Road Test: Nissan 350Z 35th Anniversary Edition

By Feann Torr - 15/11/05

At the present time, the 350Z is Nissan's halo car - the best and brightest, quickest and coolest vehicle in the Japanese automakers garage. And it will stay this way until 2007 when the next generation GT-R arrives, the spiritual successor to the R34 Skyline of the same designation.

The next generation Godzilla is still some ways off, but if the 350Z range is any indication - which comes equipped with a more powerful engine, the same unit we tested in the canary yellow 35th Anniversary edition 350Z - then we can expect big ticket automotive fireworks.

Celebrating 35 years since the introduction of the 6-cylinder RWD Datsun 240Z, Nissan's 35th Anniversary 350Z gets a tuned V6 engine, tweaked suspension and some shiny new wheels, spoilers and a thoroughly upgraded chassis that quite literally just won't quit.

It's been about two years since we've driven Nissan's 2-seat sports car, and the question remains: is the car still the iconic pin-up boy that generated a huge buzz when it launched here in 2003, or has it lost some of its puff in the face of stiffer competition? 

Let's have a look:

Drive: 4.5/5

From the outset I must report that the 35th Anniversary 350Z (which we'll call the A350Z from here on) is so tightly wound up in the chassis department that it rarely misses a beat through a corner - and neither does your bum.

Some drivers like the 350Z and its ilk (the Porsche Boxster, RX-8, Chrysler Crossfire) because of the image they portray, and what that in turn says about the driver.

"Check me out - I've got $70k worth of automobile and don't it look great." Yep, sure does.

But if you only plan on cruising around the trendy parts of the city and boulevards you may want to try before you buy, as the ride is best described as unforgiving, and far from cruisey.

One of my own vehicles is a carburetted '99 Honda CBR 600 two wheeler (with all the tricked up mods, naturally) and I've adjusted the suspension to deliver an incredibly harsh ride, one that's suited specifically for hard and fast cornering and little else. The A350Z reminded me instantly of the 600cc sports bike, but the thing here is that the Nissan fresh from the factory, which is surprising.

Surprisingly good, in my opinion.

Driving the A350Z around town isn't the most comfy of rides. You feel every little white line on the road, every manhole cover, every abused and crumbling stretch of bitumen through the wheels, via the stiff suspension and into your spine. In short, if you have a bad back, you're best bet is to get an RX-8 or maybe even a 2-door Beemer. But now that the bad news is out of the way, let's look at what the A350Z does well.

It's brilliant at sticking to the road. It feels eminently tied down when you take it beyond suburbia, and head towards the frontier lands where an assortment of sweeping corners await.

You sit quite close to the ground, giving the driver a real go-kart feel, which enhances the sensation of speed too, adding to the experience. There's very little give in the shock absorbers, with compression and rebound damping tied down hard, but this - together with 225/45 front and 245/45 R18s tyres rear - equates to absolute levels of grip at almost all times.

This high level of tyre grip and the stiff suspension combine to inspire high levels of confidence, and punching out of corners with throttle nailed to the floor is extremely exhilarating. Finding your desired line through a corner feels so effortless in the A350Z and the car is pinpoint accurate for the most, going where you ask it, when you ask it.

The steering is quite sensitive - incredibly direct too - and the tiller needs only the slightest of nudges to begin its incredibly exhilarating journey into the beginnings of a corner. Again, grip levels are splendiferous and the car tracks around corners with such alacrity it's unnerving at first, and it corners very flatly with only a hint of body roll.

As well as physically communicating what the front wheels are doing as they track indefatigably through corners, the tyres let you know when they're getting close to their adhesion limit with muffled squeals as stiff sidewalls began pull. Yet even at this stage the car can still hold it's line admirably, and it rarely reacts pessimistically to minor adjustments mid-corner either.

Bumps and irregularities in the road can upset the car when momentum gets the better of you (particularly when you're pushing increased lateral G-forces through a corner), but the beefy rubber does a bang-up job of tying the car to the road, and you can often feel such moments approaching, allowing you to ease off the throttle such are the high levels of communication from the chassis.

I must say that when you're pushing the A350Z into a corner and the car is under heavy acceleratory load, it corners just beautifully, with such levels of balance.

'Predictable' is a good way to describe how the car handles.

At times I found myself thinking the vehicle was too stiff (inevitably, it will be for some), but every time you floor the throttle - the engine's pitch and volume intensifying - and effortlessly guide the Nissan 2-seater through another corner, firing out of the exit, one's senses seem to be inundated with positive stimuli.

