2012 Nissan 370Z
The Z has been iconic since the 1970’s. With the Datsun Z series in America, the sports car was redefined. Paul Newman (whom you may see at the grocery store on products, heard his voice in cars, or even saw him in Twilight) raced the Z’s with great success and helped put them on the map with commercials and other advertising. The Z defined the sports car for many years and they are still redefining it today.
The 2012 model continues the trend. It has been redesigned from the previous 250Z’s and Nissan listened to the consumers about what needed to change. The rear strut bar, which helps the handling of the car, was moved forward to increase the rear cargo room. This may not sound like much, but in today’s world when this sports car is most likely your daily driver, it helps out alot with hauling luggage, helmets, etc. The body was redesigned with a strong resemblance to the Fairlady’s of the day with flared rear fenders and a defined hood line. An iconic feature on the 370Z is the Shark’s teeth or catfish front grill, I think it adds a bit of a more aggressive look and says, ” Move out of my way!!” when you see it coming in your rearview mirror. This Z has the premium package which includes Nissan Sport brakes, front and rear spoilers; but the 19” Rays rims are the icing on the cake. Rays makes the wheels for the GT-R and gives you 245’s in the front, 275’s in the rear, increased traction, and improved handling...oh yes.
Sitting in the Z puts you in the cockpit with everything at your fingertips. Translation, snug for those not understanding how it all comes together. Everything is within reach from the driver seat so you can focus more on the road than what you are doing in the car. An adjustable steering column moves the gauges up and down with the wheel to further help your visibility of the road and gauges. I especially like the 6-speed manual’s crisp and quick shifts, but also its auto rev matching when you are downshifting so you don’t have to “blip” the throttle coming up to a corner. This however can be turned off so tracks days turn into driver days.
Performance is always there when you buy a Z. The 3.7L DOHC V6 produces 332hp and 270 lb-ft of torque all going to the rear wheels. Rear wheel drive has been a thing of the past for most car companies; Nissan has kept the true sports car alive with every Z. Driving the Z is a blast and the gas mileage is about par with the performance at 18mpg in the city and 26mpg on the highway. Not bad when considering the power of this sports car. The ride quality is comfortable and basic driving is pretty easy and not too harsh for your commute. Visibility is great in the front and not so bad in the rear but add the rear backup camera and it’s perfect. At $36,150.00 with the sports package and rearview camera is not a bad deal and I would say more fun to drive than a Mustang of that price. Nissan has kept true to its word about bringing us the “Next” sports car.