The sporty drop-top
Last year I was thoroughly impressed by the Nissan 370Z Coupe with its acclaimed SyncroRev Match system which has rightfully bagged numerous awards including one for “the most fun car” in its homeland Japan.
As with its predecessor 350Z Nissan has just released the convertible version of the new vehicle named the 370Z Roadster. We attended an intimate launch on the outskirts of the Cape’s wineland area to give the car a good stare and a proper drive.
Nissan alleges that the Roadster was designed as a convertible right from the start and they didn’t just take to the hapless 370Z Coupe with an angle grinder. Promise. Most attendees agreed with Nissan’s cheerful marketing staff that the Roadster cuts an even more dashing figure than its hard-top cousin.
The sizable roof gap of the 370Z can be covered by an electrically operated cloth top in roughly 20 seconds. Its simplistic silver button with obvious “open” and “close” markings takes centre position between the two seat heater buttons. A small glass deflector between the headrests is aimed at reducing turbulence and the probability of expensive hairstyle disasters.
More severe trouble is avoided by the 370Z Roadster’s safety equipment; 6 airbags (including curtain airbags) and identical crash ratings as the Coupe aim to keep its occupants from harm. The additional strengthening any convertible requires over a tin-top vehicle has added only 59kg to the Roadster’s scale read-out.
Happily, this is a full 120kg lighter than the 350Z Roadster, an improvement-flavoured trend that continues throughout the specifications of new vs. old. Not only is the topless 370Z safer, faster and more expensive than the 350Z, it’s also shorter, lower, wider and 40% more rigid. Kaizen!
Powering the newcomer is the same VQ-series power plant as the Coupe, linked to the same gearboxes and drive train. The celebrated 3.7 litre quad-cam V6 provides 245kW (333hp) of power at 7000rpm and up to 363Nm of torque at 5200rpm.
Manual gear shifts are undertaken via a heavy 6-speed manual with SyncroRev Match, or a 7-speed automatic with manual mode and (fixed) paddle shifts. 0-100km/h sprints are dealt with in 5.5 (manual) and 5.8 (auto) seconds.
The new Roadster’s centre of gravity rests even lower than before and weight distribution has been fiddled with even more to make the handling crisper and more responsive. Its road holding abilities are truly impressive, as we discovered on wide open country roads and damp mountain passes.
Our test vehicles were all fitted with the automatic transmission which proved to be lively and willing to please. A manual would still be more rewarding, although the auto does its best to imitate the manual’s Syncro-job trump card by severely blipping the throttle on down shifts.
The automatic gearbox will also obey your commands quicker than most others, so even spirited driving turns out to be (in true Z fashion) a very rewarding experience. The biggest benefit of the auto 370Z Roadster is that is cruises and poses better than a manual car would.
This would allow passers-by to admire the vehicle’s striking 19 inch wheels, boomerang head and tail lights, huge twin exhaust pipes and contoured silhouette. Slow movement will showcase the new Z’s reasonably comfortable suspension, but only to a point.
I use the word “reasonably” with caution, as the seats are quite hard and the Roadster’s suspension is much better at flying from high-speed apex to hairpin with pinpoint precision. This car not only looks fast, it blatantly begs you to let it off its leash. Which you will…
The grumpy-sounding engine fizzles its way to 7500rpm with pleasure and the electronic safety nets (ABS with brake assist and force distribution, stability and traction control) finally make their appearance in a subtle, unobtrusive manner. Yet another hallmark of a proper, proper driver’s car.
Have I mentioned yet that the 370Z Roadster is quite the sports car? More proof is inside the beast with the ingenious instrument and steering wheel adjustment, as well as electric seats, windows and mirrors. 3 extra dials smile at you from atop the dashboard and the seat feels like it is 3cm off the road. Brilliant.
BOSE speakers and mp3/ipod/AUX/Bluetooth compatibility come as standard, as do steering wheel buttons, two 12V sockets, two subwoofers and four cup holders. Nissan offers a Premium DVD Navigation system for an additional R21 000, now also for the Coupe.
A Nissan 370Z Roadster will cost you R543 000, add R18 000 for an automatic gearbox if you really, really have to. Its service plan runs for 3 years or 90 000km and it comes with a 3 year 100 000km warranty.
I would happily recommend the Coupe or Roadster, personally prefer the manual and would be glad to help you choose between the 7 available colours.
