2008 Nissan 350Z Reviews

Ewan Kennedy reviews the 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 Nissan 350Z and Nissan 370Z as a used buy.

Personally, I never saw the point of chopping the top off a perfectly good coupe. Equally, there's a vocal body (my wife, hairdressers, men ageing badly ...) who wonder why you'd have a roof you couldn't get rid of at the press of a button. I'd say that a chop top adds weight and sacrifices rigidity, for all of which you're charged more.Surely Sydney's summer sun is too savage to go topless, the traffic too congested and the air too on the nose.Others — including, yes, those who brandish hairdryers in a professional capacity — might suggest this is of no consequence. A roofless attitude liberates a car from the functional and mundane. Lower the lid — it ceases to be an appliance and becomes a lifestyle-enhancing accoutrement.It's also about 50 times safer. Sitting down low with the roof up, the want of rear quarter vision makes one long for a Lotus. Although the car presented here is the automatic Touring iteration as opposed to the hardcore manual Track coupe, the recently enhanced mechanicals mean the softer device won't disappoint when the open road beckons.Introduced last year, the new VQ35HR engine comes late in the Zed's model life (a replacement with folding hardtop is due within 12 months), but it's one that should ensure its worth well after it is superseded. Some 80 per cent new, this 230kW/358Nm V6 not only bulges the bonnet suggestively, but transforms the way in which oomph is delivered to the rear wheels of what was an already muscular and responsive roadster.Lidless versions now share the hardtop's fully-fledged powerplant with its palpable lift in low-end torque and higher redline, enabling the Roadster to transform from boulevardier to B-road brute with a good prod of the loud pedal. With five cogs as opposed to the manual's six, the auto suffices beautifully in most circumstances, the tiptronic mode imparting a degree of DIY.Indeed, save for the want of curtain airbags, this is the only place in which the Roadster falls short of the Coupe.It gets five-spoke 18-inch alloy wheels, ABS, traction control, leather trim, electrically-adjustable and heated front seats, single-zone climate control, six-CD Bose audio with steering wheel controls, Xenon headlights and cruise control.While the Touring version misses out on the Track's Brembo brakes and — more importantly — Vehicle Dynamic Control (Nissan's electronic stability program), it receives four-wheel ABS with brake assist, electronic brake force distribution, traction control system and limited-slip rear differential.The Zed is newly shod in Bridgestone Potenza RE050A, with a 225/45R18 91W fitted at the front and a wider 245/45R18 96W at the rear.There's a temporary use spare, which leaves overnight luggage space.Even the lurid burned orange hue won't disguise the ageing and rather arid plastic nature of the interior, but it's functional, by no means oppressive and — in sports car terms — exceptionally decently priced.Assertive character that the Zed was, it's more so now. Within minutes of driving away, the throaty resonance of the 3.5-litre bent six is evident, but it needs to gargle with 98 RON to stay on song. Though redline is only 500rpm north of the previous 7000, it reaches this height in a tuneful tenor, fairly hurtling from top torque at 4800rpm and maximum power at 6000.Driven back-to-back with the more rigid and lighter Coupe, the Roadster's deficits in these respects would no doubt be evident. But it's not going to be deployed in those circumstances, leaving the lankier drivers of the latter to have their scalps seared as the Zed delivers an experience that makes you wonder where the money is in an SLK.Accessing all of what the Zed has so readily (especially in the absence of the full outfit of electronic minders) could see the neophyte, or even those unused to powerful rear-drive cars, get bitten fairly hard.With far more benign open-top cars to be had, those who find themselves seduced by the Zed's striking visual 'tude should be aware that roofless can translate rapidly to ruthless.It's a measure of its dynamic competence that the Roadster feels almost as composed at speed as it does day to day.Certainly, it's almost equally at home in both situations — as an intuitive, grin-inducing handler in the former, and eminently civilised in the latter. The most expensive Zed car at $73,990, the Roadster Touring is by far also the cheapest car of its type.But in no sense at all should it be seen as a bargain Japanese option in a field of Germans.However, at almost $80K less than the very best roadster — Porsche's Boxter S — the Nissan really is wonderful value for money.Even though it's not the variant I'd want, it stands up in its own right, an accomplished and reinvigorated ride that will continue to reward as the years roll by.The bottom lineEnduringly excellent. SnapshotNissan 350Z RoadsterPrice: $73,990Engine: 3.5L/V6 230kW/358NmEconomy: 12.1L/100km0-100KM/H: 6.1 seconds The rivalsAudi TT Roadster V6Price: $92,900Engine: 3.2L/V6 184kW/320NmEconomy: 9.6L/100km0-100KM/H: 5.9 seconds BMW Z4 3.0siPrice: $94,000 (auto)Engine: 3L/6-cylinder 195kW/315NmEconomy: 9L/100km0-100KM/H: 6 seconds Mercedes-Benz SLK 350Price: $115,900 (auto)Engine: 3.5L/V6 200kW/350NmEconomy: 10.7L/100km0-100KM/H: 5.5 seconds 

