Nissan 350Z Roadster 2003 Review

What we liked
>> Very solid handling
>> Comfortable ride quality
>> Strong powerful engine

Not so much
>> Manual gearshift is a bit stiff
>> Heavy steering at slower speeds
>> Door handles are awkward

OVERVIEW
When Nissan launched its new sports coupe 350Z back in 2002, there was never any question that a convertible version would follow. There might not have been a drop-top in the original Z-car incarnation, but in this market today, a coupe and convertible have become inseparable twins. Although it was some months before the company officially started talking about it, you don't engineer a superb two-seater sports car without giving those who want it, the full wind in the hair experience.

So seven months after the 350Z was launched in Australia in February 2003, we now have the full lineup with the Roadster joining the fray. There are now three models in the two-seater Z-car family - the entry level Touring coupe, the Track coupe and the soft top Roadster - with prices ranging from $59,990 for the manual Touring through to $69,990 for the manual Roadster or $72,790 for the auto.

FEATURES
Obviously the most distinguishing feature about the 350Z Roadster - in relation to its coupe kin - is its soft-top roof that conveniently folds back behind the seats at the touch of a button. It does require the driver to lock and unlock the roof via a central handle mounted at the top of the windscreen rail, but apart from that, it automatically slides back into a fully covered compartment in about 20 seconds.

To ensure good rear visibility when the roof is up, the ragtop uses a heated glass rear window and to help reduce wind buffeting when it's down, there is a permanent glass wind deflector mounted between the seats.

The Roadster gains driver and passenger knee-pads on either side of the centre console, seatbelt service arms to make it easier to reach the seatbelt - and to stop it flapping when the roof is down - and a new design for the centre console lid which means you can actually open and close the thing without requiring a Masters in engineering. These additions will also follow through to the coupe models within the next year.

COMFORT
Like the coupe, the Roadster is a two seater with the pews offering plenty of comfort and support through a body hugging design and soft leather trim. To ensure you can still drive top-down when the temperature falls, the seats are also heated and have fore and aft power adjustments for the base and backrest. For $500, you can also get a net sports seat option. The steering column is only tilt adjustable but it is easy to get a good driving position and the drilled aluminium pedals are big and well placed.

When the coupe was launched many criticised the suspension for its harsh ride qualities, particularly on the 18-inch wheeled Track version so Nissan has retuned the dampers and despite the Roadster sitting on the same 18-inch wheels, the ride comfort is very good.

Inside there is plenty of standard kit including climate control, cruise control, power windows and mirrors, remote locking and an excellent Bose in-dash six stack CD player. The storage space in the cabin is relatively limited and the door bins are hardly worth the effort but despite the foldaway roof, there is still a decent 115-litre boot that will hold one golf bag - with instructions on how to stow it mounted on the inside of the boot lid!

SAFETY
As it was engineered from the start as both a soft and hard top, the 350Z was already endowed with a fairly strong and stiff body shell, but inevitably when you lose the roof, the rigidity is going to suffer. To compensate for this, which not only becomes a safety issue in terms of the handling but also in regards to crash worthiness, Nissan has added a number of extra braces and structural reinforcements to improve the body stiffness.

Braking is taken care of with big front and rear ventilated discs with standard anti-lock system and electronic brake force distribution. A switchable traction control system - that is very discrete in its operation - also helps keep overenthusiastic drivers on the straight and narrow. Passive safety features include driver and passenger front airbags and seat mounted side airbags and seatbelts with pre-tensioners and load limiters.

MECHANICAL
Like the coupe, the Roadster uses a front engine rear drive layout with Nissan's superb 3.5-litre V6 under the bonnet. Maximum power of the engine is 206kW at 6200rpm and peak torque is 363Nm at 4800rpm courtesy of the engine's 24 valves, dual exhaust system and continuously variable valve timing. Transmission options are either a six speed manual gearbox or five-speed automatic with a manual sequential shift capability.

The multi-link independent suspension is the same as in the coupe, but it has been retuned for a better ride and this state of tune is expected to be carried over into the coupe within a year. To help improve traction, apart from the electronic control system and big low profile 225mm front and 245mm rear rubber, the 350Z also uses a viscous limited slip differential to ensure power goes to the wheel with more grip.

COMPETITORS
The sports car market has become a very busy place lately but nothing in this market offers the power or the bang for buck of the Nissan 350Z Roadster. Probably the closest competition comes from Honda's fun little S2000, which has a screamer of an engine and only a $5K premium over the Nissan. The only other Japanese that might be a consideration is Mazda's wonderful new RX-8 but it is a hardtop only.

