# Just test drove a 350Z



## AndrewS (May 7, 2002)

I love my TT to bits but I'm afraid to say the Nissan 350Z was a revelation. I had a chance to drive the car first in the city which showed the suspension to be firm but in no way hard. I then had 30 minutes of howling fun in an empty football stadium car park. The handling is very neutral but power slides are easy to induce and very controllable (once the traction control is switched off).
I had the car sideways and under control after only a few minutes behind the wheel. The engine is a peach and incredilbly smooth. Even in 6th gear at a tad more than 1000 rpm the car pulled without grumbling, hesitation and completely smoothly.
It certainly has the TT beat when the fun-factor is taken into consideration. With 280bhp and rear-wheel drive it's to be expected (bear in mind I have a FWD TT).

Laslty, even with the firm suspension I never heard a single creak which has proved to be a big embarrassment when driving people around in the TT.

The only bad points are the lack of the two 'seats' which i have in my coupe and, if it matters to you, it is a Nissan and not an Audi.
Looks wise, the TT is undoubtably an icon and it's beyond criticism but the 350Z does have a muscular prescence and feels like real quality behind the wheel.


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## jampott (Sep 6, 2003)

Yup. Preaching to the converted, here...

Try writing that in the "Main" forum though!!


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## AndrewS (May 7, 2002)

I considered it but didn't really want to upset anyone! I think I gave a fair assessment but ultimately it depends what you want from a car. If you enjoy driving hard and want the extra fun that the 350Z offers then there is no question.

If you just wanted a great looking, iconic car that will turn heads, make the neighbours jealous (they'll probably just key it!) and offer a more than adequate sports car experience then the TT has it.

What surprised me most was the build quality which, contrary to popular belief, is severely lacking in most german cars these days. Beware the Japanese have arrived (and taken over???)


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## amtechuk (Nov 17, 2003)

I`ve now had mine 5 months, do I regret the change................not a bl**dy chance  I love it, ass out action all the way. Agree with the surprisingly good build quality to a degree, some of the plastics aren`t 100%, but then my TT had loads of rattles that drove me mad and in general the car is screwed together every bit as well as the Audi.
Dealers are every bit as bad though, although a 1st main service is only Â£150 :lol: 
You think after market bits are expensive for the TT? I`ve gone for some Nismo kit and it`s wallet bursting  
Lovely Nismo exhaust on it`s way to make that V6 growl louder too :roll: 
The badge snobs out there will just dismiss it, an open minded test drive can`t fail to impress.


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## stgeorgex997 (Feb 25, 2004)

No offence, but i just find the 350z really ugly, so for all the bonus points I just wouldn't have one, glad you like it though


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## raven (May 7, 2002)

I love the 350Z. Still hardly see any of them around here, so I always give them a second glance when I do see one. They strike me as the bargain of the century as well with so much power and a great RWD chasis.

The only downer is of course the name. I'd like to think that wouldn't influence me, but I'm sure it does a lot of people. With that in mind, I'd be worried about second hand values, but I could be wrong.


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## digimeisTTer (Apr 27, 2004)

AndrewS said:


> What surprised me most was the build quality which, contrary to popular belief, is severely lacking in most german cars these days. Beware the Japanese have arrived (and taken over???)


Happened about 20 years ago. :? (remember the British motorcyclye industry)

I worked on Toyota's for 3 years, my brother runs an Accura dealership in Canada, the japs build fantastic cars, they just all tend to look non-descript (350 and a few others excluded)

I'm still a terminal badge snob tho' sorry, and i lurve my TT


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## AndrewS (May 7, 2002)

stgeorgex997 said:


> No offence, but i just find the 350z really ugly


I would have to agree with you to a point. After seeing it in the magazines I wasn't overly impressed but seeing it in the flesh and then driving it I changed my mind immediately. It has a hell of a lot of prescence on the road and you feel great behind the wheel.

