2010 Nissan 370Z Roadster
The 2010 Nissan 370Z Roadster uses a traditional soft top rather than a heavier folding hardtop to save weight.

As it did more than five years ago, Nissan is introducing a new convertible version of its high-performance “Z” car. While it's designed to offer all the driving enjoyment of its hardtop coupe cousin, Nissan officials say the 2010 370Z Roadster should appeal to a different type of buyer. Nissan representatives say the typical 370Z coupe buyer is a single male in his early 30s. He uses the car as a daily driver. Roadster owners are usually married men in their mid 40s who have the convertible as a third car.

Fundamentally, the 2010 370Z Roadster is much like the coupe, which was introduced for model-year 2009. It uses the same rear-wheel-drive basic platform. Compared with the 2009 Roadster, the 2010 version is nearly 4 inches shorter in wheelbase, 3 inches shorter in overall length, and a little bit more than an inch wider. The increase in width, along with the use of aluminum for the doors and hood lowers the center of gravity and contributes to a 150-pound weight reduction when compared to the 2004-2009 Roadster. Also lightening the load, this convertible uses a power soft top, rather than the retractable hardtop found on rival sporty cars such as the BMW Z4.

Click here to read our full review of the 2010 Nissan 370Z.
The new platform upon which the 370Z Roadster rides is much more rigid than its predecessor, and is designed to provide a better ride and handling balance while minimizing the body flex typically associated with chopping the roof off a car.

So how did Nissan do? Here's our initial take.

What's Cool…

Goes and Goes
The 370Z Roadster has the same engine and transmission availability as the coupe: Nissan's 332-horsepower 3.7-liter V6 engine, which teams with a 6-speed manual or 7-speed automatic. No forced induction (turbo or supercharger) here, just raw torque that comes on early and stays strong throughout most of the rev band. The uplevel Touring Roadster has an optional Sport Package, which includes 19-inch wheels (versus standard 18s), larger sport brakes, and Nissan's “SynchroRev Match” (when paired with the manual transmission). The latter system “blips” the throttle to match engine speed with the gear selected, negating the need for the driver to manipulate the gas pedal when downshifting. It helps keep you focused on the task of carving corners.

Speaking of Carving Corners
This car handles with the same confidence as its coupe cousin. Steering feel is fairly light at low speeds to aid maneuverability, but it firms up very nicely at higher speeds. Body lean in turns is minimal, and with the Sport Package's 19-inch tires, grip is excellent.

Blowing the Roof Off
The convertible top opens and closes in about 20 seconds and can be done with the vehicle moving (up to 3 mph). It latches automatically, negating the need for the driver to pull a release lever before hitting the open and close switch. Also, the convertible top can be opened via a second pushbutton under the door handle, and when lowered, it steals no luggage space.

…What's Not

Buckboard-Stiff Ride
All Roadster models made available for our evaluation had the Sport Package. So equipped, the ride is very stiff, bordering on brutal. Our test was on fairly smooth roads around sunny San Francisco. We don't look forward to trying this on the pockmarked streets around our Chicago office. Nissan engineers have done a pretty good job minimizing chassis flex, but you do notice it when traversing sharper bumps.

Noisy Interior
The Roadster comes up well short of its rivals for hushed travel. While we don't expect silence, the engine sounds gravelly and unrefined. While cruising, top up or down, any engine noise gets drowned out by tire ruckus. On coarse surfaces, the tires are annoyingly loud, especially the Sport Package's 19-inch treads.

Too Spendy
The base 370Z Roadster starts at $36,970 plus destination. Move up to the Touring model, and load it up with the optional navigation system and Sport Package, and you're pushing $45,000. That's less than many premium sporty two-seat convertibles (Audi TT, BMW Z4, Porsche Boxster), but it's right in the ballpark of a BMW 1-Series, a car that we believe is more refined than this Nissan.

CG Says:

We came away from our preview drive with mixed feelings about the 370Z Roadster. While you can't argue with its performance and handling, it doesn't exude the refinement that you might expect from a car that can cost well over $40,000. Unless you desperately want the SynchroRev Match feature, skip the Sport Package. At that point, this car makes some sense for those who favor sporty character over open-air “grand-touring” motoring.

09.16.2009