as in the current Jag XJ), or it would be so out of left field that it would alienate existing fans and everyone else (as in Speed 2: Cruise Control). The 370Z though, pulls it off: It looks like a Z car, but with its boomerang headlights, and swollen fenders, its obviously not a 350Z.
Well played.

It wont lay rubber like a Mustang: it can't play the role of a family car like a 128i. But itgives the average guy access to big-league, hard-edged performance. Is the Cayman S better? Sure. But is it $30,000 better? Definitely not.
-E.D.