Nissan 370Z Roadster (2011 onwards)

What: Nissan 370Z Roadster
Where: Goodwood, West Sussex
Price: from £31,250
Available: now
Key rivals: Porsche Boxster, BMW Z4, Audi TT Roadster

Summary
A revised 370Z , with suspension and chassis changes ensuring a more comfortable and quieter ride

We like - smoother ride, strong performance, less road noise
We don't like - high running costs, small boot

GALLERY: Nissan 370Z Roadster
Read another Nissan review
Read a review of the Nissan 370Z Coupe

First impressions

On paper the Nissan 370Z Roadster had it all; speed, power, looks and a canvas roof that disappeared in seconds. The perfect two-seater sportscar then.

Well, not quite, because the suspension was so firm, and the body so soft, that driving the drop-top 370Z on anything but Lurpak-smooth roads would send shudders and shakes through the cabin like an Elvis impersonator with food poisoning.

The good news is Nissan has been listening, and charged its chassis engineers based in the UK with the task of refining the suspension to work on battered and bruised British roads.

The dampers have now been tweaked to cope better with our badly maintained roads while body control has been sharpened to cope better with our twists and turns. They have also worked at reducing the roar from the tyres, another problem that blighted the previous Roadster.

Performance

Fortunately, they didn't need to even open the engine bay, because the 3.7-litre V6 engine living there is adequately powerful enough. It's an old-school monster of a unit, putting out 328hp and 267 lb/ft of torque - a proper muscle car, in other words.

The sprint to 62mph takes 5.5 seconds (5.8 with the seven-speed auto) and with that slug of torque coming in at 5,200rpm there's adequate in-gear grunt to whip you past other traffic without the need to blast up and down the gearbox in a ferocious banzai attack like some sportscars.

Ride and handling

This is where it gets interesting, because the 370Z feels like a completely different car. We tested it on typical bumpy B-roads in Sussex and, while before you'd be gritting your teeth and gripping the wheel as you are bounced from one bump to the next, the Roadster now just irons them out.

It isn't soft, but nor is it jarring, and the revisions means the car feels better to drive and more like the coupe in demeanour. Grip levels are huge but it is also easy to exploit the power by turning off the traction control.

Sharp steering and improved body control means it now handles like a sportscar should and there is less roar from the tyres, though it is far from silent. However, the overriding message is one of improved comfort.

Interior

Inside, the 370Z has round dials above the centre console for that added sportscar look while the materials all feel smooth and robust. The driver's seat is heavily bolstered and holds you firmly in place but the steering adjusts for height only making it more difficult to find your perfect driving position.

At the press of a button, the roof slides back in 20 seconds, and for the starting price of £31,250 you get plenty of kit including electric seats, xenon headlights and Bluetooth.

Just don't expect to carry much luggage with you, the boot can only hold 140 litres - in comparison, a Porsche Boxster can hold 280.

Economy and safety

No surprises here; the 370Z is expensive to run. Average economy for our test car's seven-speed automatic gearbox was 25.9mpg making it more frugal than the manual but expect this to drop below 20mpg under hard driving.

Carbon emissions of 254g/km mean a tax bill based on 35% of the Roadster's list price.

The MSN Cars verdict

Subtle changes to the 370Z Roadster's suspension on UK roads have made a major impact on your enjoyment behind the wheel. This is a much-improved car and is the sportscar it always should have been.

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