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.