zilch

My scoob goes back in July and after 2 scoobs and 6 years i am
most probably looking for a change. Gone for 2 extremes, Avant A4 either 2.5TDI or 3.0 quattro (sensible-ish), or the other end of the scale which is a 350Z (or RX8, hmm). A few mates have said the 350 is the way to go. Seen some threads from 2003, anyone got anything to add on whether the 350 is the way to go in terms of moving on from a scoob. Do not need 4/5 doors or seats, the wife as a TD5 disco, so the family car bit angle is covered.

Would welcome any input/feedback from 350 owners or people who have test driven one

Cheers

Jim

CRAIGFIN

Jim,

You have wise friends indeed!! I have done months of research on the Nissan 350Z, and read reviews from all over the world. Needless to say my MY99 STI Type-R is going and a shiney Kuro Black Zed with GT pack will replace it. These cars are simply awesome. They look absolutely stunning in the flesh and the interiors are great.
I have found only one bad review on the Zed and it was Jezza Clarksons infamous Top Gear review. He tested an american model which are vastly inferior to the ones we have. Apparently Nissan GB rejected three cars before they authorised the current spec Zed. The reviews are overwhelmingly positive, it has won about 3/4 magazines car of the year award for this year. Top Gear mag tested it alongside the RX8, TT V6 and Chrysler Crossfire. The Zed came out on top in almost all respects, including being faster.
I am totally hooked on this car and will be getting one as soon as I can.

Have a look here www.350zuk.com

Hope this helps.

Get one!!!!!

Craig.

zilch

Craig, thanks for the positive feedback, and have arranged a test drive this saturday (as well as an RX8 to compare), the dealer is getting one in, so hopefully he will let me drive it what lead time are you being quoted and when does the beast arrive, i would favour the gunmetal with GT pack and need it for July when the UK300 goes.

Cheers

Jim

lpitt

I would have to agree that it is a superb car and I found it almost impossible to decide between the RX-8 and the 350z.

In the end it came down to four things for me:

1. The 350z doesn't exactly have a practical bootspace whatever the dealer says. I couldn't get my suitcase and laptop bag in easily at once.
2. I preferred the interior on the RX-8 but that's personal opinion
3. Two children who like to come out in 'Daddys' car so ideally four seats (really the decider)
4. I found the 350z tiring as it's very direct

But if you do get one then it's a good decision and you'll REALLY enjoy it.

Me? I bought an RX-8 and am currently having a fantastic time breaking that in

Laurence

zilch

Laurence, some good points, lucky that although we have two teenagers, they can be banished to the Disco , however will test drive both Saturday so will go with an open mind.

Cheers

Jim

CRAIGFIN

Jim,

I am waiting to sell my Type-R before ordering mine, don't want to count my chickens. I will be very interested to hear about your test drive as the cars are pitched against each other. I'm not much for the look of the RX-8 though.

cheers,

Craig.

zilch

Craig, no probs, do not expect a professional write up or judgement however , just my gut feel on how they both performed. Im Not to scientific when it comes to cars but i know what i like

Cheers

Jim

Chins

Hope you enjoy the drive. My 350Z enjoys the lanes in the Chilterns already . Especially blatting past the Prime Ministers country residence

Jonathan

Ballistic

Jim
Enjoy your test-drives, I've driven both cars 3 times now and loved every minute in them. Their both great cars in their own way although you will find their characteristics are very different. For me it was a hard choice, both cars have their respective plus and minus's and at the end of the day you have to decide what's most important to you.

Laurence
Formed the same oppinion's as you have regarding the RX8, how you getting on with it?

Craig
Hope the wait won't be too long for you, the anticipation must be killing you. I'm sure when it arrives you will enjoy!

Jonathon
Good to see you on here again.
How are you getting on with your Z?
Many thanks again for the advice on the finance, decided to go with the Lombard BP (best deal by a mile) and sod the risk!

zilch

Hi all, well i am back from a day of Blatting and having some serious fun. In addition to the RX8 and Z, i picked up a test drive in a Chrysler Cross fire as an added bonus, the Mazda dealership in Beaconsfield is also a Chrysler, Smart and Merc dealership.

