Last year Nissan gave us an all-new Z, and by most peoples’ reaction they nailed it right on the head. It kept the classic shape

Now that's a hot looking car! (Photo: Canadian Auto Press)

yet updated all the key elements, especially notable in the headlight and tail lamp designs. It was the interior that received the most significant upgrade, however, now brought up close to matching Infiniti G37 Coupe standards.

Ok, more accurately the new 370Z’s interior workmanship, material choices and general design is better than the previous G Coupe, although not quite to the level of the recently updated one. The Japanese automaker has to separate entry-level from premium, after all, but how do you really call a 370Z entry-level? It’s one of those flagship cars that sticks out of a mainstream brand like a brilliant cut 1.2 carat D/VVS1 solitaire popping out of a brass ring. It’s in the same class as Corvette, GT and Viper in this respect, almost as legendary as America’s sports car,

New headlight and taillight treatment is totally unique and extremely cool. (Photo: Canadian Auto Press)

nearly as classically proportioned as the retro-revised-for-the-street blue oval racer, and that with a road racing pedigree that would make America’s supercar blush with insignificance.

I mean, let’s put things into perspective! The Z arrived on the Japanese and North American scene in 1969 as a 1970 model, around the time that Chevy’s original ‘Vette was dubbed Mako Shark and was pushing a big block through its hood, and just after the Ford GT40 finished its campaign of embarrassing Ferrari and all other comers on the tracks of Europe. The Viper is relative newcomer, while the Z, Japan’s only true legendary sports car, has long been a weekend track star and, probably

The 370Z holds tightly to the road. (Photo: Canadian Auto Press)

more importantly, now holds title to best-selling sports car series of all time with more than 1,685,000 produced over five generations. While dubbed Fairlady Z since its pre-‘70s debut in Japan, everywhere else it’s been sold as the 240Z, 260Z, 280Z, 280ZX, 300ZX, 350Z and now the 370Z.

The 2003 redesign, which brought the car back from a short hiatus on these shores, was a breakthrough model that presaged the design direction of the many Nissans that followed, and likewise the 2009 370Z joined the brand’s flagship sedan in introducing the “L” shaped headlight and taillight clusters that give the car

The view most will see. (Photo: Canadian Auto Press)

such a unique design signature. But the most recent 2009 redesign wasn’t only about revised sheet metal and trim. Rather it was a complete reformation from the tires up.

P225/50R18 Yokohama Advan Sport high-performance rubber up front, P245/45R18s in the rear, on gorgeous 5-Y-spoke alloy rims, it all sets the stage for a completely new chassis riding on a shortened wheelbase now measuring 2,500 mm (100.4 inches) that carries new lightweight body materials, such as an aluminum hood, doors and hatch. A new longitudinally-mounted 3.7-litre, DOHC, 24-valve V6 with VVEL (Variable Valve Event and Lift) making 332hp at 7,000 rpm and 270 lb-ft of

Sweet rims! (Photo: Canadian Auto Press)

torque at 5,200 rpm makes for superb acceleration via either a close-ratio 6-speed manual or 7-speed automatic that drives the rear wheels via a carbon-fibre composite drive shaft and viscous limited-slip rear differential. Oddly, both Z transmissions (not standard with the manual) will make you shift and therefore sound like a pro thanks to Nissan’s synchronized downshift rev matching system appropriately dubbed SynchroRev Match, a technology that automatically monitors and adjusts engine rotation to "blip" the throttle when downshifting, if wanted, or deactivated for those who’d rather manage throttle control all on their own. The automatic also has adaptive shift control, allowing it to find the optimal gear for any given situation.

Those

Forget about the 350Z when it comes to the interior, as the new 370Z makes some premium sports cars seem like their lacking in quality. (Photo: Nissan)

aforementioned 18-inch alloy wheels aside, the new Z’s standard features list is pretty impressive with some items expected, such as automatic up/down powered windows, powered mirrors, automatic climate control, cruise control, a peripheral controls-enhanced leather-wrapped steering wheel with tilt column adjust, heated seats, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, tire pressure monitoring, Bluetooth hands-free connectivity, a cargo cover, and aluminum accents, plus a few items not expected in base trim, such as its 8-speaker 6-CD Bose-branded audio system with XM satellite radio, cool aluminum pedals, proximity sensing Intelligent Key system with pushbutton ignition, bi-xenon headlights, LED brake lamps and LED “Z” style markers, and heated 8-way driver and 4-way passenger seats finished off in leather and synthetic suede. Of course, all the usual safety features are included standard too,

Details, details... the 370Z is all about details. A navigation system can be added that changes the look of the entire centre stack. (Photo: Nissan)

such as dual front, side-thorax and curtain-type airbags, plus performance-tweaked traction and stability control. Not bad for $40,498.

