On the techno gadget front (can’t let GT-R owners have all the Nissan-based fun), the Sport package 370 comes with its own downshifting rev-match program called SynchroRev. The car uses a real-deal 6-speed manual complete with clutch, and as you depress clutch and downshift, the motor automatically revs up. You still have to use the clutch and move a proper shifter, but to feel the machine basically doing the heel and toe process for you is an interesting concept. Sure, you get a similar type of system with a paddle-shift car, but this is the first that I’ve driven where the system comes on a foot-clutch-operated car. And the rev matches were spot-on perfect. Although I turned the system off and did the heel and toe myself, it was purely out of pride and ego—the system was more precise and more consistent than I was. It was so good that it kind of pissed me off!
So the question, as always is, How did the car feel? In a word, great. But because it’s sort of my job to use a few more words than that, I can tell you the 370 is a clear step above and beyond the 350.
The 370 has a pretty clean turn-in response and is reasonably good in quick transitions. But it truly comes into form in long constant-radius sweepers, during which the car exhibits terrific overall grip and phenomenal balance. Even with quick, mid-corner lifts off the throttle over somewhat bumpy tarmac, the 370 stays relatively composed. Ultimately, the car can be characterized as one that’s remarkably easy to drive at the limit and rewards the driver willingly while being forgiving with those who perhaps have less deft skills.
The 370 feels substantial, to be sure—almost heavy—and in this respect a bit like the GT-R supercar. However, unlike the GT-R’s seemingly effortless 500hp motor, the 330 ponies getting pumped out from beneath the shapely 370 hood are hard at work providing forward thrust. The result is a car that can get out of its own way when needed but could also stand a bit more power. Perhaps it’s because the chassis is so good, or maybe Nissan even thought ahead to people deciding to throw forced induction systems at the car in the aftermarket. Whatever the reason, the 370 feels like another 50 hp would suit it well.
With that in mind, though, one needs to go back to the rules (the regulations), the balance points that Nissan set for itself when building the Z cars in the first place. All three need to be met. Not just looks and performance but value as well. Could the Nissan engineers have pumped more power out of the 3.7-liter. Absolutely. But it costs money to make more power, and as such Nissan met the most critical of all the rules and regs: balance. That balance seems to be an encompassing concept for the 370Z, and am I very glad to see it back.
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By Mike Speck
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