Zapper

Drive a sports car on Indian roads - people in cars keep looking out from their windows, bikers and their pillions click snaps, take videos. Stop at a signal and there will be some more peeping. Park the car on a public road, and you will be surrounded by hundreds and bombarded with zillions of questions. Is this car sold in India? What’s the price of this car? Is it a convertible? What’s the top speed of this car?

This is exactly what happened to me when I drove out Nissan’s press fleet 370Z and thus the idea of buying a sports car in India wasn’t very appealing.

However, with this unrequited public frenzy comes a top speed of 250kph, a slinky body and some top-notch exhilaration. You sit in the car turn up the windows, shift to manual and get the car on a freeway and right there you are the Drift King (DK) from The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.

DK and his Nissan 350Z are stars till date. Many youngsters try to mimic the drifts he and Sean Boswell did in their 350Z and the Mustang respectively. In 2008, Nissan replaced the 350Z with the 370Z which is the sixth-generation of the Nissan Z car. The Nissan 370Z made its way into India in early 2010 (20th January 2010) just after the 2010 Auto Expo held in New Delhi. The 370Z is a CBU and is imported from Japan; it is Nissan’s third car for the Indian car market. So, will Nissan succeed in drifting Indian customers to buying its new Z? We find out.

Design:

The 370Z, the successor to the 350Z is designed by Alfonso Albaisa, who now heads the Nissan U.S. Design studio in San Diego. There are many visual ties between the 370Z and the 350Z, however the new Z has been redesigned and re-engineered to make it even better. The engineers at Nissan have cut the flab by using an aluminum sub-frame, engine cradle, hood, door panels and hatch. Even the streamlined body of the 370Z has a co-efficient of drag of 0.30 making it efficient.

The new headlamp design mimics the Nissan Maxima and the same theme is repeated for the tail lamps. The long bonnet, the pronounced strakes on the hood and the large wheel add stance to the 370Z. The shallow greenhouse area and heavily sculpted fenders with prominent haunches and extended wheel arch eyebrows that accommodate wider rear tyres add a lot of muscle to the Z. Our press demonstrator came shod with Bridgestone Potenza RE040 tyres, with a profile of 225/50R18 at the front and 245/45ZR18 for the rear.

To enter the 370Z, all you have to do is walk up to the car with your key in hand or pocket and open the door. It has keyless entry, a feature seen on all Nissans including the Micra. The black and silver instrument panel makes you take notice, but the overall styling isn’t as appealing as the exterior. The plastic quality is decent but nothing impressive.

The instrument cluster is made up of three-dials - of which two are analog; showing speed and engine rpm while the third is digital displaying fuel level and engine temperature. The three-spoke steering wheel of the Z gets audio and cruise controls mounted on it. The instrument pod also tilts when you tilt the steering wheel, however the steering wheel isn’t telescopic and one cannot adjust the reach.

The centre console gets an in-dash audio system, climate control system and a small storage where the satellite navigation system comes fitted for other markets. The 370Z gets only two seats wrapped in leather which are comfortable and bucket-like. The car being low slung, ingress and egress is a bit difficult.

Slip behind the steering wheel and you won’t be very pleased with the several blind spots. The rear windshield is very small and the glassed-in area is very limited and this affects visibility more so while parking. The storage space is good enough with a large cup holder and, storage space for two bottles and on the centre console and glove box. Speaking about safety, the Nissan 370Z gets dual front airbags and side and curtain airbags.

Nissan has placed a 3.7-litre V6 petrol engine in the 370Z that produces a meaty 331bhp@7000rpm and a maximum torque of 363Nm@5200rpm. This is a 3696cc engine (Engine code: VF37VHR) and the first one to get Nissan’s VVEL (Variable Valve Event and Lift). The engine is responsive and has a strong mid-range. The engine is highly refined and has very low level of NVH levels. The engine happily revs upto 7500rpm and it has an electronically limited top speed of 250kph.

Plant your foot down on the accelerator pedal and the car surges forward seamlessly. This V6 really does have plenty of power and all you need to do when you wish to overtake, is simply put your foot down. In our performance run, the Nissan 370Z galloped to 100kph in 6.1 seconds and completed the quarter mile in 14.4 seconds. The brake pedal felt a bit soggy, but they bit progressively. In our brake test, the Z covered 25.5 metres before coming to a complete standstill from a speed of 80kph.

However, a point to be noted is that the 370Z needs 97 octane fuel which is difficult to obtain even in a city like Mumbai. The Nissan 370Z is available with an option of six-speed manual or seven-speed automatic transmission. Our press demonstrator powered the rear wheels with the autobox. This seven-speed box comes with tiptronic and flappy paddles if you wish to shift manually. Step on the gas and there is a slight lag in the autobox as it does take a while to downshift. The manual transmission comes with SynchroRev Match system, where-in the ECU blips the throttle doing downshift for smoother shifts.

The 370Z gets double wishbone at the front and four-link at the rear, both aluminum alloys. There is only one setting for the suspension. There is no option to switch to comfort or sport mode. The ride on the 370Z isn’t very stiff and it does soak-up most of the bumps at low speeds. Even though the ride is supple, the 370Z handles well. Being a rear wheel drive, it gets tail happy easily but the ESP kicks in for the rescue. The almost accurate steering and agile handling inspires confidence to dive in bends and tight hairpins.

The Nissan 370Z AT costs Rs 65 lakhs (on-road, Mumbai) which makes it an expensive buy. Realistically speaking, it is fair enough, since it is a CBU and the most important thing which goes unnoticed (by many) is the fact that Nissan has put in more money on the mechanicals to make the 370Z a daily usable car. The 370Z is an amazing sports car to own and to drive. The overall styling and the driving characteristics of the Z are its strong points. But, we still believe there are a few better European options than the 370Z which one could opt for as Nissan yet has to make an impact on the minds of Indian consumers.