It's times like these that I couldn't help but smile like a giddy child.

This makes driving the A350Z - whether docilely or to within inches of its mechanical life - incredibly easy, requiring very little physical exertion. It may be in a similar ball park to a vehicle such as the Monaro, but requires much less physical exertion to get it from point A to B in record breaking time.

Before I get too carried away with the car, I should mention the engine at this point - it suits the chassis dynamics perfectly. Though you never get the punch in the guts of more powerful - and especially turbocharged - vehicles, the upgrade to 221kW is easily felt over the 206kW predecessor. It's got a much more appreciable growl as well, which combines with a subtle induction snarl that should please the sports car purists.

The six-speed manual shifter is a delight to use too - the distances between gates are minimal and the short-ish gearing makes the most of the warmed over engine. Strangely, the A350Z feels a little bit fatigued in first gear as it takes off, but heading into 2nd and 3rd gears the car begins to heat up, keen to reach socially unacceptable speeds as the increasing airflow pushes the car closer to the ground.

While the A350Z's ride is rough in built-up and heavily trafficked areas, it offers high levels of feedback (if still a tad rough) out on the open road, so much so that I don't think I ever squeezed the full potential from the intrepid chassis-powertrain combination.

Every time I pushed harder into a corner - more speed, more steering lock - the car reacted with even quicker response. Methinks the only way one could eke the most out of this vehicle would be to take it on a track day.

The rear wheel drive setup gives you a tiny bit of oversteer, but the chassis is so well integrated that it allows you to correct and adjust with the tiller. It just hugs the road the faster you go, sitting on the road wonderfully. But as I mentioned earlier, it's an incredibly easy vehicle to drive - fast or slow, traffic or no.

Gold-painted Brembo calipers are hard to miss underneath the 'look at me' five spoke wheels, and boy, do they grab; massive stopping power, very little fade and great pedal feel. These stoppers become a comforting salve to one's normal emotional reactions of terror and dread when diving deep into unfamiliar corners, washing off speed with such surety and decisiveness.

Are there any negative points to driving the A350Z? I personally thought the suspension was a little stiff to begin with, and this may not be to everyone's liking, but after seeing what the Nissan is capable of, this is one aspect I'm more than happy to endure. If you like enthusiastic driving, you'll love this vehicle - it's a winner on so may levels. But if you're after a trendy 2-seat cruiser, you may want something with better coccyx buffering.

Engine: 4/5

One of the first things that struck me as different to the original Touring 350Z we tested back in August '03 was 3.5-litre engine's note. It's got a much richer, more rewarding sound in its 221kW state of tune, and at times it had lumpy elements more often associated with a V8.

The 35th Anniversary model’s engine has been modified using revised pistons and new camshaft profiles, plus electronic exhaust valve timing control makes the grade.

The extra power - bumped up by 15kW to 221kW - is felt in the higher reaches of the rev range; peak power has moved from 6200rpm to 6400rpm. Best of all is rev ceiling, which has be moved from 6600rpm to 7000rpm, allowing for more time between gear changes or if you want to hold on to gears.

Interestingly, peak torque has dropped by 10Nm from 363 to 353Nm, which is offset by the increase in power, with quarter mile times of mid-to-low 14.0s possible.

The engine certainly doesn't feel any less forceful than its precursor due to the loss of 10Nm, easily able to break rear wheel traction if tickled in the right way, and one of the best things about the A350Z's powertrain is the composite carbon-fibre drive shaft, whose light weight ensures a slight reduction in power loss between the engine's crankshaft and the rear wheels.

Even though the arrival of peak power has risen slightly, the newer engine is still incredibly tractable (and one can't help but refer back to the carbon-fibre composite drive shaft in relation to this), but needs to revved just that little bit harder to extract maximum enjoyment. The punchy mid-range is still there, and while the engine does have a tendency to feel a little weak at lower revs, it'll sit happily at 100km/h in sixth gear at smidgen over 2250rpm, which returns very good fuel economy.

The engine really fires when the tacho needle travels beyond 5000rpm, and between here and almost 7000rpm the A350Z does its best work, and I must say that it's easily one of most pleasing V6 engines I've have the privilege of driving.

In addition to the motor sports-inspired drive shaft, the engine features molybdenum-coated pistons, quad overhead camshafts, CVTCS (continuously variable valve timing control system), and components like the viscous LSD ensure the rear wheel with the most grip gets the lions share of the engine's power (which contributes to its prodigious cornering abilities) while an electronic throttle increases response.

