After lots of being a passenger in a 350z, I finally got to drive one this weekend. I was quite looking forward to the experience after hearing all the argy-bargy about whether a Z4 or a 350z was a better car. So ...
The first thing I noticed was that I felt a lot more cramped in the 350z that I did in a Z4. I really had to max out all the options to get into the Nissan. But I was comfortable and got the show on the road.
My first impression was that the engine really does sound lovely, all burbly and fruity. The dials are all cowled and aimed at the driver -- very nice.
The car feels a lot lighter than it is, and the engine provides a decent amount of low-down grunt. Grip levels were excellent, even though the tyres had 34000 miles on them! I was quite comfortable slinging the car through bends at good speeds and the car did an excellent job of not parking itself in the nearest hedge.
I did like the flickering red light telling me it was time to change gear, and the gear shift was easy and smooth -- all the controls are.
However, there were some downsides: The car really didn't seem to want to spend much time over 4000RPM, which is a strange thing for a driver of an E34 M5. The rear tyres seemed to squeal a lot on pull-off.
But perhaps the worst thing was the sanitised driving experience. I was able to drive the car quickly, very easily; the performance was excellent and it made a nice noise -- but somehow, I just didn't care ... It wasn't woolly and numb like an Astra, but somehow there just wasn't any reward to it. Lobbing the car into a corner and kissing the apex just didn't seem as rewarding as it would in any BMW.
If I was looking for a nice, reliable, cost-effective, easy car to pootle around in, pose in and occasionally spank, I'd definitely consider it. But because none of those things mean as much to me as absolute driving pleasure does, I'll be giving it a miss.
Still, not bad for a Nissan!
The first thing I noticed was that I felt a lot more cramped in the 350z that I did in a Z4. I really had to max out all the options to get into the Nissan. But I was comfortable and got the show on the road.
My first impression was that the engine really does sound lovely, all burbly and fruity. The dials are all cowled and aimed at the driver -- very nice.
The car feels a lot lighter than it is, and the engine provides a decent amount of low-down grunt. Grip levels were excellent, even though the tyres had 34000 miles on them! I was quite comfortable slinging the car through bends at good speeds and the car did an excellent job of not parking itself in the nearest hedge.
I did like the flickering red light telling me it was time to change gear, and the gear shift was easy and smooth -- all the controls are.
However, there were some downsides: The car really didn't seem to want to spend much time over 4000RPM, which is a strange thing for a driver of an E34 M5. The rear tyres seemed to squeal a lot on pull-off.
But perhaps the worst thing was the sanitised driving experience. I was able to drive the car quickly, very easily; the performance was excellent and it made a nice noise -- but somehow, I just didn't care ... It wasn't woolly and numb like an Astra, but somehow there just wasn't any reward to it. Lobbing the car into a corner and kissing the apex just didn't seem as rewarding as it would in any BMW. If I was looking for a nice, reliable, cost-effective, easy car to pootle around in, pose in and occasionally spank, I'd definitely consider it. But because none of those things mean as much to me as absolute driving pleasure does, I'll be giving it a miss.
Still, not bad for a Nissan!
