2010 Nissan 370Z Roadster: when topless is cool

JIM KENZIE FOR THE TORON TO STAR

The 370Z Roadster is shorter than the coupe, with hindquarters that give it a more voluptuous appearance.

Jim Kenzie

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

SAN JOSE, CALIF.–You might think that a country where summer is such an unpredictable and sometimes dodgy season wouldn't be prime convertible territory.

But in Canada, sales of convertibles often exceed their tin-top counterparts.

I guess if you don't have as many opportunities to enjoy good weather, you want to take fullest advantage of them.

Also, Americans tend to be a bit paranoid about personal security in an open car. And southerners especially are increasingly concerned about skin damage from the sun.

The Nissan Z roadster provides an example. Throughout most of its history, it has skewed 60/40 roadster in Canada (also, interestingly, in the snow-belt states), while the rest of the U.S. goes 70/30 coupe.

In 2004, the first true Z roadster was the 350Z, a full factory number. The coupe was designed first and the convertible rung off that platform, which demanded certain compromises.

The 2010 370 Z roadster, for the first time designed in concert with the coupe and much the better for it, arrives in Canadian showrooms in October.

Starting price is $46,998, remarkable considering the 1993 300ZX droptop was $61,400, and the 350Z roadster $51,498 in its final model year.

In losing its roof, the 370Z roadster gains quite a different character. The hindquarters aft of the doors present a more voluptuous appearance than the leaner-looking coupe. It's also shorter compared to the 350: 100 mm in wheelbase and 66 mm overall.

It is slightly lower and wider, which gives it a more planted look.

Weight and luggage space considerations dictated a multi-layer cloth design for the roof, which opens and closes by means of a centre-console mounting switch, or via a button on the door handle.

It takes about 20 seconds, and can even be done on the move (up to 5 km/h).

Unlike the 350Z, there's no manual windshield header latch – it is now automatic.

There are also two connections to the header instead of one, for a tighter fit.

The rear window is glass, and includes an electric defroster.

A fixed glass panel between the head-restraints helps reduce n buffeting when the top is down.

The top stacks more neatly, increasing luggage space to the point where a standard-sized golf bag will fit in the trunk.

A host of stiffening pieces throughout the body result in double-digit percentage improvements in torsional and bending stiffness front and rear compared to the 350Z roadster.

Yet weight is well-controlled; the 370Z roadster is only about 90 kg heavier than the coupe, and about 60 kg lighter than the 350Z.

Like the Z coupe, driver and passenger have different seat cushion designs. The former emphasizes securing the body in hard cornering, the latter optimizes comfort.

Also in the coupe and most, if not all Nissans, the seats include whiplash-reducing active head-restraints, by far the most cost-effective safety measure available in cars today.

Mechanically, the 370Z roadster is identical to the coupe, with the perennially terrific Nissan V6 engine displacing 3.7 litres and cranking out 332 horsepower.

You can select a robust six-speed manual; opt for the Sport Pack and you also get the clever SynchroRev Match feature, which blips the throttle for you during downshifts to make them as smooth as if you really knew how to use a manual. Should you want to prove that, you can switch it off.

A seven-speed automatic with paddle shifters is optional. It actually generates fuel consumption numbers virtually identical to the manual gearbox, thanks mainly to that extra ratio.

Fully independent suspension, standard Electronic Stability Control and massive brakes deliver responsive and safe handling through standard 18-inch alloy wheels.

The Sport Pack option bumps these to 19-inch forged-alloy wheels.

The roads around San Jose provide great opportunities to evaluate a sporting car. Twists, turns, elevation changes and, surprising given the population density around here, not too much traffic.

The engine is by far the car's best feature. Although the peak torque value is relatively modest (270 lb.-ft.) and occurs high in the rev range (5200 rpm), it appears to have grunt beyond its paper measurements; you can massage the gearbox if you want, but you can just leave it in a higher-than-you-think-you-can-get-away-with gear and drive.

The SynchroRev thing really does the business; you still have to work on the upshifts, though – the clutch engagement is a trifle brisk, and the lever a little heavy. Not as late-'80s-Camaro-like as the 350, but not the slickest available.

The autobox is, however, terrific. Ultra-smooth yet very quick changes up or down, either automatically or via the steering wheel paddles.

Ride is excellent as well for a car with this cornering potential.

Handling is generally decent, although I thought the steering had perhaps a shade too much self-centring action; it didn't feel as fluid as I remember such as the BMW Z4 or the Porsche Boxster.

It's quite calm inside, top down. That wind deflector presumably does its job, too.

Despite the fabulous weather, I drove a few kilometres top up as well. It fits snugly, although there is still a bit of drumming, and some road noise comes through.

The interior is nicely finished, and places where your body might contact hard plastics are instead softly padded.

Loads of standard kit, too, including a sound system with eight-speakers, six-CD changer, satellite radio and MP3 capability.

Research and Nissan's past experience suggests the coupe buyer is younger, more likely to own this as the primary vehicle, and also more likely to explore the car's handling and performance potential.

The roadster buyer is more in it for the sensory wind-in-what's-left-of-his-hair experience, with a strong "be seen" component. It is more likely to be his third-or-more car, a plaything rather than a daily driver.

The option list could hardly be shorter. The base car, dubbed Touring, is offered with either transmission. Seven exterior colours, three interior colours, two roof colours.

You can step up to the Sport Pack (SynchroRev on the manual, bigger wheels, tires and brakes), then to NAVI, using a hard drive-based navigation system with Bluetooth, and a 9.3 gig Music Box storage system with USB connectivity.

Nissan identifies a whole bunch of wildly varying cars as potential competitors for the 370Z roadster.

To me, it looks like it goes up against the BMW Z4. The raw performance numbers suggest it is also right there with the Corvette and Porsche Boxster, both of which it undercuts substantially pricewise.

But Nissan also suggests its customers might cross-shop things like the BMW 1-series convertible which wouldn't readily be thought of as an competitor.

To a Mazda MX-5 Miata owner looking to move up in size and performance but wanting to stay with a convertible, the 370Z would appear an obvious choice over another Mazda (the RX-8).

And if Nissan can snare that customer before he gets around to thinking about (or being able to afford) that BMW, Corvette or Porsche, then the 370Z roadster has more than done its job.

Travel was provided to freelance writer Jim Kenzie by the automaker. jim@jimkenzie.com

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