> 07th september 2017

The legend of the Nissan Z-cars is a long story with a rich history by now. Even if the Germans miss this sometimes, it is a story full of design masterpieces and a financial as well as racetrack success. Because of that, the Z-cars have a big worldwide community of fans. Now, the 370Z is the interpretation of the Z-car today. It already got a facelift and it is still cheap compared to many other cars in this segment. From now-on, ap-Sportfahrwerke offers a new coilover-kit for the coupe as well as the roadster. So, let`s take a look at the car.

A little Z-story
It was 1969, when the Datsun 240Z did hit the market, so we may call it the great grandfather of the Z-cars. It already delivered 130 hp (Japan) or 151 hp (US) and a stunning design back at that days. No surprise, it was the beginning of a long and successful future. It was fallowed by the 280 ZX and the 300 ZX. The second generation of the 300ZX called the Z32 had a higher price and a very powerful engine, so back in the 1990`s it was a good competition to the Honda NSX, the Toyota Supra, the Mitsubishi 3000GT and even to some German sports-cars. After that, there was a break over quiet some years before the 350Z did hit the market in 2002. It had a complete new design and interpretation of the Z-car again. And now, we are talking about its successor, the 370Z.

My test-car
I did drive a lot of different Z-coups, so I am really happy that I have the chance today to test-drive the 370Z roadster. It is a 2015 model (already with facelift), it did not run more than 25.000 kilometers and it has no modifications except the car-wrapping. Under the hood: The 3,7 liter V6 with 328 hp and – surprise – an automatic transmission.

First sight
Here it is, „my“ 370Z. A maverick in the todays market of boring lookalike cars. Being a fan of the 350Z I immediately notice, that the two worst points of the 350Z are gone. The 370 looks way better from the front side and the interior is really more upscale than it used to be, which is great. I have the feeling it`s a good competition to the german premium cars, at least when it comes to the looks and it is not to expensive also. The roadster with the „pack“ features and the automatic transmission is sold for 42.800 today. The list of extras is pretty short also. You may buy the navigation system with camera for a bit more than 2500 Euro and thats pretty much it. Ok, ready to roll.

The interior
It is raining today, so the roof is closed. I have to climb inside the car and I remember the narrowness of Z-cars for tall people. It kind a feels as the roadster offers even a little less space than the coupe, but thats just my feeling. But I am pretty sure, the guys from Nissan don`t have test-drivers who are 1.97 meters tall, as I am. I would not feel comfortable enough to get take the car on the racetrack and now, I am really glad that it has an automatic-transmission so I don`t get in trouble with my long legs during shifting. I really would say, I would not recommend the car to people taller than 1.90 meters besides you love it anyway and you accept those narrow space inside.
But other than that, everything looks very well done. The well known navigation unit from Nissan which you may also find in some other Nissan cars (like to Murano), heated and comfortable bucket-seats which can also be ventilated, keyless-go, a Bose sound-system, 19 inch rims by Rays and many other goodies which make you fell comfortable.

Hit the street
Just like the 350Z before, the 370Z is really not a race-car to rule the left track of the german Autobahn. Of course, the 3,7 liter V6 with 328 hp has some power but the car is about 1500 kilograms of weight and the automatic transmission is also not the fastest transmission I have seen. We are talking about 5,8 seconds from 0-100km/h (5,5 for manual transmission) and 250 km/h top-speed. That sounds good, that drives good but it is not like – wow, I am flying. Well, the good news is, the reality is not 0-100 racing. The thing is, despite all this, I really like the engine even some test-drivers may say it`s old fashioned. Well, maybe I am old fashioned also, but I like these honest engines. 3,7 liters V6 with „only“ 328 hp, sounds like a healthy engine to me and you will probably be happy with it for many many years. To me, it sounds more reliable than those little 2,0 liter turbo-toys with the same amount of hp. So, all you need to do is – put the pedal to the metal and the fairlady will become a pretty wild lady and if you don`t like that, just use her for cruising because she also is really good in that. You can take her for bigger journeys as well, if the size of the trunk is enough for you with its 140 liters.

The suspension
The point is: If you really like to drive curvy country-roads, than the 370Z maybe the perfect car for you. It is fast enough to have fun, it has a good balance and its easy to control. But if you like to drive your fairlady really fast and furious, than we have good news for you: You may be interested in our new coilover-kit which is available for the coupe and the roadster as well. You will get the ap coilover suspension already from 549 Euro. Beside a sporty driving behavior, the coilover kit developed by ap Sportfahrwerke also allows a variable lowering. In the context of the part certificate, a lowering of 15-50 mm at the front axle and 10-45 mm at the rear axle can be selected.

Read more in our blog: https://goo.gl/EpFi5B

Text: Andreas Leffler
Pictures: Andreas Leffler