The Euros have more on offer with Alfa's 3.2 V6 Spider priced about $75,000, but it's all up from there. Audi's TT Roadster, which with 1.8-litre turbo just can't match the performance of the 350Z, is $10,000 more, while BMW's new 3.0-litre Z4 tops the Nissan by $20,000. Merc's SLK doesn't really figure as a real sports car either and costs $40K more and while the Porsche Boxster definitely has the performance to outdo the 350Z, it too carries a $40,000 premium.

ON THE ROAD
Reincarnating a previous icon is always dangerous but when the 350Z coupe arrived we applauded its true sports car dynamics. Invariably when you lose the roof off a coupe you lose some of that edge, but the Z Roadster, seems to have not only maintained the superb driving characteristics of the hardtop, but also dramatically improved the comfort into the bargain.

The extra stiffening in the body has certainly done the trick because this car feels every bit as tight and solid as the coupe and on the winding sweeping undulating roads in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, it felt positively glued to the road. The steering is sharp, if a little heavy at slower speeds and offers plenty of direct communication with the road surface. On the flip side, the ride is nicely compliant over short sharp bumps making for a very comfortable ride.

The engine is a delight and with drive by wire throttle, the response is instantaneous with the power delivered in a solid surge right through to the 8000rpm red line. If sports car is what you want, then Nissan has delivered again, with the added bonus of being able to cruise with the sun warming your head, while the drive warms your heart.

There must be something in the Japanese water. First Mazda rediscovers attitude with the Mazda 6, Mazda 2 and rotary-powered RX-8 troika, now Nissan's found flair with the 350Z. Where once the land of the Rising Sun could be accused of churning out capable, uninspiring vehicles -- and some still do -- it seems the spark is slowly returning. Whatever the Japanese are drinking, or doing, we hope they don't stop.

Technically, the 350Z is not a replacement for the turbocharged 200SX coupe, which was axed late 2002. Nor is it a substitute for the lovely but lardy 300ZX, which went bye-byes in 1996; a coupe still popular with the grey importers. Spiritually the 350Z embodies both those vehicles, and a fair bit of the rich Z-car heritage, which stretches way back to the original 240Z, first seen in Australia in 1970.

It follows the traditional Z-car configuration -- rear-wheel drive, front-engined, swoopy bonnet, and the cabin set well back on the chassis. Purists will note the absence of a straight six-cylinder engine like the original, Nissan instead commissioning a 3.5-litre V6 in the 350.

Power is a politically correct -- for Japan -- with 206kW, or 280hp in the old money. Japanese manufacturers are tipped to break that self-imposed ceiling, and though some would say they already have, none have bragged about it. Word from the 350Z launch is that Nissan's next generation GT-R will smash the 206kW agreement with 300kW from its twin-turbocharged V6.

Whatever, get used to the 3.5-litre V6 because it's in our next Maxima, detuned slightly for more luxurious, refined driving. In the 350Z, however, it lets everything hang out. And boy do we like it.

Engine response via the electronic throttle is instantaneous and eager; blipping it sends the tacho needle -- and your senses -- into ecstasy. The 350Z gallops forward with an urgency that doesn't falter, all the way to its 8000rpm redline, and through most of its six gears.

It's not blisteringly fast in a straight line, though it will cut a mid-14 second quarter mile. It's more the tractability and eagerness of the engine that addicts you. Simply knowing that strong, surging acceleration is waiting beneath your right foot is enough to get your pinkie twitching. Part of the kudos has to go to the carbon-fibre driveshaft, which keeps component weight down.

Do you think 206kW should be quicker in a straight line? So did we, until we saw the Z's kerb weight -- all 1450kg of it. The Z's not a lardass, but it's certainly not fighting bantamweight either. It does, however, feel significantly lighter, and even more at home on the twisty stuff.

Weight distribution is a less than ideal 53/47 front to rear, but you wouldn't know it. The suspension and chassis set-up handles the imbalance sublimely, giving you equally thorough reports from both ends of the car. Pushing hard into corners will result in the nose running wide, but the Z still feels lithe and responsive even with its front-end buried deep into the bend.

Unlike the WRX, the 350Z is not a car you can hurl into a corner and sort out at the other end. It's a true sports car that requires commitment and forethought if you're going to extract the most from its abilities. Take a slightly slower entry speed and use engine responsiveness and chassis communication to make the most of your exit speed.