Saying that... i've never known a car could attract so much attention from the opposite sex as the TT can. Even as common as they are in London and 6 years after the launch. There is no denying a woman is utterly impressed when she's picked up in the TT.   

After much thought.... a 350Z in blue please!


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## garvin (May 7, 2002)

AndrewS said:


> stgeorgex997 said:
> 
> 
> > No offence, but i just find the 350z really ugly
> ...


Ugly ........ no way. I was all set to replace my 225 TTC with a blue 350Z but the test drive left me a little disappointed. There is no doubt that, as a sports car, the 350Z has the TT well and truly licked. However, I found a few major problems with the 350Z. Firstly, the NVH was truly appalling - the transmission whine and road noise from the rear wheels combined to take the enjoyment away somewhat. Secondly, I test drove the car on a sunny, but not particularly hot, day and the air con was truly feeble and struggled to cope with the solar heating effect. Thirdly, the cabin plastics got to me, even on a relatively short test drive - they just look cheap. Finally, and most importantly, I couldn't fit in the thing properly. Unfortunately I am over six feet tall with most of my height being in the legs and I just couldn't get the seat back far enough to adopt a comfortable driving position. It took me some time to get over my disappointment as I had pretty much made up my mind prior to the test drive ............ so a 3.2 DSG TTC it was!


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## stgeorgex997 (Feb 25, 2004)

I said "really ugly" and stand by it! The car reminds me of the scene in MIB when the bug has just donned the 'Edgar suit' and pulls the skin right back on his face to make it fit properly.

Those nasty chrome door handles that look like an after thought look awful on anything but a silver car too. I can tolerate the front but the side profile and rear are just fugly. 

As with the other post, my opinion...


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## ronin (Sep 6, 2003)

Nissan Micra "sport".


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## snaxo (May 31, 2002)

ronin said:


> Nissan Micra "sport".


 Nice to see an objective comment :wink:

Damian


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## snaxo (May 31, 2002)

snaxo said:


> ronin said:
> 
> 
> > Nissan Micra "sport".
> ...


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## Kell (May 28, 2002)

I have to say that while I haven't driven one, I've sat in one and seen several on the road.

I certainly don't dilike them, but still feel the second buyer is getting an even better deal.


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## jampott (Sep 6, 2003)

Kell said:


> I have to say that while I haven't driven one, I've sat in one and seen several on the road.
> 
> I certainly don't dilike them, but still feel the second buyer is getting an even better deal.


Yeah...

I simply can't fathom why they aren't holding their value quite as well as was first hoped. Ok, so mine was a different story - very excessive mileage, and sold within the first year - so I was always going to be facing a drop - but as the car is seriously "cheap" in the first place, I would have expected stronger residuals for the 18+ month cars... and this doesn't appear to be the case.

The car was still an excellent ownership proposition, though. For all the complaints of "road noise" or "transmission whine" - I'd much rather have those than squeaky trim and a clunky gearbox - which both my Audis have suffered from, and NEITHER of which were present on the 350z.

The S4 gets no admiring looks whatsoever (well, apart from surprised faces of hot hatch drivers and owners of other assorted fast metal that get themselves raped by the bus) - the 350z generated a lot of attention - almost as much as the iconic TT did when I first got it 2.5 years earlier.

I can safely say I've driven a real mixed bag of cars in the last couple of years - ranging from ragtop to sports "coupe" to express "bus" (the ultimate Q car?).

I think the most enjoyable is still the TT (with the roof down), but the most fun to drive was definately the 350z. The S4 is a great beast which I am still coming round to. I miss the admiring glances, but do love surprising the sh*t out of people. For a large car, it sure can hussle...


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## ronin (Sep 6, 2003)

snaxo said:


> ronin said:
> 
> 
> > Nissan Micra "sport".
> ...


 :-*


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## gcp (Aug 8, 2002)

Followed a 350Z for a good few miles on some quickish local roads the other night.

Wound down my window to make the most of the fantastic sound 

IMO Nissan have done a great job.


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