And then there was the gearbox. The A350Z is only available with the 6-speed manual, which features revised ratios to match the retuned engine (final drive ratio is 3.538:1), and I get the impression that it's a little faster from 0-100km/h this time around. The clutch has light-to-medium pressure underfoot and works in tandem with the incredibly short gear throws that literally snick into place with only the lightest of touches to great effect.

The first-to-second gear change can be completed ever-so-quickly, and if you change gear at high revs the rear wheels sometimes chirp into second as the rear squirms for traction. Indeed, if you manhandle the throttle and clutch, the A350Z's 221kW of power will happily overwhelm the balanced chassis.

Exterior: 4/5

The 350Z's styling has polarised opinions since it was launched, where one school of thought sees the low-slung coupe as 'bathroomy' - sterile curves that look like they came from a bathroom - and the other school of thought seeing it as a triumph of automotive design, melding aero and stylistic concerns in one ultimate form.

Me, I subscribe to the latter school of thought, but at times I can see where the bathroom brigade are coming from.

The car sits low to the ground and has no need for a bolt-on bumpers and skirts for its road-hugging stance, and together with the long bonnet and short, tapering rear end it gives the Zed tidy proportions.

The curves give the the car a certain joyfulness too, making it look a bit like a toy from some angles, but features like the large air intake that dominates the front end, the twin exhaust pipes at the rear and of course those attractive 18-inch alloy wheels tell a tale of performance and balance.

The A350Z we tested is finished in 'Ultra Yellow'. Though I was very much of opinion that such distinct yellow colours should only be bestowed upon shiny European exotica, it looked pretty good on the A350Z, and set the dull chromium alloy wheels off very nicely.

Nissan says that yellow the paint job uses a high-luminance, high-chroma pearl pigment and no less than three layers of top coat to create the effect. How about that, then? No wonder the company expects a large majority of the A350Zs sold to be finished with the Ultra Yellow paintjob.

Interior: 3.5/5

If you're looking for practicality in a new sports coupe, you may be disappointed with the A350Z. It's got about enough luggage space to carry a bag of potato chips and a CD pouch. Well, that may be exaggerating a bit, but I think you get the idea.

And though this can be vexing when planning a long journey, it once again highlights that this car was built for one thing - and hauling luggage ain't it.

Beyond a severe lack of boot space, the A350Z is a comfortable place to be, and even longer journeys of more than four hours proved endurable (even with the rock-solid suspension), with a pair of fairly ergonomic leather bucket seats supporting the torso.

I particularly liked the little rectangular leather cushions affixed to either side of of the centre console to protect driver and passenger knees during hard cornering, and together with the thumping 7-speaker CD stereo (complete with subwoofer and old-school tape player) and comprehensive safety complement (6 airbags, VCD, ABS), the A350Z puts on a good showing.

The small leather steering wheel is a real treat to use, and features intuitive cruise control inputs, while the HVAC controls are fairly straightforward to use as well. The oil pressure and volt meter gauges are nice additions to the cockpit, as the lap timer and ability to set a visual RPM warning at any engine speed.

There are two problems with the interior however. The first is the use of poor quality plastics on the dash and the second is the lack of interior room. Even so, I can easily overlook these in light of car's brilliant performance, but they may be clinchers for some.

Overall: 4/5

I'd forgotten how effortless and how supremely rewarding it is to drive a 350Z until this test, and it has to be said that there are few cars out there that offer the pure thrills. Practical - not quite. Enjoyable - perpetually so.

While we've driven many faster and more powerful vehicles in our time, none come close to the 350Z for ease of use - it's a real pussycat, but one that can easily outperform similarly priced sports cars at the same time.

The result? Big smiles, very big smiles…

It's a car that remains calm and collected at all times and, for such a small and seemingly impractical vehicle, it is surprisingly easy to live with. You can trundle around slowly if you need to, picking up the groceries and dry cleaning without breaking a sweat, but when another sports car roll up beside you at the traffic lights the A350Z is more than up to the task of frying the rear hoops before firing off into the distance in a pointless (but strangely enjoyable) exhibit of showmanship.

With a challengingly bold image, a highly responsive chassis and a strong, tractable and very willing engine, the Nissan 350Z Anniversary Edition is one of the best drivers cars I've ever driven. It may not be the quickest or the most powerful, but in my book it's one of the most rewarding to drive.