andyvvc Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 Didn't have a great deal on today, so booked a test drive in an auto 370z at Nissan in Mansfield (23k 09 plate). Also figured i might as well scratch my RB320 itch, so popped along to a Subaru dealer in Notts. I'll stick a mini-review onto this thread a bit later on (footy on telly now!).....but in a brutal nutshell: 370z auto = no thanks, im happy with a manual. Love the looks of the car. Power and delivery are sublime. Think i want one (in manual of course) RB320 = utterly gobsmacking power delivery. Handles on rails. Pops and bangs nicely on overrun. Poor interior and seats are so high my dads Mondeo feels like a sports car.... if only Impreza's it didnt have an 'image' problem More later - footy beckons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The G Man Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 Can't comment on the Scoob, but I test drove the 7 speed Auto before plumping for my 6 speed manual, no contest IMO, but then it depends what you need, auto = good in traffic, Manual = Good in more situations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyvvc Posted January 29, 2011 Author Share Posted January 29, 2011 370z Having first seen it in the flesh at Goodwood in 2009, i knew the 370z was always going to be a likely replacement for my 350. Getting even closer to Colin and Chris' 370s during last years wales trip further convinced me that a Porsche Cayman or a BMW M3 e90 would be an utter waste of an additional load of cash. Bottom line, the 370s looked stunning from almost every angle, and had interiors that were a solid step up from the earlier 350 cabin (which itself was a good place to be sat). My performance worries were qoushed at last years Zedfest, when a few wet-weather runs in the Nissan demo coupe and roadster version convinced me that the power delivery was almost perfect. Skip forward another few months, and i finally decide to get myself and Lydia a test drive booked at the local Nissan garage. With the usual sales patter and ID checks complete, the sales rep was happy to let both of us go out with him on a good 15 mins plus test drive, on some fast dual carriageways, and some 60 limit B roads and 30mph urban areas. I'd chosen to testdrive the auto because i had no idea what it was like compared to a manual, or a few of my mates R32 VW DSG boxes. I had even asked Lydia (who went out first) to see what she thought of the auto box when shifting up aggressively at higher revs etc (ie did it lurch a fair bit?)... ....20 mins later Lydia returns smiling, but with a bit of a frown on her face. "Auto box lurches?" i enquire. She nods. I grab the keys and set off myself in the car. Firstly, in "D" (drive) the car felt pretty damn seemless at shifting. Nice and gentle thru the gears to 5th or 6th at relatively low speeds, clearly designed to maximise fuel economy when you dont use your right foot. Snick the gear lever to the right into the M (manual) mode, and you essentially have Playstation control over the gearing on the car....very nice! The shifts in the main felt quite quick, and the synco rev on the downshift was normally pretty accurate. I managed to fool the box a few times on the downshift, creating quite a lurch as it dropped from 3rd to 2nd or similar. Up shifts would also have a habit of creating a bit of a lurch as it moved between gears - not excessive like a bad, rushed manual shift, but annoying never-the-less. Ive never driven an auto before, and have only ever been a passenger in a 911 (996) turbo, and two R32 Golfs with DSG boxes. So perhaps im being unkind to the torque-convertor box on the Zed, but it really didnt feel anywhere near as refined as the VW unit. It certainly wasnt ham-fisted, but not as quick or smooth as the DSG boxes are. Clearly, 20 mins or so isnt enough for me to claim to be an expert, but i wasnt comfortable with the way the box reacted to my driving, or the way i tried to shift gear. It felt like it would only get the shifts perfectly right 80% of the time, with 20% of my shifts resulting in lurches or annoying (albeit short) pauses. Again, only 20 mins probably proves little, but im fairly sure i want a manual car where any lurches are a direct result of my incompetance :o) Auto box aside, i love the 370z. There isnt quite as much leg room as in my 350 (shorter wheelbase?) and the visibility is noticeably worse. But who cares when the inside looks this good, and the outside too. The car in standard form handled really well over speedbumps, round fast roundabouts, B roads etc. Very impressed with the overall package truth be told. Engine noise is stiffled by the lame exhaust (cue Colin's Stillen) and maybe it needs spacers, but overall a nicer package than the standard 350. But when i finally get myself into one that i have paid for, im fairly sure it will be a manual....i guess i just dont need the comfort