A BLAST TO DRIVE, BUT SHOWS ITS AGE
Nissan’s Z roadster is deliciously mechanical with a touch of nostalgia
Drive a convertible, and you’ll wonder how we ever figured a sunroof was good enough. When the weather holds, there’s nothing like opening up one’s car to the sky. Nissan’s entry is the 370Z, which traces its history to the iconic 1970 Datsun 240Z.
It’s a looker, and I got noticed in it everywhere I went, no doubt helped by its coat of red. It hasn’t been substantially updated in a while, and the word is that Nissan doesn’t intend to replace it once its lifecycle finishes.
It’s fun to drive but shows its age, lacking interior sophistication and some higher-tech features. There are only minor changes on the 2018’s appearance, including a “smoked” look on the lights, blacked-out rear fascia, and new wheels, along with tweaks to improve acceleration.
Power comes from a naturally aspirated 3.7-litre V-6 engine, making 332 horsepower and
270 pound-feet of torque. The droptop gives a considerable jolt to the price; while the coupe runs from $29,998 to $48,298, the 370Z roadster starts at $49,698.
Roadsters with manual transmissions get a new high-performance clutch, but my tester was optioned with a seven-speed automatic transmission (for an additional $1,500). It may not be as much fun as pushing through the gears yourself, but it’s a pretty slick unit nevertheless, rev-matching on downshifts and switching gears quickly when you click through them using the wheel-mounted paddle shifters.
The fact that Nissan basically left this car alone over the years is a large part of why it’s a hoot to drive. It feels deliciously mechanical, from the engine’s snarly rumble to the tight, firm, and very communicative steering. It tends to follow the road’s ruts and crown, but keeping it on the straight and narrow — being in control of this car — is what makes it so appealing.
You’re driving this car, not just pointing the nose. That said, when the roof is up, it conspires with the passenger’s tall roll bar to create a solid side that could hide an 18-wheeler when you do a shoulder check, and the mirrors aren’t very large.
The soft top raises and lowers electrically, and hides under a metal tonneau that clunks and bangs when it opens and closes. But the top is well insulated, and the Z isn’t anywhere as loud inside when on the highway as I would have expected.
The roadster comes in one trim level, which includes heated and cooled seats, navigation, automatic climate control, Bose stereo and a tire-pressure monitoring system. It lacks some features found on more updated designs; instead of LED headlights it has xenon bulbs, its cruise control isn’t adaptive, and it doesn’t have smartphone connectivity.
The only available options are a $4,100 sport package that adds 19-inch lightweight wheels and performance brakes, or a red Bordeaux roof, which can only be added to sport-equipped models, which costs another $1,500.
The interior isn’t up to the price tag, with its dated design. The seats move ahead and back electrically, but you use plastic dials to adjust the height, and it’s a tight fit for large hands to reach down to turn them. The steering wheel tilts but doesn’t telescope, but instrument cluster moves with it, so the gauges aren’t hidden when the wheel is moved.
There’s one cupholder, door pockets, and a small covered console cubby box. There are storage wells behind the seats, but it’s tough to squeeze items back there. Trunk space isn’t affected when the roof is stowed and it took a couple of overnight bags.
The 370Z is about $8,500 more than the priciest Mazda MX-5 soft top, but $7,400 less than the least-expensive Audi TT convertible, and below models like Porsche’s Boxster or the Mercedes-Benz SLC. It’s an aging model, but it still has enough to offer its fans. And if Nissan does pull the plug, I think it could potentially become as much of a collectible as the original Datsun Z that spawned it.