The Z's steering is best described as a precision instrument, responsive to the merest thought or hint. The quick-ratio steering is perfectly in tune with the car, and the low-profile Bridgestone Potenzas have bugger-all tyre wall to dull the process.

Through bumpier corners the front wheels do kick back through the steering, but you've really got to be punting hard to get this. There's a strong argument for this level of feedback in a car as focused as the Z. Look at it not as a fault, but rather another form of communication.

Lurid, larrikin oversteer is there for the taking, but you'll have to switch off the Z's VDC stability control system. CarPoint grabbed the chance on a wet road run down a mountainside to test the invasiveness of system, to find out how badly it'll smack your hand when things turn ugly.

It doesn't. Those who read our Falcon XR6 turbo road test will recall we gave the Ford traction control system the "best we've ever driven" gong. Sorry, there's a new king in town.

Talk about invisible angels. Always there, yet you're never aware of it. And you know the best thing? Makes you feel like a better driver, which is what good driving aids should do -- they should enhance driver abilities, not punish the lack of ability.

CarPoint drove the 350Z track model over two days and 500km of Victoria's best country roads. Its abilities, and performance for the money blew us away. One area where owners may encounter problems is in the ride quality.

Understand the intention of this car. It's a traditionally laid-out sports coupe which gives away little at the altar of comfort. The ride is unforgiving and unyielding on Australia's rougher roads. The entry in my notebook says "unashamedly sports-biased" and that's probably an apt phrase for the whole car.

The sports seats are bolstered and extremely grippy. A good driving position is accessible through the tilt-adjustable steering wheel -- on which the instrument binnacle is mounted, so it adjusts along with the wheel. Headroom is not an issue for front seat passengers -- and there's no rear seats at all, so forget carrying more than two.

The boot area is actually quite big and easily accessed via the hatch, though space is bisected by a massive cross brace housing between the strut towers.

The Nissan 350Z coupe burst onto the scene in December, 2002, reviving the affordable performance sports car market that was losing ground to 'hairdresser' cars. Cars with more show than go, front drive fancy dressers more focused on comforting owners than confronting them.

Only the Holden Monaro flew the flag for old world sports fans, and its sales -- buoyed by huge initial demand in 2002 -- were falling fast.

The Nissan 350Z coupe continues the traditional sports coupe genre most recently expounded by the Monaro and the turbocharged Nissan 200SX. It's about power, performance and passion -- looks are secondary. Important, but secondary to ability.

The 350Z knows this well: a stonking 3.5-litre V6 up front, delivering a deluge of power to the rear wheels via a short shifting six-speed manual gearbox. No turbochargers, just 206kW and 363Nm of shove ready and waiting.

One drive and you understand the allure of these pure-bred sports coupes. It's a return to the fundamentals, where nothing came between the driver and the road. A good sports car was nearly invisible, the driver feeling every bump that passed under the wheels. Intimately tapped into the engine, where a simple toe curl elicited a few more horses. The mere though of a turn brought eager anticipation from the car's front end.

If the 350Z coupe could be criticised, it was for a harsh ride that, while communicative and capable on fast drives, left you battered and bruised in commuting mode. The roofless Roadster model we tested here softens off on the kidney punches, with little detriment to the handling equation.

In fact it'd be no stretch of the imagination to say the 350Z Roadster is the pick of the three 350Z models (Touring, Track and Roadster). It's highly unusual for a roofless version to better its tin top compatriot, but Nissan's managed it. Cutting the roof off a car is detrimental to body rigidity, which invites nasty chassis flex, and adverse handling usually results.

Not so this time. The 350Z roadster is a real sweetie, though it does carry nearly 100kg of extra chassis members and structural rigidity. This does take the edge of the engine's straight-line performance, but not so you'd really care. No, the real story is in the retuned suspension, which isn't anywhere near as harsh as the coupe's. At the same time it retains 95 per cent of the coupe's on road dynamics, which makes it understandable that Nissan will update the coupe with these settings in the near future.

Okay, at $69,990 the Roadster -- electric folding soft top, by the way -- is around $10,000 more expensive than the coupe model. For the money you get wind in the hair and a more comfortable ride at very little cost to performance and handling.

Somehow Nissan's managed to avoid those typical convertible pitfalls and bring us a vehicle that makes more sense than its coupe sibling. Which makes the extra $10k much easier to justify.