SideShowBob

Its very American in its approach, which I dont mind, but when I compared it against a similally priced S2000, I found it fell far short in fun and chuckability, which is a big factor when buying a performance car (for me anyway).

Good otherwise, very nearly bought one, was about to take it when I decided to test drive an S2000, just to compare, and I bought the S there and then, the Z just couldnt compete.

Found it to be very solidly built, looks good, and drove well, but didnt have any real flash and *****, was a very tame experience when compared to a few other cars that are available for £25k

jonm01

I reckon the looks are going to age quickly. 10 years and it will look like an old Datsun and be driven by the hooligans that now own bodykitted Supra 300's.

Type R

No as I here shares in Oil companies are rocketing

Muffleman

Test drove one earlier this year. TBH, it really didn't light my fire. Steering response was average, didn't 'seem' that quick ie didn't set my senses tingling when going for it. Couple this to, IMO, the jelly mould exterior and an absolute moron of a salesmen and I was left completely unenthused.

However, add forced induction and other mods to make it a little more 'hardcore' and I could be tempted - so maybe in a couple of years when the dealers have got over themselves and prices are reasonable enough to be able to buy one and then spend £'000's on it, then maybe.

Matt

mn_angrybeats

My g/f's only response when I was thinking about getting one was " yeah but it's a Nissan"

workshy_fopp

Yeah, but you don't let your bird tell you what to drive do you...... do you?

RichS

Found a post I made on the 5th of July '04.
Rather that writing it all again, I'm taking the lazy option:


Posted by...er...me:

I took delivery of my 350Z a month ago, having come from a MY2000 UK Impreza turbo with ECUTek 3.

The 350Z and Impreza are completely different cars and as such are not really comparible.
However, as I can talk about both and as this is a 350Z thread on an Impreza forum, I'll have a go...


Performance -
Good. Very good, but being NA with the power distributed evenly right through the rev range, you don't get quite the "shove in back" drama that a turbo charged car offers. Not that I've actually done any timing, but I think the straightline performance is similar to my Impreza even if the two cars feel completely different.
Lots of torque in the 350Z which is nice
Engine note sounds lovely too

Handling -
Again very good and very different to the Impreza. Lots of grip at the front and quite easy to upset the back end if you're to heavy on the brakes. It's a heavier car and this is noticable, but it's still pretty nimble.
The car feels pretty well planted, but be careful in the wet!
(Car has ESP/traction control which can be switched off if you want to have a bit of tail sliding fun )

Brakes -
Excellent.

Interior -
Plenty of toys and build quality / materials / design are all big improvements on my Impreza.

Looks -
I guess opinions will vary, but I love it. I've also yet to meet anyone who doesn't like it in the flesh. The 18" Rays forged alloys are a must have option in my opinion.

Practicality -
It's a two seater with limited boot space.
If you can live with that, then no problem.

Mods -
Still early days here in the UK.
Apparently there are some Nismo options that are/will be available from the dealers.
Middlehursts offer a supercharger conversion (if you can live with a bulging bonnet) and I think there is also other supercharger and turbo options being made available by other suppliers.
The guys in the US are a year ahead of us on this front and the performance aftermarket is already enjoying lots of business.

Cost -
There's only one engine size available and you add your other options accordingly:
Base car £24,000
GT Pack (Cruise control, heated leather seats, Bose stereo) £2,500
Rays wheels upgrade £1000
Lots of other dealer options including Metallic paint, SatNav, Fancy mats, Luggage nets, Alezan coloured leather etc etc etc - see a Nissan price list for these.

Is there a UK forum? -
Yes - and it's very good :
http://www.350zuk.com

Am I happy with my new car? -
Oh yes!

--------

Also -

Known problems -
Not many (see the UK 350Z forum listed above) except the soft paint issue.
A few owners have been reporting stone chip issues on their cars and Armourfend or similar is a recommended option.
There's lots of discussion on this issue on the UK 350Z forum, so worth checking it out.
Is it a reason not to buy the car? You decide - IMHO No!

Customer service -
No first hand experience myself on Nissan customer srevice, expect when I bought the car (and as you would expect, it was pretty good in that situation).
I have read several comments from others about poor customer service though
Is it a reason not to buy the car? You decide - IMHO No!

RichS

Oh, and like the Scoob, it's a scum magnet - I now have to get my drivers side mirror replaced as someone decided to rip it off.

