What I Did This Afternoon (370Z Content)

So my friend is looking to have fun with his dieselgate buyback money, so we went to look at a 370Z this afternoon. It was an automatic convertible, but it was still great to drive.

• Good, solid steering weight that builds in a beautiful linear fashion. The steering feedback is also good.

• Now this is an automatic transmission I can get behind. Rapid shifts, metal paddles, and an autoblip on the downshift. Really good fun.

• The VQ engine is still an absolute powerhouse. Nice torque down low, and a solid surge of power right up the the 7500 RPM redline.

• The suspension was rather smooth. It absorbed pockmarked and potholed roads really well, but you still had that great sense of connection to the pavement beneath you.

• The Bose stereo was really good for an OEM system in a convertible.

• That VLSD puts in a shocking amount of work. Even shod with summers and driven on cold, rain slicked roads, traction control didn't intervene once and it didn't even try to diff out.

• The way the rear arches flare up in your sideview mirror is absolutely tremendous.

Downsides? Well, the wind noise with the top up is ridiculous, the blind spots are rather large, and I couldn't find the USB jack for the life of me.

Even though it's almost 10 years old, the 370Z feels more composed than the Toyobaru, let alone the Genesis Coupe. Overall, I highly recommend trying one out if you're in the market for a sports coupe.

Did you happen to look in the trunk? I can't recall whether I was looking at one of these or the Infiniti equivalent at an autoshow, but I do remember that the trunk "space" with the top down was basically enough for a rolled-up T-shirt and a cheese sandwich. (I know I'm sounding like an Old Guy here, but at some point everybody has to take stuff somewhere, as I expect your friend did in his ex-diesel.)

In reply to Stealthtercel:

Interesting, I recall with the 350, the trunk was designed to hold a golf bag top down.

The 350 was horrid. My dad bought the s2000 because he could easily get his golf bag on roller cart in it but the 350 took about 5 minutes of sweating and cussing to get it in there.

I've just never been a fan of either the 350Z or the 370Z. Then again, I never really liked the 300ZX, either. Admittedly I've never driven any of them.

G_Body_Man wrote: So my friend is looking to have fun with his dieselgate buyback money, so we went to look at a 370Z this afternoon. It was an automatic convertible, but it was still great to drive. + Good, solid steering weight that builds in a beautiful linear fashion. The steering feedback is also good. + Now this is an automatic transmission I can get behind. Rapid shifts, metal paddles, and an autoblip on the downshift. Really good fun. + The VQ engine is still an absolute powerhouse. Nice torque down low, and a solid surge of power right up the the 7500 RPM redline. + The suspension was rather smooth. It absorbed pockmarked and potholed roads really well, but you still had that great sense of connection to the pavement beneath you. + The Bose stereo was really good for an OEM system in a convertible. + That VLSD puts in a shocking amount of work. Even shod with summers and driven on cold, rain slicked roads, traction control didn't intervene once and it didn't even try to diff out. + The way the rear arches flare up in your sideview mirror is absolutely tremendous. Downsides? Well, the wind noise with the top up is ridiculous, the blind spots are rather large, and I couldn't find the USB jack for the life of me. Even though it's almost 10 years old, the 370Z feels more composed than the Toyobaru, let alone the Genesis Coupe. Overall, I highly recommend trying one out if you're in the market for a sports coupe.

I'm sorry, this is GRM and you're wrong, they are terrible The hate for these cars is strong here...lagging only slightly behind GM hate. Something I've never understood. That said, I'm a former 2x G35 owner, and will likely some day have a G37. I think they are fantastic cars, especially in the used market. Interesting to hear about the wind noise. Was this a used car? Any chance there were some seals/joints that could be improved?

Ive driven manual 350s and 370s and while i liked driving both, i would only own the 370 based on the fact that i really don't like the exterior of the 350. I think the 370 is a really underappreciated sports car. I honestly think the nissan badge holds it back even among real enthusiasts because i feel like people tend to leave it out when considering other cars of similar performance with more established sporting cachet, like C5 Vettes, E46 M3s, Boxster S, Caymans, etc.

Having said that, I have no attraction at all to the automatic convertible version of the 370.

Is the 370Z that much better than the 350Z?

I had a 2006 350Z.......I believe I traded it in on a new '10 MazdaSpeed 3 after owning it for 3 months. Even 4 years old and only 25k miles, the interior was already showing wear and it was just underwhelming overall.

I've spent time in both, and the 370z is a big improvement on the 350z. Being so similar, they feel related, but the 370 is like the big brother jock, compared to the 350. The 370 is powerful, meaty-feeling and they have a lot of grip. The interior and styling (to my eyes) is also much improved in the 370z.