My preference overall is in the following order

1). 350Z stunning car to drive, more precise, power seemed to come on smooth compared to the Xfire and RX8 and seemed eager to get there even in the lower rev bands. Steering was right on and it handled impeccably through the Chiltern backroads (Hughenden Valley). It also behaved itself through Wycombe town, so its not only a good open road car as far as i can tell. Visibility seemed surprisingly better than either the x-fire and RX8. Downside, more expensive than the RX8, saying its has a boot might be risking a visit by the trades descriptions boys so impractical for carrying anything more than a reasonable size holdall.

Second place is very tight

2). x-fire edged the 8 due to drivability, steering felt much tighter and precise, however it was a tiptronic and therefore not a good comparison. I am testing out the manual next week so may be underwhelmed , not sure how much hard work it will be to maintain its momentum. Surprisingly it felt very spritely for a motor that only has 215PS, the V6 seems to provide plenty of torque (239lb). I did however notice that you did have to sometime give it some real stick to get it moving when in the low rev bands, delivery definitely not as smooth as the Z's.

3). RX8, Excellent drive, it did handle well, thought the steering was not as precise as the other 2 and you need to keep providing some fine adjustment on cornering (perhaps its down to my crap driving technique). Seemed very eager when i was above 4K revs, but below that, needed some jollying along. To be honest for practicality its far better than the x-fire, but for driving pleasure the x-fire just edges it.

Overall the cars were all good fun and i would willingly buy any of them, however the 350Z edges it enough for me..next saturday i am checking out the x-fire manual (hopefully) to give it a proper comparison against the 8 and Z which were both Manual (my preference), CTR, EVO8 and for nostalgia's sake the STI with PPP, but it does look at the moment that the Z will win it based upon

Pure Driving pleasure
Insurance compared to the EVO and Scoob (its half)and not a mile from the RX8.
Cost, its 4K more than the RX8, but i think justifiably, and a fair bit cheaper than the Crossfire (and Evo for that matter)
Time to move on to a new type of car

Sorry if it is not scientific, not into determining what the understeer/oversteer etc was like, just my humble opinion after a good days fun. Worrying thing is, the wife test drove them all as well and agreed so should not be a problem selling it to her then

Many thanks

Jim

CRAIGFIN

Hi Jim,

It sounds like you had a mental day, testing three cars!!!

Your glowing reference of the 350Z only strengthens what most other people say about it. I am totally sold on the Zed and can't wait to sell my Type-R.

Cheers,

Craig.

Rich D

iTrader: (12)

My mate's got one and it really is a great car!

si_kosta

I think it was on Top Gear where they said the handling of the JAp Import 350Z was crap?!

But, the UK Spec ones, handle like a dream!

zilch

Craig, if you have not done already, get a test drive in the Z, quite surprisingly i found it has enjoyable as the scoob to drive, more so i would say..will not knock the scoob as i have had them for 6 years, so had plenty of pleasure out of them..However the insurance on an STI is crippling, and its the only natural progression within the range from a UK300. I can get insured on a 350Z for 40% of the cost of the STI insurance, that is a big difference for a car with comparable performance, and something like 20% cheaper against having to renew my UK300's.

Cheers

Jim

CRAIGFIN

Jim,

Totally agree with you on insurance. My Type-R is nearly a £1000 a year, so I did a quote with a new Zed costing twice the value of my Type-R. It came back at £619!!!!Bargain.

Craig.

zilch

Craig, seems about the same, 1100 spondulies for the UK300 (which is worth 12-13K at the most), 2200 for an STI 8 and thats without the PPP and 900 for the 350Z (with the GT Pack) which is 26.5K, which on paper is worth exactly twice the price of my 300 but at four fifths of the cost (edited because i got my STI8 and UK300 mixed up )

Cheers

Jim

[Edited by zilch - 1/10/2004 7:39:40 PM]

zilch

Si, cannot argue about the Jap one, but the UK model behaved impeccably and even when being pushed in the twisties (must be the traction control)

Cheers

Jim

Type R

Can't comment on the drive on any of them as havent driven them except the Cross fire, which scared the life out of me, the thing didnt want to go round the roundabout, horrible drive, the first car I have ever driven where I thought Im going to crash this.

The RX8 has had glowing review on TG, not overly keen on the styling, S2000 from the rear, very Mazda 6 (Saloon Car) from the front, and really don't see the point in the doors, but I seem to be in the minority Whats the fuel economy like Laurence? Not a dig just intrested.