Bloody expensive too

mn_angrybeats

No but she has a point

moses

mate if i had enuff money left over after my evo modification this would be my fave car to buy, its an awesome piece of kit, the best car for a long time and good thing is the mods u can do to it, including a 700 bhp to 1000 bhp turbo conversion, engine is fantastic as all the nissans are

Terzo 333

bttt

Mr Leigh

But equally she could have said 'but its a Subaru'?

micared

Can't believe that some of the Scoob owners are criticising the Nissan, it's a better car in many respects. Suppose a lot depends on how objective in your analysis you choose to be. I love my scoob, especially in its current state of tune, but the game moves on, and the Nissan just feels like a step up quality wise. Doesn't mean I'd swap one for the other though!

Goochie

hmmm.... sound slike a wheel kicking exercise coming on LOL! Has anyone here gone from S2000 to 350Z ? I'd be interested to hear their views.

Boost II

iTrader: (1)

I would not seriously consider one until they sort out that door handle. Sometimes I wonder whether Nissan had a warehouse full of huge shiney chrome door handles to shift and decided to build a whole new car based around them as the starting point.

fast_eddie

looks totally rubbish to me like a squashed micra but i seem to be in a minority here lol oh and its a nissan which is why iv'e never considered testing one,might be a good car but these two things put me off them.

Mr Leigh

Got the delivery date on my 350Z March 1st! Looking forward to giving the Subaru drivers around here a run for there money again LOL.

gso

I think its a fantastic car...saving up as I type

So many haters in this thread... whats the argument about it being a "Nissan"? People forget Nissan build skylines....

Mr Leigh

Well it is a Subaru site LOL As an ex long term scooby owner I can talk from an unbiased soapbox

ScoobyJawa

I've had a 270bhp UK Scoob, Supra TT, now an R33 GTR and a mate has a 350Z and runs the UK site.

Any sorted scoob is gonna kill it dead until 3 figures
Straight line the Supra (stage 1)would have devastated it.
GTR pretty much romps away too.

Its quite nice to drive, handles nicely, but its no speed machine (though can get the initial jump being NA and having no tubbies to spool), at least not until its fitted with a supercharger.........

I personally prefer the looks of the RX8 and the price Coupled with the RX already being as fast round track and they now have a turbo kit for it - I know where I'd spend my dosh..........

Mr Leigh

I think its fare to say against all three of those vehicles you would not expect the 350Z to a as quick in a straight line Especially not a classic shape Scoob with 270bhp, cause they are the fastest cars in the world, ever

But lets face it, the most important piece of equipment is the thing driving the car. I've cained much bigger fish in lesser machines.

gso

What you driving now Mr Leigh??

Mr Leigh

Nissan Nirvara pick up Its been fun, but I'm ready to go back to a more sporty car.

U WOT!

Can't comment on the drivability of the car, but love the looks. I saw the new skyline last weekend, and its just a bigger version of the 350z, didn't like that at all.

mynickers

I really like them, not had a chance to get behind the wheel of one yet.

Can't help feeling that the revised s2000 would be more fun....? I do like it alot though.

Mr Leigh

Oh and a GSXR-750 Just incase you thought I'd turned into a cowboy boot wearing line dancer!

Terzo 333

Mine is a week and a day old and I absolutely love it.









Matt

(One VERY happy 350z owner )

mike16v

wow, good thread (ok, its 9 months old) but this seems to be a car that seems to get a lot of praise from a variety of people - either owners, folk who test drove and folk who just plain want one

Luggage space for a 2 seater seems good in that 2 sets of golf clubs fit in the boot (which is a no no on other cars such as the Boxster)

....think I need to test drive one

Squizz

Well, we've got an MY99 scoob (from new) and also a Nissan 200SX (S13) which I've slowly been modifying for track day use.

The scoob will obviously accelerate from a standing start quicker than our 'SX, but now the 'SX has been fettled it'll outrun the scoob once rolling. More power and more aerodynamic. Plus, tuning parts are so cheap in comparison!

Anyway - The driving experience is obviously different, and coming from previously owning a TR7V8 I'm looking forward to purchasing a 350Z one day. If an APS turbo or Vortech Suprcharger conversion is mentioned in the same breath, well that's purely coincidence!

The scoob? That's now just our hum-drum family saloon car, used for commuting and shopping.

MrDBM

Mike, you do indeed matey

I've just swapped my MY00 for a Jan04 350Z and I'm not looking back at all.

They are both great cars, but for me the 350 is a bit more grown up - or maybe I'm just getting old Interior quality is much better, it handles nicely and looks the dogs. It doesn't feel as fast, and I miss the Turbo a bit, but one glance down at the speedo and you get an idea where the 276bhp is going

And the sound... well it's just

Here's the new baby...

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...k/DSCF0018.jpg