  2012 Nissan 370Z Convertible. Click image to enlarge |
Becoming addicted to the sounds of the engine ripping through the rpm range can be dangerous as the 370Z doesn’t require much coaxing to induce throttle-on oversteer. In fact, this is one of the first cars I have driven with the stability control on all the time as it had a tendency to kick the tail out, without notice, in any of the first three gears on damp, cold roads; my ‘man card’ is at my desk and can be collected from me at any time now.
As mentioned earlier, this 370Z Roadster features the Sport Package, which upgrades the brakes to opposed four-piston aluminum front calipers and opposed two-piston red aluminum rear calipers. Enhancing braking even further is the Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist. The brakes are so strong they grabbed harder than expected during my first few drives. It took a few stops to get used to them, but they sure do stop the 370Z in a hurry when entering a corner. Sending all of this braking force to the pavement are four Bridgestone Potenza high-performance summer tires measuring 245/40WR19 up front and 275/35WR19 in the rear.
Most of the cars I review, especially the sportier ones, are subjected to a drive through same set of back roads to gain an indirect comparison of how one vehicle drives compared to another. As luck would have it, still fresh in my mind was a run in one of the 370Z Roadster’s main competitors, the Camaro SS Convertible. As tested, price separates these two by only $1,318 and although the 370Z gives up rear seats and trunk space to the Camaro, it makes up for it with less weight and more agility. Sure the Camaro has 94 hp more than the 370Z, but the power-to-weight ratio is closer than you would expect at 4.38 kg/hp for the Camaro SS Convertible versus 4.74 kg/hp for the 370Z Roadster. Even with this better power-to-weight ratio, the Camaro just feels slower owing to taller gearing and a more disconnected road feel.
   2012 Nissan 370Z Convertible. Click image to enlarge |
Inside, the eight-way adjustable seats are very comfortable and the more time I spent in them, the more I appreciated them. The eight-speaker, dual subwoofer Bose audio system is above average but not great. Due to the lack of a factory-installed navigation system, there is no LCD information screen. Instead, there is just a slowly-going-extinct single line of text above the radio controls. There is satellite radio, though, and a nice, stitched leather panel covering a storage bin where a navigation screen would typically go; it’s a great place to store sunglasses. The 119 L trunk is short and shallow, but a near perfect rectangle with a wide opening; it even comes complete with instructions on how to properly insert a golf bag. As a bonus, the 370Z is still equipped with a suspension that is actually quite supple for a purpose-built sports car. It feels firm and planted on the road, but not punishing. [And Mike’s “not punishing” translates to brutally hard on anything but the smoothest of surfaces for the rest of us. –Ed.]
The convertible roof is a small fabric cover complete with a rear glass window. Sightlines with the roof up are not great and rear visibility is almost nil. No reverse camera or backup sensors on my car made backing into parking spaces even harder and I had to revert to the old-school, door-open-head-craned-out-the-door-looking-back reversing technique the first few times I was squeezing into tight spots. Sadly, the top will not even begin to operate if the vehicle is in gear, let alone moving. However, there is hardly a hint of cowl shake, which makes sense since this convertible is almost a Targa due to the extremely high rear haunches.
Safe to say this car impressed me during my time with it. For just a hair over $50,000, it can be perceived as a performance bargain or expensive toy depending on what side of the automotive spectrum you are on. And even though I drove the car fairly hard during my week with it, I still averaged a decent-for-a-sports-car 12.8 L/100 km fuel consumption, which wasn’t achieved with extra-long highway gearing as the 370Z cruises at 2,900 rpm when travelling 120 km/h. Who says you can’t have your automotive cake and eat it too?
Pricing: 2013 Nissan 370Z Roadster
Base price: $47,478
Options: Sport Package ($4,000), Pearl White Paint ($300)
A/C tax: $100
Freight: $1,740
Price as tested: $53,618
Competitors
2013 Audi TT Roadster
2013 BMW Z4
2013 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible
2013 Ford Mustang Convertible
2013 Mercedes-Benz SLK 250
