Reviews - 370z Roadster - Sports Cars - Nissan
EVO Test Drive Review 03/29/2010
New convertible Nissan 370 moves the game on from the car it replaces
It's probably fair to say that Nissan's game plan for turning the old 350Z coupe into a roadster didn't require the services of a supercomputer. It must have gone something like this: people like the 350Z, people like roadsters - let's cut the roof off. Impeccable reasoning and, sure enough, the resulting 350Z Roadster had a strong 'what's not to like?' appeal while singularly failing to contribute anything interesting to the evolution of soft-top sports cars or, indeed, the repertoire of the butch 'n' beefy 350Z beyond unlimited headroom.
Same routine for the new 370Z? I feel slightly guilty even asking the question. This time, as if to bury the memory of its rather perfunctory job on the 350, Nissan has put in the extra effort right from the start, developing the Roadster alongside the coupe with two main objectives in mind: first, to give the new car an identity and look clearly differentiated from the coupe's but with no dynamic compromises, and, second, to take the fight to the competition, Porsche Boxster and Mercedes SLK included.
AUTOCAR Test Drive Review 03/29/2010
First Drive
The convertible version of Nissan's recently released 370Z sports car. Like the coupe, the 370Z Roadster is both shorter and wider than the old 350Z droptop, and is powered by a larger 3.7-litre V6, producing 326bhp.
What remains unchanged is the Z's back to basics approach - this being an honest take on the sports car: rear-wheel drive, a large capacity naturally aspirated engine, solid mechanical gearchange and in the case of this roadster, a conventional fabric roof.
READ THE FULL REVIEW ON AUTOCAR
WHATCAR? Test Drive Review 03/29/2010
This is Nissan's 370Z roadster, which will go on sale in the UK by early 2010. It's a straightforward drop-top version of the 370Z coupe, with an electrically powered cloth roof that raises or lowers in around 20 seconds.
Nissan says that compared with its predecessor - the 350Z roadster - the new model's roof has a larger glass rear window, and the wind deflector behind the headrests has been optimised to reduce cabin turbulence when the top's down.
READ THE FULL REVIEW ON WHATCAR?
FIFTH GEAR Test Drive Video Blog 07/02/2010
The BMW Z4 has long been a Fifth Gear favourite, but have Nissan produced an even better blend of speed, style and fun with the new convertible version of their ballsy 370Z Coupe? Jason sets some scintillating lap times to find out.
WATCH THE VIDEO ON FIFTH GEAR
AUTOCAR Test Drive Review 08/10/2011
Of course the Nurburgring is to blame, where manufacturers are obsessed with making sure that their cars can lap the billiard table smooth Tarmac in a marketing-friendly time. And then the car leaves the Nordschleife and its customer starts driving it in Sussex and Cumbria where poorly funded and neglected roads are not smooth. Nissan was getting feedback from owners that its 370Z Roadster didn’t cope as well it should with UK roads and that tyre noise and ride quality should be better.
Instead of going to those technical workshops at the Nurburgring (behind the petrol station that sells ‘Ring-shaped pasta) it went to its engineers at the Nissan Technical Centre in Cranfield, Beds. The roads around Cranfield are typical so are perfect for honing supension settings.
What’s it like?
READ THE FULL REVIEW ON AUTOCAR
MSN CARS Test Drive Review 08/10/2011
On paper the Nissan 370Z Roadster had it all; speed, power, looks and a canvas roof that disappeared in seconds. The perfect two-seater sportscar then.
Well, not quite, because the suspension was so firm, and the body so soft, that driving the drop-top 370Z on anything but Lurpak-smooth roads would send shudders and shakes through the cabin like an Elvis impersonator with food poisoning.
The good news is Nissan has been listening, and charged its chassis engineers based in the UK with the task of refining the suspension to work on battered and bruised British roads.