Nissan's 350Z roadster is the Porsche for those who can't afford a Porsche.The Japanese two-seater may not match a Boxster at the top end of driving dynamics.Any Porsche has a certain amount of breeding, a continuous sports car heritage hard to ignore. A Porsche, belted hard, retains an amazing amount of mechanical finesse from engine response to road balance.And, as with most German road machines, a Porsche has a certain amount of polished fit and finish. The Nissan Roadster, a little more raw in essence, is a very decent and desirable substitute for quite a few dollars less.At $73,990 for the six-speed manual, this is a sports machine of some substance and value.From the start, Nissan's 350Z Roadster looks the part, a rare soft-top machine that manages to look mean, menacing even, with roof in place. Both 21st century coupe and roadster Zeds have grace and muscle to body style, the soft-top's lower roofline adds further character to the low-slung stance.Yet snug down in a decent driver's seat this low roof and narrow rear window do not hamper good visibility in most directions. (Anyway, with the agility and performance of this Nissan Roadster there is little need to keep too much of a weather eye on rear view mirrors.)The cabin is comfortable, just enough room for two adults with electric adjustments on both seats, a couple of cubby holes and the usual array of comfort and convenience features.These include the push-to-drop button for the roof, decent stereo system that pounds the bass notes into your back and a neat set of three binnacle dials for oil, battery and digital read-out for road speed. This last is of some use for the 350Z's tachometer dominates the instruments ahead of the driver, there's a smaller speedometer off to the right, a little hard to read quickly. Speeds do need to be monitored around here.From the get-go the 350Z does not feel super, super fast, there is the hint of muscle but 1.5 tonne of car to get away. Maximum torque doesn't arrive until 4800rpm and maximum power until 6800rpm, which may help explain the Roadster's road speed becoming more linear as it rises.But as road speeds rise, as the driver flicks up though those six manual ratios and that V6 spins into its stride, things began to pass by at a fair clip. It is a grand machine to hustle along.The 350Z Roadster may not run through its paces with quite the finesse of the aforementioned Boxster, there is a little gruffness to the mechanicals at the high end of the revs, but it does the job with joy and accomplishment. (The coupe is a shade lighter which may help start-line jumps.)These 2007 model Zeds score a reworked V6 with almost 80 per cent new bits, from dual intake system to a wider range for the variable valve timing, bigger crank journals plus a little more compression.The VQ35HR weighs in the same as before but the centre of gravity is down a bit and the Nissan's bonnets now have a power bulge to better fit the powerplant. Power is up from 221kW to 230kW, torque lifts from 353Nm to 358Nm and maximum engine speed has increased by 500rpm to 7500rpm.So there is plenty to work with here as the Roadster crouches, sprints and bellows down the bitumen.The car feels rock solid, rides better than the first generation of this latest line of Zeds, turns in with feeling and hunkers down.Here and there on this Track version the stability control system (yes, it's switchable) kicked in to correct some over exuberance but (on a dry road at least) it takes a bit for the Roadster to lose its manners.Track versions also score four-piston calliper Brembo brakes for extra confidence.It is a car for belting down the bitumen, top up or down, with sweet responses to steering wheel and throttle inputs. It remains eager and involves a driver, rewards driver input with excellent point-to-point times across the back country.Conversely, this Roadster can be an easy shopping trolley (although two cartons of XXXX will fill the boot) and, apart from scraping low over some obnoxious speed humps, is easy to potter and park.And, whether out for a tour or out for a shop, the Nissan 350Z Roadster always looks right; those 18-inch wheels filling those flared guards, that simple crouch and that uncomplicated rear style. It always looks right, it always looks like it's ready to do the business.But a week with this car is long enough. It began to cost too many Lotto tickets, looking for those extra elusive dollars to add a 350Z to the garage. Snapshot Nissan 350Z Roadster Track Price: $73,990Body: Two-seat convertibleEngine: 3 litre V6Power: 230KW @ 6800rpmTorque: 358NM @ 4800rpmTransmission: Six-speed manualDimensions (MM): 4315 (l), 1815 (w) 1323 (h) 

