First Drive Review
The “Year of the GT-R” is finally behind us, but Nissan isn’t done polishing its brass knuckles. Attention now snaps back to Nissan’s original and more affordable asphalt punk, the Z. Launched in 2002—ancient days for a sports coupe, which is always a fast-burning candle—the Z was obscured all last year by Godzilla’s long shadow. For 2009 it breaks cover, the 350Z now transformed into the shorter, scrappier 370Z.
The Andrew Jackson added to the name means more motor. The V-6 is now 3.7 liters instead of 3.5, thanks to a 4.6-millimiter stroke stretch. Sound familiar? This is the Infiniti G37’s four-cam, 24-valve V-6, new in 2008 and called the VQ37HR.
In the Z, it shares the Infiniti’s power ratings of 330 horsepower and 270 pound-feet of torque, up 24 and two, respectively, from the 3.5. Written out that way, it sounds like much ado about not much. Well, Nissan says the 3.7 should cleave a couple of 10ths from the 0-to-60-mph score, down to five seconds flat, a difference your personal whupass meter should register. During a drive of a tape-masked prototype, ours did, and we noted stronger pulls out of corners and more torque in the midsection. However, the prosaic whir heard in the cockpit from the big six is no more scintillating near the 7500-rpm redline. The Z’s rumble sounds bad-ass from the sidewalk, but it still desperately needs an inside voice.
Transmission choices include a seven- speed automatic and a six-speed manual. Optional “SynchroRev Match” on the manual mechanically blips the throttle for you on downshifts, so heel-and-toe perfection no longer requires actual toes. An off button locks it out when you wish to row your own throttle. Sadly, our stripper car lacked the feature.
Yes, power is up, but a more startling revelation is what’s down. Nissan’s Sawzall took 3.9 inches from the previous 104.3-inch wheelbase, all of it between the door and the rear axle, we’re told. Stylists kneaded and tugged and shaved, and the result was that overall length dropped 2.7 inches, while width increased by 1.1 inches.
You’ll see the Z’s new compactness best from the side. The roofline slopes toward the rear at a softer angle, so now there’s less of a jutting J. Lo tush. The result is a tidy squeeze-bulb shape even more evocative of the original, the 240Z. Detail changes include revised head- and taillights, tensed up with a sort of Nike Swoosh form that is now part of the Nissan family face (it debuted on the ’08 Maxima). The side glass, once a flat line across the bottom, now doglegs upward to lead into the small quarter-window. The stocky door handles were smoothed and reshaped but remain no less startling than before.
