 2012 Nissan 370Z Convertible. Click image to enlarge |
| Test Drive: 2011 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Manufacturer’s web site |
Review and photos by Mike Schlee
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2012 Nissan 370Z convertible
The 2013 Nissan 370Z is the closest thing Japan produces to a muscle car. (What about the GT-R? -Ed.) It is a brash, in-your-face vehicle that doesn’t finesse its way down the road, but rather beats the asphalt into submission. Like a proper muscle car, the 370Z has a large engine stuffed into a small(ish) body, features an unrefined driving experience filled with a cacophony of mechanical noises, and of course, it is flashy as hell—anyone who calls the 370Z subtle may be in need of an eye and/or ear exam. Funny thing is, though, the 370Z is also a great sports car. An open-air sports car, as is the case with my test vehicle, a 2013 Nissan 370Z 6MT Roadster. The 6MT in the model designation stands for ‘Six-speed Manual Transmission’, just the way any good muscle car sports car performance vehicle should be created.
     2012 Nissan 370Z Convertible. Click image to enlarge |
For 2013, the 370Z Roadster has undergone a mild refresh that has brought along minor changes, including a refreshed front fascia with vertical LED daytime running lights and two new colours (Magma Red and Midnight Blue). These new LED daytime running lights seamlessly fit into the revised front bumper and give the vehicle a nice modern update. Sport Package–equipped models, like my test vehicle, add new 19-inch wheels, red brake calipers, and Euro-tuned shock absorbers for 2013.
The 370Z Roadster is a looker from most angles. The low-set convertible roof really accentuates the width of the car and emphasizes its athletic stance when viewed from the rear three-quarter angle. The 19-inch Rays super-lightweight alloy wheels look great on this car and I love the deep-dish stance, especially in the rear. My test vehicle came painted in Pearl White, which looks absolutely stunning on this roadster; the red brake calipers add the perfect accent.
Fire up the 370Z and 3.7L VQ V6 engine brings 332 hp and 270 lb-ft of torque to life; impressive numbers when considering that this convertible vehicle weighs in at only 1,573 kg. Sending power to the rear wheels is a six-speed manual transmission that features SynchroRev Match thanks to the Sport Package. This system will automatically blip the throttle to the perfect rpm when a downshift is being performed. I would simply move the shifter from, say, sixth gear into fourth gear, and before I could let go of the clutch with my left foot, the engine is revved to the appropriate rpm. No matter what I did, SynchroRev Match worked flawlessly. It never missed a blip when I would engage a lower gear. Even when I tried to purposely confuse it by selecting one gear with the clutch in, then quickly changing to another before letting off the clutch, it was always at the proper rpm waiting for me. Call me lazy, but I found the SynchroRev Match to be a great system. I hope this technology finds its way onto more manual-transmission cars. There is something just oh-so satisfying about a perfectly executed downshift every time. Yeah, as a ‘purist’ I should want to time this shift and wind up the throttle myself, but with a system this flawless, why?
The transmission itself engages with a satisfying clunk and is easy to shift quickly or leisurely. I never missed a shift and the gate spacing for the individual gears seems just right for me. But shifting is rarely needed as the engine has good low-end torque and can putter along at low rpms. However, enter the upper rpm range and the VQ really comes alive; anything north of 6,000 rpm is an absolute assault on the senses. While on the topic, that famous VQ engine noise heard outside so many a Nissan vehicle is not the same noise you hear inside the vehicle. It is still a great sound, but different. Want the classic VQ noise? Better go looking for a nice rumbly aftermarket exhaust system.
  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
