The Return of the Sports Car

To all of us who are sick to death of the SUVs choking the highways, to all of us who are tired of being stuck behind some schmuck's Family Truckster, to all of us who long for the open road, rejoice. The Z is back.

In the early 70s, Datsun originally debuted the 240Z as an entertaining car to drive, but built on sedan mechanicals to keep it affordable. It wasn't the first time it'd been done; The Mustang was a re-skinned Ford Falcon; The Camaro and Firebird were built off of the Chevy Nova. However something about the Z set it apart. At the time, if you wanted a performance car you were stuck either with a little British runabout with all the power of a lawnmower, or a fire-breathing musclecar with an insurance premium more expensive than the car payments. The Z was, at the time, the ultimate compromise, and it sold like crazy. Fast forward to the mid-90s, and the current Z-car, the 300ZX, had turned from the fun, affordable sportscar into a bloated, expensive exotic, complete with the languishing sales. In 1996, Nissan stopped selling the 300ZX in the United States, and at the time it was thought we'd never see it again. Good thing Nissan decided to re-think that strategy.

Onto the Z itself. It shares very little in the way of styling cues from any previous Z, except for perhaps the badge. The overall shape of the car is seductive and suggests serious power. Everything on the car looks like it belongs there, with the exception of the reverse lights. Maybe it's just me, but it looks like they finished designing the car and when it was done they looked at it and said to each other, "Is it just me, or did we forget something?" It's a little disconcerting considering how many people will likely see the back of this car, but it's hardly a deal-breaker.

The 350Z gains its motivation from a 3.5 liter DOHC V6 that serves in everything from the lowly Altima all the way up to the Infiniti QX4. In Z trim it makes a nice healthy 287 horsepower and drives the rear wheels, as all proper sports cars should. It's your choice as to whether you'd like to shift it yourself or let the car do the work, although it gets a little complicated. The Base, Performance and Track models have only the six-speed. The Enthusiast and Touring models have a 5-speed slushbox as either an option, or as standard, respectively. The six-speed manual, which I sampled (more on THAT little episode in the comments section) was easy to handle, providing short shifts and a good clutch.

The interior of the car is cozy, with room just for two. The driver's seat is well-bolstered and will keep your posterior planted. Those of us who need boomerangs to put on our belts need not apply. The passenger seat is less bolstered, but is still quite comfortable. The tilt steering wheel was unique in that the guage pod moves with the wheel to ensure your view of the car's vital stats is never obstructed--a nice detail. Turning the key on this car produced a well-tuned growl from the twin pipes. It's got a nice low burble with a touch of a rasp at the middle of the rev range, it fits the car well.

The list of features included on the car is long and varied. The car comes with a standard limited slip differential and traction control, 17-inch wheels and tires, Xenon headlamps, and a myriad of creature comforts that include a six-way driver's seat, cruise control and a killer stereo. To say the car is well-appointed would be stating the obvious, and the fit and finish in the test car lived up to typical Japanese standards.


So how does it drive? Glad you asked. The car launched with authority and pulled extremely well all the way up to New Mexico highway speeds (just shy of triple digits). The car handles the highways much better than I thought it would. Being a finely tuned sportscar, you'd think the freeway would not be its forte, but it handles the wide open lanes with remarkable poise. It soaks up the highway irregularities nicely. However, when the road turns twisty this car comes alive. It corners like it's on rails and stays planted even in the sharper turns. The Z's got plenty of whoa to handle its go too, with big discs at all four corners, and it's a big confidence-builder. You gotta love a salesman who likes to flog demo cars.

What could possibly be this car's deal-sealer is the price. At just under 27 thousand bucks base, this thing returns to its roots as a great performance value. The Enthusiast model I tested came in a shade more than that, at just shy of $29,000. The Z presents a quandary, however. Exactly what cars is it competing against, anyway? The WRX and Lancer Evo? No, those are completely different cars with a completely different mission. The Mustang? The performance is on par with the Mustang GT, but the ponycar is considerably cheaper. Maybe it's to go up against some of the cheaper offerings from Porsche, like the Boxster S. (Cheap, in this case, is a relative term.) Thing is, most people looking for a Porsche wouldn't consider buying a Nissan. Maybe they should.