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Turning the key and hearing the engine roar to life is the first indication the Nissan 350Z is no poser. Turning onto a winding road proves this beyond a shadow of doubt. Sharp steering, terrific handling, and excellent grip make this a real driver's car. This car is very fast with brilliant acceleration. The Roadster's additional weight, a result of the platform strengthening added to restore the rigidity lost along with the solid hatchback top, no doubt adds a tick or two to the 0-60 measurement but isn't noticed in everyday driving.
Mounted longitudinally and driving the rear wheels is Nissan's excellent VQ V6 engine. It's smooth and sounds like a big sports car engine. It generates lots of torque at low rpm, pulling smoothly from about 2,000 rpm. Maximum torque of 274 pounds-feet comes at 4,800 rpm, tapering off as maximum horsepower of 287 hp is reached at 6,200 rpm. The engine is still pulling smoothly as the rev limiter steps in somewhere just north of 6,500 rpm, but this engine is more about low-rpm torque than high-revving horsepower. Nissan's Continuously Variable Valve Timing Control System helps the V6 produce a nice, linear band of torque. Drive-by-wire technology reduces mechanical weight and complexity.
The short-throw shifter feels good and it's effective. The six-speed gearbox shifts quickly and deliberately. It's so well synchronized you almost don't need the clutch (though Nissan recommends using it). Clutch pedal effort has enough heft to remind the driver this is no Honda Accord. With the Roadster's top down, the exhaust tone is music to the driver's ears, rising and falling melodiously and crisply as the gears are worked through the turns on a twisty road.
The automatic transmission works great, really smooth and responsive, and it didn't leave us feeling like we were missing out by not having the manual. The Touring model with the automatic and 17-inch wheels felt like the perfect combination for hurtling down New York's Taconic Parkway. With manual mode selected, the automatic holds lower gears right up to the rev limiter, upshifting only when the driver desires. Downshifts are electronically managed to ensure an overly rambunctious pilot doesn't over-rev the sweet V6. The delicious exhaust tone is wasted on Roadsters fitted with the automatic, though, when it wanders almost aimlessly up and down the scale as the engine slips seamlessly amongst the gears.
Handling feels taut and well controlled in both Coupe and Roadster. These cars really stick through fast sweepers, allowing the driver to keep the throttle down. The steering is sharp and accurate and the Nissan 350Z changes directions brilliantly in transient maneuvers, without excessive understeer turning in or sloppy oversteer coming out. Cornering is flat, without much body lean. The 17-inch tires generate lots of grip, even when driving in a rebellious manner. It's hard to imagine using it up outside a competitive event or emergency maneuver. The 17-inch wheels also offer a better ride than the 18-inch wheels. In either case, the ride does get jouncy on bumpy roads, most noticeably when cruising slowly, but it doesn't beat you up and we expect that with a sports car like this.
Buffeting at Interstate cruising speeds with the top down was much less than we expected, thanks to the tempered glass deflector mounted between the rollbars behind the seats and to the race car-like, aero body panels tapering back from each of the seat positions. Anti-flap seatbelt retainers further reduce the perceived buffeting effect. Rear side vision loses little to the convertible top, as the hatchback's quarter panel already blocks a sizable area of the cops' favorite pacing space.
The brakes are easy to modulate, fun to use, and do a good job of stopping the car. Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist come standard on all 350Zs. Just like it sounds, Electronic Brake-force Distribution improves stopping performance by dynamically balancing front and rear braking forces. Brake Assist is a mechanical system that applies full braking if it senses an emergency-braking situation where the driver has not stepped hard enough on the brake pedal to engage the ABS. Push the car too hard into a corner or find yourself on a slippery surface and Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC) and traction control come to the rescue by reducing power or applying brakes at individual wheels.
If you like to drive on racetracks, then you should select the Track model for its Brembo brakes. The weight of the Nissan 350Z challenges the stock brakes when they are used over and over, lap after lap. Also, the 350Z understeers when driven to the limit, meaning you need to get it slowed down a little more for the corners, then use the torque to power out. The big Brembos probably won't significantly reduce stopping distances, but with dual-piston calipers and bigger discs, they should resist fade better than the standard brakes, an advantage when turning laps on a racing circuit. The Track model may be a bit much as a daily driver, however.
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