But what are hats and sunscreen for?Besides most of today's roadsters can get their fabric or folding metal lids up at the push of a button within half a minute. These are Carsguide's favourites: Affordable fun Mazda MX-5 Price: from $42,870Engine: 2L/4-cylinder; 118kW/188NmEconomy: 8.5L/100kmTransmission: 6-speed manual or autoIf there was an annual award in this category it would reside perpetually in Mazda's trophy cabinet. The original MX-5 reinvented the classic Brit roadster adding such novel notions as performance and reliability.The third generation retains the 1989 model's exhilarating dynamics and sheer fluidity. If you don't find pleasure in the way an MX-5 drives you've probably ceased breathing.Purists might decry such modern innovations as air-con, power steering, ESP, a folding composite roof and (egad!) an auto transmission, but it hasn't been 1957 for some time now. Still others would rather it went quicker, but they're missing the point.The MX-5 is the affordable roadster. Track marqueLotus Elise SPrice: $69,990Engine: 1.8L/4-cylinder; 100kW/172NmEconomy: 8.3L/100kmTransmission: 5-speed manualThe salient figure here is 860 that's the number of kgs the entry-level Lotus weighs, or about 500 less than a Toyota Corolla whose engine this spartan roadster uses to get from standing to 100km/h in 6.1 seconds.While it's absolutely one for the enthusiast - or the fanatic - even if you've not the least wish to drive something so uncompromised (though a good deal more civilised than the Exige) you should at least be driven in a Lotus once. It'll open your eyes. Wide.At its best at track speeds, where the Lotus's wonderfully unassisted steering comes into its own and where it doesn't matter that it takes ages to assemble to roof, you can smilingly drive one every day. But beware barging SUVs. Zed's not dead Nissan 350Z RoadsterPrice: $73,990Engine: 3.5L/V6; 230kW/358NmEconomy: 12L/100kmTransmission: 6-speed manual or 5-speed autoThe Roadster version of the still outstanding 350Z gives very little away to the coupe model and while the same-priced auto is a cog short of the manual's six, it's easy to live with in city traffic.Though we've yet to try the Roadster with the substantially new the faster V6 that causes the bonnet to bulge so priapically, our recent week in the revised Coupe suggests that it too will be more of an already good thing.It's almost impossible to believe that same company is responsible for the Tiida ... Gay tidingsAudi TT Roadster V6 quattroPrice: $92,900Engine: 3.2L/v6; 184kW/320NmEconomy: 9.6L/100kmTransmission: 6-speed DSGLike the coupe, the lighter front-wheel-drive with the GTI's turbo four pot is a better bet most of the time than the heftier all-wheel-drive, though it's not really a sports car there'll be moments when you'll love yourself for the latter's extra go and grip.Dispensing with the coupe's comedy back seat, there's ample room behind when with the fabric roof's folded. Some find the ride a bit terse; I don't but would still take the optional magnetic suspension.With performance and handling that are both entertaining and accessible while wrapped in such an aesthetically bell-ringing package, the TT is fairly loveable. If only ...Porsche Boxster SPrice: from $135,100Engine: 3.4L/6-cylinder; 217kW/340NmEconomy: 10.4 or 11L/100kmTransmission: 6-speed manual or 5-speed autoIn our rare idle moments hereabouts, certain of us scan the classifieds trying rather pathetically to convince ourselves that a used Boxster is almost within our reach. Almost. Well, maybe one day ...That's the problem with spending any amount of time in a Boxster, particularly, the top whack S. There's nothing wrong with it, you see. Well, maybe the ride on bigger tyres is just a bit savage, but so what when all else is perfect. It even sounds wonderful.At it's worst, the Boxster will make you hate yourself for not being a better driver. So sublimely intuitive is the handling, so poised and balanced does it feel even in extremis, it almost always feels capable of more. Even if you're not. Two plus twosAffordability aside, floating the open top proposition can founder on the fatal shores of practicality. Society frowns upon selling one's children, though surely financing a Boxster should be cause for sympathy.Still, Volkswagen's Eos (from $49,990) cabriolet/coupe comes is a practical, stylish and - with the drivetrain of the Golf GTI - tolerably rapid 2+2. It retains adequate bootage with the sophisticated folding metal lid, which can be configured five different way, folded down. Uniquely there's also a diesel option (from $48K), so you needn't use much juice.And there are further options afoot.With BMW's glorious twin-turbo 3-litre petrol six, the 135i cabriolet (due in June) will be by far the sharpest 2+2. Audi's A3 cabrio, likely to feature the 1.8-litre TFSI, follows in July.And if fortune smiles upon you to the tune of $1.19 there's the sensuous land yacht that is Rolls-Royce's Drophead coupe. Plenty of room in the back for the kids in this baby.