Auto insurance providers are creatures of greed who appear to have conspired with nanny-ish governments to squeeze the life out of joyful driving.
Case in point: A 21-year-old Ontario male with a perfect driving record could pay as much as $7,406 a year to drive the 2016 Nissan 370Z coupe, according to insurancehotline.com. That's with professional driving instruction and after a pointless graduated licensing program. Obscene. Even I'd be looking at as much as $2,117 a year, with four decades of spotless driving.
And so, despite its brilliance, and that of a handful of its competitors such as the Scion FRS and Subaru BRZ twins – the days are surely numbered for a wonderful sports car such as the 2016 Nissan 370Z coupe, which is $10,000 less-expensive than the 2015 model. What sold for $39,998 now lists for $29,998.
The low-slung 370Z coupe is a planted, long-nosed, short-rear-decked gem. Its slippery shape screams sports car. But in execution it's modern, right down to its high-intensity discharge xenon headlights and aluminum door panels, hood and hatch. Slick.
It's a sports car to the core – light and stiff so that the engineers can tune for joyous romps, rather than tune out unpleasantness. The 370 is at its best on empty two-lane stretches of blacktop. There, it dives nicely into corners and exits with excellent surefootedness. Tight steering, fade-free and easy-to-modulate braking, standard. You can spend two or three times more on a Porsche Cayman, but not get three times the joy.
The engine is Nissan's workhorse 332-horsepower V-6. Good mill and strong. Power spools up nicely, without lumps or dead spots. Seamless. The standard six-speed manual gearbox is a little truck-like, but adequate.
More troubling is the clutch. It's heavy and take-up happens right at the top of its travel. Missing from my tester was hill-hold assist.
On steep takeaways, the manual brake comes into play; so yesterday. A seven-speed automatic is optional.
Inside, the cockpit is comfy, even for decent-sized adults. The buckets are supportive, not snug, and the driver gets height adjustment. The control and instrument layout is simple and predictable. I felt immediately at home, though I couldn't fathom Bluetooth connectivity without cracking the manual.
Rather than fiddle around, I turned off my mobile and enjoyed a disappearing pleasure thanks to absurd, obscene insurance costs: Driving a sports car – try it while you can.
You'll like this car if ... You crave time in a real sports car.
TECH SPECS
- Base price: $29,998; As tested: $31,738
- Engine: 3.7-litre V-6
- Transmission: Six-speed manual
- Fuel economy (litres/100 km): 13.3 city/9.3 highway, using premium fuel
- Alternatives: Scion FR-S, Subaru BRZ, Hyundai Genesis Coupe
RATINGS
- Looks: This is a proper, traditional sports car design, with the long nose, short rear deck and low stance. Nissan’s designers talk about the “upswept quarter window design” and the “dynamic upward curvature in the lower rocker panel,” and “taut sheet metal moulding itself around the wheels and frame.” Nice words, but the design speaks for itself.
- Interior: The cockpit is relatively spacious and the layout of instruments and controls is simple and clean.
- Performance: The engine is more powerful than the Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ by more than 100 horses. This car takes corners like American Pharoah.
- Technology: The genius here is in the engineering for driving – such as lightweight aluminum door panels, along with an all-aluminum hood and an aluminum hatch and nicely conceived suspension. Gadgets include Nissan Intelligent Key with Push Button Start, two 12-volt power outlets and Bluetooth.
- Cargo: It’s a sports car. Who worries about cargo? At least there is a wide open hatch at the rear.
The Verdict
9.0
The big score comes courtesy of the massive price reduction. A great value in real sports car driving.
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