For the last week, I've been able to tool around town in the legendary Nissan 350Z.
The 2008 soft-top I got to fold into for seven days lived up to my expectations of what it would be like to drive around in a James-Bond type car. Nah, that was a Beemer.
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Nissan's legendary 350Z is a dream to drive on the open highway.
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At least a sports car Magnum P.I. would drive.
Though I didn't get many chances to drive with the top down last week, I had a few moments with the wind, the rpms and the Magnum theme song running through my head.
Also feeling nostalgic, Nissan. They make no changes to the 350Z for 2008 and the overall design for the Z has changed little since the 2003 model debuted.
Offered as a coupe or a convertible, the 350Z is the everyman's sports car. Well, every man that has upwards of $35,000. It's fast, nimble, looks good and is somewhat affordable.
This crackerjack zooms down the roads with a V6 engine offering 306 horses at 268-foot-lbs @ 4,800 rpm. These numbers look great compared with a few other sports cars you'd get in this price range, like the Honda S2000 with its inline 4 and 237 horsepower or the Pontiac Solstice GXP and its inline 4 and 260 hp.
The Z's V6 is mated to a 6-speed manual transmission that was a little stiff in stop-and-go traffic, but felt great accelerating up on the open highway.
To me, the exterior design of the 350Z wins hands-down parked next to its competitors, like the Ford Mustang. I love the sleekness of the Z versus the muscle of the Mustang.
However, I was not as pleased with the interior of the Z. Finishes were second-class and seat comfort doesn't seem to be a high priority for Nissan designers.
The 350Z did offer my tall husband a lot of headroom, something most of the Z's competitors don't have.
One pet-peeve with the Z, there is no trunk release button except on the key fob. The trunk release button in the car starts the process for the top going down, which is not what I wanted on mornings with 30-degree weather. So on mornings when I started the car early to warm it up, I had to turn the car off, pull the key out and push the button to open the trunk. For those who don't know, in the 350Z, the trunk is where you have to put your laptop, gym bag, school projects, your son's skates and booster seat. Oh well, a small price to pay for looking cool in the school drive-up lane.
Though I loved driving the Z, pulling out of parking spots was frustrating as there are more blind spots in this car than window space
For those looking for a great-driving sports car at $35,000, the 350Z has got to be at the top of the list.
Price-wise, it's at the top of the list too. With a base price of $35,630, it's quite a bit more than the $25,000 Mustang or the $31,000 RX-8.