That 370Z Touring model, the only trim level available in Canada, can be done up with the $4,000 Sport Package that adds 19-inch RAYS super-lightweight forged wheels riding on 245/40WR19 front and 275/35WR19 rear Bridgestone Potenza high-performance tires, plus a revised colour-matched rear spoiler and front chin aero deflector (the last two items available separately without the Sport Package from your dealer at $784.95 and $192.95 respectively), as well as larger sport brakes that feature 4-piston opposed aluminum calipers clamping down on 14.0" x 1.30" vented front discs and 2-piston opposed aluminum calipers with 13.8" x 0.80" vented rear discs, replacing the already stout standard 12.6" x 1.10" vented front and 12.6" x 0.63" vented rear discs; ABS, EBD and BA enhanced, of course. The Sport Package also adds the aforementioned SynchroRev Match transmission option with the manual transmission, and this is the car that I tested on the track, at Laguna Seca, and at home for a very enjoyable week recently. My testers both featured the only other option save Nissan’s self-healing 3-coat paint, $300, and metallic paint, $135, which is the Navigation Package featuring a hard-drive-based nav system with a 9.3 GB Music Box hard drive, USB and iPod connection. Sweet! It replaces the 6CD changer, however, so some might not be happy with that exchange, but I’ll take the hard drive and connectivity any day of the week.

The 370’s

While the Z's "brother" car, Infiniti's G37, has moved its power switchgear to a more conventional place, the Z still puts them on the inside of the seat cushion for easier access. (Photo: Nissan)

performance on the road is so satisfying that you might not even consider turning on that top-line audio system, its meaty rubber bites down hard into the asphalt and uncanny stability seemingly unflappable thanks to an all-aluminum suspension made up of two-link double wishbones in front and a four-link setup in the rear, all supported by an aluminum front subframe and rear underbody V-brace plus a three-point strut tower brace tying together ripple-control shocks. Still, it can get a little nervous under braking, something I experienced when getting hard on the binders during an approach to the corkscrew at Laguna Seca, at which point the car twitched something awful and actually had me worried for a moment. It stayed together, but none of the other cars I drove through this course on the second half of the annual two-day Western Auto Journalists event (and there were loads of cars) showed such anxiety, which, along with the superb control I experienced in my weeklong test car and a 370Z Roadster I have in my possession as this review is being written, has me thinking that there might have been something wrong with the setup of this particular car, possibly tire or alignment related. All-round the 370Z isn’t carrying much weight at 1,488 kilos (3,280 lbs) in manual guise and 1,505 kilograms (3,317 lbs) with the automatic, so mass isn’t the problem, and I need to be clear that the car I tested on the track was a 2009 model (although no changes to the undercarriage have been noted by Nissan outside of the new Nismo package that I didn’t test and won’t be offered in Canada, this year at least).

The 370Z Coupe is hardly practical with a rear hatch capable of stowing a mere 195 litres

Rear storage is excellent for the two-place sports coupe class. (Photo: Canadian Auto Press)

(6.9 cubic feet) of luggage, but compared to some sports cars it’s actually accommodating. Likewise it enjoys pretty good estimated fuel economy at 11.6L/100km in the city and 7.7 on the highway if you’re light-footed, which is important because it needs pricier premium to extract all of its power.

Then again, premium fuel might be pricy, but the real story behind the Z is its value proposition. At just over $40K it’s a real deal compared to other sports cars with similar performance credibility, not to mention its legendary status. The list of competitors is almost entirely made up of premium-branded sports coupes by the likes of BMW, Porsche, and others, which means the opportunity to get an iconic premium sports car for the price of an entry-level player is rare, making the 370Z a very special sports coupe indeed.

Interior

Exterior

Mechanical

Safety

Dimensions

Misc

(3P) Three-coat Paint

(2P) Pearlescent Paint

(2M) Metallic Paint

(SP00) Sport Package

(SN00) Navigation Package