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2003 Nissan 350Z

Date: 21 February 2003	Miles: 3,100
Winter on the East Coast this year is the coldest and wettest in a decade. Not great weather for a sports car. Still, our Nissan 350Z seldom sits idle. In less than two months, mileage has climbed to 3100. Despite the climate we're enjoying all of its 287-horsepower, plus the reasonable 20.1 miles per gallon economy. Our Touring Model's traction control and electronic stability systems did allow us to get around in snow when necessary. But, with the Z's wide 45-series tires, it's more like sledding than driving. So, with this car at our disposal, we can certainly be excused for hoping for a very early spring.
Date: 18 April 2003	Miles: 5,000
With springtime teasing us to hit the open road more often, driver demand for our 2003 Nissan 350Z is on the rise. The odometer on our Touring Model passed 5,000 miles since last report, as we are a quarter of the way through our year long test of this totally modern dose of sports car nostalgia. We're enjoying every turn of its 287-horsepower V-6/6-speed manual powertrain, even as short trips and cool weather idling have taken a toll on mileage. The current 19.2 miles per gallon average is almost a full mile less than last report. Still, we expect that to recover as trips grow longer. The Z hasn't been back to the dealer, and there are no signs of potential problems. About the only thing we'd change in the inviting, cockpit-style interior is the door that covers the navigation system. It feels flimsy and hesitant, like it might break when you try to close it. Otherwise, the Nissan 350Z is a remarkable ride.
Date: 13 June 2003	Miles: 6,500
If you live anywhere on the East Coast, you know all it has done for the last 6 weeks is rain. Not exactly the springtime driving weather we expected to have to fully enjoy our 2003 Nissan 350Z. Still, the wet traction from our Touring Model's 18-inch high performance Bridgestone Potenza "Summer Tires" is much better than we expected, aided no doubt by nearly seamless ABS and stability control systems. Our only beef with the tires is actually noise. They are producing lots of rumble as the tread wears down. Otherwise, after 5 months and 6500 miles, we are very much enjoying every other aspect of this modern classic. There have been no mechanical faults of any kind, and the now well broken-in 3.5-liter 287-horsepower V-6 loves to rev through all of our car's well matched set of 6 manual gears. Teamed with flat handling and tenacious brakes, and you see why everyone thinks the latest "Z" is a driver's delight. Now that fuel prices have receded, it's also friendlier to the wallet, although we consider 20.0 miles per gallon a good result from a sports car that begs to be driven with enthusiasm.
Date: 8 August 2003	Miles: 10,000
The rain in the East finally stopped. And with summer driving conditions making their delayed appearance, our 2003 Nissan 350Z coupe has hardly been parked since. As we have mentioned before, we have noticed the 18-inch tires on our Touring Model becoming increasingly noisy. Nissan is aware of the roar and has issued a technical service bulletin to dealers that involves tire remounting and rotation. It did improve the situation somewhat. But we recently tested the new Z-Roadster with the top down, and it was still a quieter ride than our coupe. But the real enjoyment of the 350Z is not about ride; it's about handling, acceleration, and braking. In those areas, our early edition car is only improving with age, which is now at 8 months and 10,000 miles. The flexible power of the 287-horsepower 3.5-liter V-6 pulls you free of the deepest corners, while four vented disc brakes make sure you come up short when you have to.
Date: 3 October 2003	Miles: 11,000
You can buy a sports car that costs a lot more than the 2003 Nissan 350Z, but for the life of us we can't understand why you would. Now, Nissan has not delivered the perfectly balanced sports car in the new Z, not really. They left just enough push here and swing there to balance perfectly with primal yearnings of man's need to show mastery over machine, made the better by new tires. Our Touring Z's original tires became very loud at about 10,000 miles. While Nissan is advising some suspension adjustments, we found new tires were the best cure. If you are having the same problem, a serious talk with the dealer is in order. And while the tires are now quiet, we hear more brake noise than we'd expect. But then we never expected 21.5 miles per gallon economy after 11,000 miles either. So, even if it's not perfect, the 2003 Nissan 350Z still is as perfect as you want a sports car to be.
Date: 2 January 2004	Miles: 13,000
Could it be a year since we took delivery of this 2003 Nissan 350Z sports car? Yep. It arrived just as the snows began to fall last year. Even during those slick days, the 350Z impressed us as a true successor to the original Datsun Z-Car, and we honored it with our Driver's Choice Best Of The Year award. With 287 horsepower on tap, and still able to return fine performance car fuel economy of 20.9 miles per gallon, after over 13,000 miles our Touring edition has had only one problem, and again it's tires. They became very noisy, and Nissan replaced them under warranty. As we've said before, you can buy a more expensive sports car than a Nissan 350Z, but we don't know why you would.