ORIENTAL SUPER SPORTSCAR (some text hidden) SECTIONED_new_nissan370z_010210

By Jonathan Crouch

Introductionword count: 33

The sportscar you've always promised yourself doesn't have to cost you a lottery win. Here's one that doesn't. Even better, Nissan's 370Z is a seriously good looking coupe that's seriously good to drive.

Modelsword count: 14

2dr Coupe / 2dr Roadster convertible [GT Pack, GT Ultimate Black Edition, 50th, Nismo]

Historyword count: 251

Forget MX-5s, Evo Xs, WRXs - even GT-Rs: the Nissan 370Z is arguably the definitive Japanese sportscar. Nissan's Z-car heritage goes all the way back to the legendary 240Z of 1969, a car intended to offer the style and performance of European sportscars at a fraction of their price. More than 1.7 million sales later, this 370Z model was launched in 2009 continuing that tradition in fine style. It builds on a firm foundation laid by the 350Z model, launched in 2002 and sold here from 2005, a sportscar than typifies everything that this Z series should be about, with good looks, muscular performance and a fantastic fun factor, a car you could really take by the scruff of the neck. Not much else in its era could match a 350Z for the money and even the Porsches that could keep up lacked its endearing mild hooligan streak. In developing its replacement a quarter of a million worldwide sales later, Nissan needed to keep the things we liked - the charismatic V6 engine, the balanced rear-wheel drive chassis and the perfect weight distribution - and sort the few things we didn't - high running costs, cheap-feeling interior and restricted luggage space. The result? This 370Z. It was launched in 2009 in Coupe form, with a Roadster version following shortly after. The Roadster was deleted in 2014 but the Coupe continued on, facelifted in 2012, at which point a top Nismo model was added to the range. The coupe sold until 2020.

What You Getword count: 285

This car might appear similar to the old 350Z but it isn't - honest - as a close inspection of the shorter, lower and slightly wider shape with its silky-smooth scratchproof paint quickly reveals. It's gorgeous. From the arrow-shaped headlamps to the boomerang-shaped tail lamps, there's a handsome aggression that marks this car out from its overtly style-conscious contemporaries. The front air-intake borrows its look from Nissan's GT-R supercar, giving this 370 greater malevolency as it looms in your mirrors with twin aerodynamic fins rising like fangs from its lower lip. Inside, it's a big improvement on the plasticky feel of this car's predecessor. The dash is upholstered in a leather-like surface called Sofilez that's more tasteful in both look and feel and the leather seats fitted to most models have lovely suede-like inserts that not only look nice but stop you sliding around under hard cornering - though the seatbase is a little short. A number of the old car's trademark features are still intact though, such as the instrument cluster attached to the steering column that moves as you adjust the driving position to guarantee an unhindered view of the dials. You'd expect the wheel to adjust for reach as well though on a car of this price. It's still a two-seater-only cabin and unlike, say, a Porsche Cayman, there's a useful shelf behind the front seats where you can quickly sling a coat or jacket with a glovebox now at last added for smaller items. As for proper luggage space, the hefty strut brace across the old 350Z's parcel shelf that stopped you carrying a proper weekend's luggage for two has now been banished, freeing up a more usable 235-litres of space.

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