2009 Nissan 370Z - Review

By Nelson Ireson

Nelson Ireson

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Nelson is an Editor at High Gear Media focusing on reviewing cars and covering the hottest topics in luxury and performance cars, car culture, and... More

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Where the windshield meets the roof is an especially dramatic area, providing a styling link from the 370Z to the mighty Nissan GT-R (the GT-R is to the 370Z as the Corvette is to the Camaro). A few other cues around the roofline hint at the past as well, being vaguely reminiscent of the 240Z.

2009 Nissan 370Z Touring

Enlarge Photo

Like the exterior, the interior is a complete revamp, though the 370Z continues the 350Z’s simple, functional control interface, including the instrument cluster that moves with the tilting steering wheel to ensure good visibility of the important gauges.

Where the 350Z catches a lot of flack for its sub-par materials and plain-Jane design, the 370Z comes through with surfaces that are nicer to touch, more attractive to the eye and generally several notches further up the quality scale, though some elements - including the orange color of the leather available in some trims - make you wonder what the designers were thinking.

The 332-horsepower 3.7-liter engine, shared with the Infiniti G37 coupe, pulls happily above 5,000 rpm, but has a tendency to feel anemic below that. And while the 3.5-liter VQ from the 350Z offered one of the most mellifluous exhaust notes found in a production car, the 370Z’s flatulent tone offers more rasp and mechanical roar than melody.

The new 2009 Nissan 370Z offers two transmissions. The seven-speed automatic with paddle shifters is borrowed from the Infiniti G37, and its luxury breeding shows: this transmission is more about comfort than speed. It does a fair job of approximating a manual gearbox when required to, but it’s no substitute for a stick-shifted cog-swapper.