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Is the 350z any good?

Terreto

By Terreto,
in General Automotive Discussion

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Duncan Grand Master

Duncan

Posted
Posted
how do they respond to mods................when the price comes down they could be an interesting sight

well, they are a fairly hard tuned n/a engine from the factory....my guess is they will suck for mods compared to say, a skyline where we just turn the b00st up :P

Ours loves teh pod, but I haven't had a chance to do back to back dyno testing yet

There's exhausts and such around but we haven't tried one. Or of course you could chuck on a $15000 twin turbo kit

Duncan Grand Master

Duncan

Posted
Posted
If i had a choice, i would buy one just for everyday driving, unmodded. Otherwise i would choose something else.

Also heard the 350z was uncomfortable to ride in :P

same answer as the 2 seater comment....you of course know you are buying a car with sporty suspension and not a lexus. yes it has firm suspension.

funkymonkey Grand Master

funkymonkey

Posted
Posted

test drove both the convertible and the regular models thanks to a mate that works in a nissan dealership. the convertible for obvious reasons feels a lot more heavier than the regular.

i didn't get to drive the track version, which i'd have liked to... so as for the regular version, i've gotta say it handles pretty good and is pretty torque down low in the power band. it does sound a lil tinny with a factory exhaust, but who keeps it factory.

I reckon a track version (which is supposed to have better handling and lighter rims etc etc) with a good exhaust, extracters and throttle bodies will make it a pretty gutsy N/A.

Timmy G Proficient

Timmy G

Posted
Posted
Top Gear is a good, but biased, show. If a car isn't British they tend to find a lot of niggling things wrong with it.  

I was thinking of buying one recently so I spoke to a few dealers and no-one could get me one to test drive. I was pretty keen so I went and saw them at the Nissan dealer so they could know I was serious, the girl phoned around for 2 weeks trying to get me a track, 6mt, coupe for a drive but no luck.

In the end i forgot about the 350 and went with something else.

Oh that and they wanted $91k for a Track, Manual with Sat Nav, factory option Bilsteins and dealer option Nismo LMGT4 18" rims.

$91k!!! - F that.

they always pay out on rover, that is english. i have watched a lot of top gear and i've not noticed any british bias. they always treat jap cars as second rate though imo, it's like the "always trying to live up to the big european brother" type syndrome.

lwells Grand Master

lwells

Posted
Posted
Rover is crap though..............they dont pay out on MG which is the non-budget arm of rover (in a way) the rover 75 got good reviews............

Exactly, although they don't really have a go at Rover cars, more rover management.

Clarkson is most certainly biased. If its british (*cough* Aston, Jaguar *cough*) he loves it and prattles on about British cars being the best in the world.

Anyway, back on to the 350Z :P

LW.

Timmy G Proficient

Timmy G

Posted
Posted
Exactly, although they don't really have a go at Rover cars, more rover management.

Clarkson is most certainly biased. If its british (*cough* Aston, Jaguar *cough*) he loves it and prattles on about British cars being the best in the world.

Anyway, back on to the 350Z :P

LW.

I like clarkson, he's funny. Anyway, look at Motor/Wheels magazine. They rate Holden Commonwhores and Fords Falcons which SUCK - sorry no apologies for starting this fire!

Both cars have good features on paper, but why on earth would you buy one for yourself (fleet cars are okay - you don't always get a choice)?!?!? They are 2/3 the price of an equiv Euro car with similar features but it FALLS APART within a year and just gets worse and worse.

My 2c.

-Tim

lwells Grand Master

lwells

Posted
Posted
I like clarkson, he's funny.  Anyway, look at Motor/Wheels magazine.  They rate Holden Commonwhores and Fords Falcons which SUCK - sorry no apologies for starting this fire!

-Tim

Sure he is funny. But do you want to buy a car on the basis of the reviewer being funny, or based on factual information? Justifying it by pointing out that other publications/reviewers are biased doesn't exactly take away from the fact that Clarkson, funny as he may be, is not a good driver and not a good reviewer.

/rant

LW.

Timmy G Proficient

Timmy G

Posted
Posted
Sure he is funny. But do you want to buy a car on the basis of the reviewer being funny, or based on factual information? Justifying it by pointing out that other publications/reviewers are biased doesn't exactly take away from the fact that Clarkson, funny as he may be, is not a good driver and not a good reviewer.

/rant

LW.

yeah you have a point. i watch top gear to check out the cars not really for buying opinions.

lwells Grand Master

lwells

Posted
Posted
yeah you have a point.  i watch top gear to check out the cars not really for buying opinions.

Despite my critiscms, I watch it too mostly because its entertaining. However, I don't like the fact that it proports to provide factual "reviews", like the one of the 350Z.

LW.

Glut Rookie

Glut

Posted
Posted
i couldnt read that autospeed article!

it sounded like he had already made up his mind about the car before driving it. as if he has a chip on his shoulder that the car is not real sports car because it is 'trendy' at the moment.  

bullshit journalism!

Hmmm... ragging on an article you haven't read, soley because it doesn't like a car you do. hmmm... I'll start snickering now.

For your benefit, however I've pasted the last parts of the article for you:

Why you would:

   * Good smooth road handling

   * Excellent performance

   * Attracts lots of attention

   * Good equipment level, including six airbags

Why you wouldn't:

   * Loud and coarse

   * Very poor ride on all but good surfaces

   * Handling on poor roads is bad

   * Very poor luggage and oddments spaces

and a nice quote from earlier in the article:

It's for drivers who want to feel the experience ...  OTOH, if you'd rather go just as fast - both in a straight line and around corners - and have more room, comfort and quietness, better grip and a vastly better ride, there are other cars that are much more highly recommended.

IMHO they're a very unbiased source.

Duncan Grand Master

Duncan

Posted
Posted

Well my 2yen is that autospeed are really not car enthusiasts, despite running a car magazine....the author of that article drive an ls400 so that gives you an idea of the sort of barge they like.

Which is fine by me.

But I want something interesting, quick, decent handling. I don't particularly care about smoothness of the ride or how many suitcases I can fit in it....and as a result we went with the 350z and are very happy with it :cheers:

Laurence Mentor

Laurence

Posted
Posted

Mr Autospeed got burnt with leasing an aussie spec R32 GT-R and has become bitter and twisted.

Also he likes WRX's and well, if you like that then a proper car wouldn't really be your thing.

The only problem I see with the 350Z is that I would like the VQ35 to rev a bit harder. It seems a shame to have to crack open the engine straight away! Oh and the wanky diff thing. But then again, Porsche use it on all their 911's without "GT" in the name and they go alright.

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