Nissan 370Z Coupe (09 on) - Review

Only one engine is available in the 370Z. As the name suggests it is a 3.7-litre V6 with 331bhp on tap. It rumbles into life when you press the neat engine start/stop button and on the move it burbles away providing effortless acceleration - 0-62mph takes just 5.3 seconds. The standard gearbox is a six-speed manual but it’s not the slickest transmission around and – along with a stiff clutch – makes driving at slow speeds or in traffic quite tricky. Those expecting the slickness of a Porsche Cayman will be disappointed. However, the weighty gear shift goes with Nissan’s claims that this is a sports car in the old-fashioned tradition. There are huge reserves of power, even higher up the rev range, but it’s always delivered smoothly and predictably. GT manual models come with a system called Synchro Rev Control (SRC) as standard. This cleverly ensures that the engine revs are at the optimum level when changing gear and will blip the throttle when changing down during fast driving. Also available is a seven-speed automatic – something that was never offered in the UK on the 350Z. It’s not a twin-clutch system as on the GT-R but it is still mightily impressive with slick and rapid shifts, while steering column mounted paddles allow you to change gear manually. Annoyingly though, they aren’t fixed to the wheel.

The 350Z has a reputation for sometimes being quite a handful, especially in wet conditions. The 370Z may have more power, but it also feels more composed, especially when accelerating out of corners. That’s not to say it’s gone soft – it’s still just as involving and enjoyable to drive - especially on sweeping roads. There’s virtually no body lean in corners, the steering is meatily heavy and provides plenty of feedback plus there’s huge amounts of grip. However, hard acceleration in the wet, or on uneven roads, will easily prompt the traction control light to flash on the dashboard. The ride is very impressive for a performance car and deals well with potholes. A limited slip differential is standard along with vehicle dynamic control (VDC) which reduces engine power or individually brakes a wheel if needed.