and occasional downsides of an auto box ! RB320 Burbling exhaust as standard. Check. Perfect visibility all round. Check. Excellent Brembos. Check. Bonkers power delivery on boost. Check. Comes with a set of rails for cornering. Check. An utterly different league to the Zed. Far more aggresive on boost than the bigger GT cars, and bends of any sort can be dispatched so easily its almost like re-writing physics. Being far lighter than the Zed, it felt more capable stopping with the same Brembo setup. Acceleration on boost with the additional horses and lighter weight also felt, well, bonkers ! I ended up rifling thru gears to try to keep up with the speed the car was piling on. Average acceleration. average acceleration. BOOOOOOOST (sh1t change gear!) BOOOOOOOST (sh1t change gear!) BOOOOOOOST (sh1t change gear!) BOOOOOOOST (sh1t change gear!) BOOOOOO....actually better slow down to preserve licence ! On the outside (with the exception of the standard 'Hawkeye' model rear-lights), the car looks brutal in black. Really aggressive stance, with menacing front and side views which seemed to attract as many stares as the 370! As a very fast 'car' it really is faultless if you've never experienced any real level of modern automotive quality....sadly, compared to the Impreza, the inside of the Zed might as well be a Maybach. The Subaru interior leaves a lot to be desired. Seats dont adjust down, or slide back anywhere near far enough (at max legroom there was still about 10" between the back of my seat and the rear passenger seat). I ended up feeling a little cramped. The dash, steering wheel and general interior all feel a bit, well, cheap. Recaro seats are great but the lack of adjustability, coupled with the silly blue coverings left me wondeing whether Subaru are actually trying to appeal to the Burberry massive. This is a shame given the cars fantastic abilities on A and B roads. Limited to only 320 cars supplied to the UK, the RB320 kind of commands its own premium, a fair few thousand more than a similar age and spec STI. I cant help feeling that if Subaru had done a little more with the interior they might have extended the appeal of the Hawkeye Impreza beyond its current clientelle... If i wasn't after a 370 so badly, i would have dropped the cash on the RB320. Its far from perfect in todays modern world of Sports Cars (with its limited interior), but in terms of performance on the road it really is as good as you can get on crappy British roads. Epic might be a word to use to describe it's performance. Sadly its not a word i would use to describe the interior... ...anyone selling a 370z, manual, gun-metal grey?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The G Man Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 Nice write up Couldn't agree more with your comments on the autobox. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris`I Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 In defence of the auto box it takes some time for it to learn you and you to learn it. Trying to compare it to DSG is apples to oranges comparison, its not as smooth as DSG, but that reminds you you are diving a proper performance car it makes it more fun. Also note that 3rd to 4th is quite a long jump in terms of gearing, and also when you drop out of full auto at 70MPH, it drops you to 5th, so coming down to a rounderbout on a ring road say can catch you out as you go from 7th in auto, to 5th and then a bit jump down to 4th when you hit the paddle. This caught me out a few times til I realised what it was doing. For the purist I would always go with a manual, but the 7AT to me is great commuting 65miles a day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ebized Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 I'm still grinning after a years ownership of the 370 - but then I was after nearly 5 years of 350 ownership Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 I flirted with the idea of buying a hawkeye spec D. Much more sedate looking outside and much plusher inside. Much more my style. The 370 is awesome though. It's a cracking drive. Haven't tried the AT model though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chippy Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 Took me a while to get used to the AT box as well. I've found that it's far more useable and smoother since I've had the exhuast fitted. I'll admit that at first I really thought that I'd made a big mistake not getting the manual, but having got used to it, there's no way I'd swap it for a manual. I'm now driving it 95% of the time in manual mode and only using it in auto when in traffic or town. Having both hands on the wheel all the time together with the much quicker gears changes, definately make me quicker when hammering it on twisty roads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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