Ecosseven

Great value! I'm still keen on a manual GT coupe but think I need to wait until prices drop a little further. They seem to be around £21-22k for a 2009 car at the moment. My max budget is around £19-20K.

My subscribers copy of CAR magazine dropped through my letterbox yesterday. It has an article on the 9 best sportscars of 2011 and the 370z GT edition is included along with the Cayman R, Golf GTI 35th anniversary edition, Megane coupe 265, BMW 1M, Audi RS3, Mini Coupe, Vauxhall Corsa VXR Nurburgring, and the Citroen DS3. The writers identified the usual pros and cons on the 370Z. Nice balance, strong brakes, good handling, fast, rough v6, uninspiring engine note, excessive tyre roar, poor rear visibility, noisy in the rain. All the best.

I had a test drive in a 370z on Saturday. I was impressed. The suspension wasn’t as stiff as I had expected and although the car was loud (mostly tyre roar) it wouldn’t put me off using one as a daily driver. Looked great in the metal as well. A couple of things I did notice were the lack of reach adjustment on the steering and the rear poor visibility. It was good to drive a car with a N/A engine as well – no turbo lag!

I read those reports too. The engine gives a lot of vibration through the gearstick at high revs, but I would not call it "harsh". Neither would I agree with one Telegraph reviewer who said it makes a sound "redolent if inadequate lubrication". The gear stick vibration is extreme though, at very high revs, and Nissan should really address it. I would call it "unrefined", but gear knob vibration, however bad, does not equate to "strained" in my mind.Coming from a Mazda RX-8 (great car), I like to rev the full range too. I was used to banging the engine off the rev limiter on a daily basis . In the Z you don't seem to do that. There isn't a reason to because so much power is available further down the rev range. In my 6 weeks of ownership, I have only been above 6k 2 or 3 times. I therefore haven't found the engine's behaviour at extreme revs to be a drawback. Around town, the the low speed ride is suprisingly smooth. Above 40 mph, the very firm rear suspension makes itself felt. On a bad road it can be a case of "ride em cowboy!", but those roads are quite rare. It is bad. One compensation is that the engine is quiet, mitigating overall cabin noise. Compared to the Mazda RX-8 I owned previously, the cabin in the Z is probably the same or quieter at speed, becuase the Mazda engine and transmission were louder. It is a drawback though, and the car isn't going to get quieter with age. No. The handbook forbids running the car on normal unleaded. Section 9-4 states that if premium is not available, you may partially fill the tank with unleaded, but you must then "avoid full throttle driving and abrupt accelleration", and you must also fill up with premium as soon as possible. I find that the car can do over well over 30 mpg on the motorway. On my daily commute it gets about 26 MPG. An improvement on the 21.8 I had from the Mazda, but as that car used normal unleaded the savings are small (but welcome). Petrolprices.com is your friend. 4. Servicing costs - don't know. 5. Insurance - don't know. It doesn't seem too, although as with all "sports" cars, you will feel road irregularities through the wheel. 7. Tyre costs - don't know. I am expecting a full set to be £700 - £800. I expect to replace the rears maybe every 14000 miles and the fronts every 18000. I have a harsh view of modding: it is never an improvement and it just makes the car less desirable. Millions of man hours have gone into designing, testing and redesiging the car. You aren't likely to trump their efforts with a trip to Halfords or even a local light engineering company. Leave well alone. I am biased though, preferring a quiet exhaust. Overall, I am delighted with the 370Z. It is not a perfect car. But it is wonderful to drive and own, so far. And I am enjoying the up-to-date gadgets too - satnav, USB connection, auto headlights, auto wipers, cruise control, voice control. And the looks are great. Have one or more test drives to address your concerns. Also make sure you an put up with the extraordinarily large wing mirrors - some find these a bar to side visibility. Thanks for all the advice. I have a test drive arranged for Saturday in a manual GT coupe.

It could be a genuine mistake. Given that some dealers are offering new GT spec roadsters (not GT Edition) for £25K then would 30K be more reasonsable?

I'd be happy to spend an extra £163 a month to NOT be driving a depressing diesel soot chucker.......and be in a 340 bhp GT sports car..........no brainer. I may be able to afford it but can I justify it? The overall difference in cost per month including the increases in servicing costs, insurance, fuel, and road tax is probably around £300 a month. I did think about keeping the mondeo and also buying a 370 but that doesn't make any sense as I also have a Caterham seven in the garage that won't be sold. The Z is a great car but I can't justify owning three cars. The other option is to sell the mondeo, buy a 370 and also buy a cheap motorbike that does at least 60mpg. I've had my bike license for 12 years although haven't owned a bike in the last 4. All the best.

The biggest issue for me is the fuel economy. I can live with the high road tax, the servicing costs and the increase in insurance. My current diesel daily driver gets around 50 mpg, sometimes as high as 53mpg on a run. The drop to say 25mpg using super unleaded will mean spending £318 a month on fuel compared with £155.

Nissan dealers are currently advertising brand new unregistered 370 roadsters in GT spec with metallic paint for less than £25K. If I had the money I would be very tempted! Perhaps they are trying to move them on before the winter weather really sets in.

Morning all, My research into 370z ownership goes on. If I buy a 370z it’s likely that I purchase an approved used car from a Nissan Dealership. I’ll be looking for a manual coupe in GT spec in silver, titanium, black, red or blue (not keen on white despite it being fashionable these days and yellow doesn’t float my boat either) Is it worth taking the extended warranty? I know that zeds are generally very reliable but perhaps it’s worth it for the extra piece of mind. A few other questions. 1. A lot of the road test reports comment on the engine being harsh at high revs. I like to use all the revs when driving a sports car. Will the 370z rev smoothly all the way to the 7.5K red line or does it start to sound harsh or start to feel strained at high revs? 2. How bad is the road noise at speed? This is something else that most road test reports commented on. 3. Can the car be run on normal unleaded? I know the handbook recommends super unleaded. 4. How much can I expect to pay for major and minor services. I’m assuming they alternative every 9000 miles? 5. Insurance costs for me are reasonable (36 with full NCB). Are there any insurance companies that specialise in insuring zeds? 6. Does the car tramline badly on broken or uneven roads? The 370 is quite heavy with very wide tyres. 7. Talking of tyres how much does a full set cost and how long can I expect them to last. 8. I have heard a few comments about changing the exhaust to make the 370 sound more like a sportscar. Which aftermarket system is recommended and what are the associated costs? Will this invalidate my warranty? Thanks and all the best

Hi folks, Continuing to do some more research into a used 370Z as a daily driver. A few questions for you. 1. Are there any reliability concerns in thew short or long term? I’ve heard that the VQ engine family is generally reliable. Did the 350Z suffer from any issues that might crop up on the 370Z in the long term. 2. Any thoughts on how long the clutch should last under normal driving? 3. What can I realistically expect in terms on mpg assuming a mixture or town and motorway driving. 4. Are there any paintwork issues to be aware of? I have heard a lot of comments recently about the quality of BWM’s water based paint systems. Thanks and all the best.

Morning all, Now that 370’s are coming down in price a bit I’m considering one as a daily driver. I can live with the mpg and the road tax (although £445 will sting once a year!). One thing that does concern me is the driving position. I’m 5’9†and although I’ve never driven a zed I have sat in quite a few. I find the steering wheel too far away and there is no reach adjustment. Is this just me or does anyone else find this a problem? All the best.