The Z on paper is big engine, big weight, looks very tasty in Silver and god ugly in gold IMHO, too overweight for my liking.

If I was looking my mind would be pointing to the RX8, Im not into this overweight fat bodystyling, with big engines, and although I don't think the styling is fantastic on the RX8 it is better than the other 2.

2 Good cars, 1 nail IMHO

Chins

Cant comment on the Crossfire, but I being in the same area, Ive been to the same RX-8 dealer

I think that as a pure drivers car the 350Z is a class above the RX-8. The RX-8 has to be my most disapointing drive after the Focus RS. For a car delivering 18mpg it has a lack of performance IMHO. Kept trying the dual carriageway from GX towards the M40.

Stowage space in the 350Z is actually pretty good. Two sets of clubs in the boot etc.

The RX-8 eats the 350 for practicallity due to the rear seats. But its shouldnt be compared to the 350Z as one is a nice saloon and the other a sports car. I have had a few domestics with my 5 & 9 year old wanting to come out with me. The RX-8 would of solved this, but I wouldnt of driven for the sake of it If I had bought the RX-8.

Might still buy an RX-8, but Mazda need to address the mpg and problems I see with it being a fleet car, due to the number of cars they want to sell. I can see 8-10% discounts being the norm in 10 months time. Even today a 6 week old car is worth 15% less than cost.

Jonathan

zilch

Chins, agree, had an interest in the RX8 and the 350Z, so to satisfy my curiosity had to try them both..the xfire was a bonus

type R, was midly surprised on how the actually 350 looks, its not as ugly as you may think, far better lines than the xfire (not into retro/modernism (is there such a thing). The RX8 looks after a while started to wear on me for the wrong reasons, the more i looked at it, the more i seemed to start to question its lines..so see where you are coming from

Cheers

Jim

[Edited by zilch - 1/11/2004 1:00:30 PM]

CRAIGFIN

The 350Z is a perfect example of a car looking better in 3D in the flesh than a 2D photo. Some photo angles don't do the Zed justice, but if you see on in the flesh thay are stunning from every angle!!

Craig.

Type R

Jim I really liked the 350Z in Silver then saw one in Gold, it just didnt look half as nice, it may have been a Jap Import if that makes any difference as it had a Square number plate.

Matt

zilch

typical, never sighted a Z before, and one is now parked around the corner from the office

taken some of my colleagues around to show them my first choice. all agreed its a beaut..hope the owner was not getting to nervous about people peering at it

Cheers

Jim

[Edited by zilch - 1/12/2004 1:20:31 PM]

lpitt

I haven't driven a Crossfire as Chrysler would only let me passenger with the salesman for some reason. Personally I didn't like the interior on it and the boot was absolutely pathetic.

As for the other two I drove them both new for the first time then re-drive the RX-8 with 3,800 miles on it and the 350z with 2,700 miles on it. One thing I can definitely say is that they both improve with age massively (not that either is bad to start with). The difference was fantastic with some miles under their belts.

Insurancewise I was quoted £650 for the 350z and am paying £420 for the RX-8.

The only downside IS MPG on the RX-8 but I am getting 22mpg out of mine constantly which isn't really different to the 350z anyway so it doesn't trouble me.

Laurence

Type R

Crikes I couldnt live with that MPG, cmust be around 9 on track

Think Im better off sticking to the light weight cars.

zilch

Laurence, totally agree with you in terms of the xfires interior, very tacky i thought for the price (loads of two tone plastic). If you do fancy a spin, try the chrysler dealer in Beaconsfield, Bucks, its nice to give someone else car a tonking .

Type-R, MPG for the RX8 or 350Z is no worse than my scoob, neither scoob i have had have returned anything better than 20-22 mpg , so use to the economy figures and the price of Super.

Cheers

Jim

zilch

I have been offered through our company leasing agents a chance to have a 350Z for a weekend, but on the proviso that I insure it, neither my brokers nor Norwich Union direct (my insurers) will entertain providing cover for Demo purposes.. Any ideas

Cheers

Jim

Type R

Can you not class it as hire

zilch

might be worth trying, my broker was pretty adamant about it..will have a hunt around, thanks for the idea

cheers

Jim