I remember the 370z vs evoX article i read that showed the 370 being just as fast around the track and in every performance category.

Driving my friend's well sorted 350 on a track was a blast. I can only imagine what a similar setup in a 370 would be like.

doc_speeder wrote: Interesting to hear about the wind noise. Was this a used car? Any chance there were some seals/joints that could be improved?

It was a used example, albeit gently so (about 27,000 miles on the clock). I'm not sure if seal adjustment would have helped, as the top seemed to sit fairly flush with the windshield header, and the windows sealed excellently. The coupe is much better in terms of wind noise, but that's not what we were sampling yesterday.

Stealthtercel wrote: Did you happen to look in the trunk? I can't recall whether I was looking at one of these or the Infiniti equivalent at an autoshow, but I do remember that the trunk "space" with the top down was basically enough for a rolled-up T-shirt and a cheese sandwich. (I know I'm sounding like an Old Guy here, but at some point everybody has to take stuff somewhere, as I expect your friend did in his ex-diesel.)

The 370Z can fit a golf back in back with the top down, but it would be tight. Regardless, my buddy doesn't carry around a lot of stuff, and he Amazon Primes just about everything, so he could live with it.

As a former G35 owner (in 6-speed sedan form) I still think that the 350/370z and G-coupe are some of the better buys on the used car market for a car of the type, despite what the consensus of this board may be.

The G35/G37 are a good alternative, especially in coupe form. My friend had an '04 G35 6MT/Brembo car with the Aero package and it was great. The longer wheelbase helped handling and the weight penalty over the 350Z (which is on the portly side to begin with) wasn't awful. He traded in an '03 Base 350Z on the G35 and never regretted it, especially as the 2 rear seats made it a much more practical car.

I've never even sat in one so I can't say too much but I think the 350/370Z coupes are gorgeous, and the exhaust sounds are gorgeous too.

In reply to gearheadmb:

You sit so low, the hood with the power bulge goes on for miles, and you have the crazy beautiful view in the side view mirrors of the rear haunches bulging up to your ear level, all compound curves and all. It's also so willing to rev, it makes an E46 330i feel a bit coarse. You also get some crazy bits for your money, like an aluminum front subframe, aluminum engine cradle, aluminum hood, aluminum hatch, carbon fiber driveshaft, carbon composite radiator housing, and forged control arms for the double wishbone suspension up front.

I miss my 370 pretty much everyday. For a quick car that's also a good daily driver, it was hard to beat. Well...rear tires are costly. Never understood the hate they get around here.

In reply to racerdave600:

They're great cars, albeit hard to place on the market. A Mustang GT is faster, a Camaro V6 1LE produces more grip, an 86 feels simpler and slightly lower, and a Miata has somewhat better steering and feels way lighter. The best thing I can compare the 370Z to is the V6 F-type. You get that same sense of meaningful heft and old school attitude, along with a very distinctive exhaust note and practicality from the liftback.

G_Body_Man wrote: In reply to gearheadmb: You sit so low, the hood with the power bulge goes on for miles, and you have the crazy beautiful view in the side view mirrors of the rear haunches bulging up to your ear level.

That's 2 reasons why I don't like them.

In reply to Duke:

The funny thing is that you never feel like the windows are too short, unlike in a previous gen Camaro.

I liked the couple I drove. A manual coupe G35 and automatic 370Z convertible. I'd be very tempted by a G37 sedan.

I spent a week with a 370z auto rental and really really liked it. It was light years ahead of my friends FRS in regards to something I might want to use as a DD. It actually made me look at used ones for a bit in that blue color they look so good in.

G_Body_Man wrote: In reply to racerdave600: They're great cars, albeit hard to place on the market. A Mustang GT is faster, a Camaro V6 1LE produces more grip, an 86 feels simpler and slightly lower, and a Miata has somewhat better steering and feels way lighter. The best thing I can compare the 370Z to is the V6 F-type. You get that same sense of meaningful heft and old school attitude, along with a very distinctive exhaust note and practicality from the liftback.

I sold an '08 Mustang GT with all the Shelby bits to buy the 370, it was faster in every way (not faster than the new ones however), and it handled so much better the Mustang felt like a truck. I sold it to buy a new BRZ which I still regret. The BRZ was fun, had better steering feel, but worse in almost every other respect. I still have a Miata too, but disagree about it having better steering feel. It's quicker to be sure, but not better.

370's are certainly not perfect, mine had a few issues in the 32k miles I put on it, mainly rear tire wear and the body control module. But the BCM was handled under warranty and you just had to suck up the rear tires and pay the bill. The paint was also pretty thin. If you ever got bird crap on it, it needed to be washed off asap or it would stain.

Has anyone driven a 370Z and a 6th gen Camaro? If so, could you compare and contrast?