Finally there is a 350Z up for a test drive at the local dealor. I live in Rochester, Minnesota,a town that full of trucks and SUV. My car saleman call me up at work and ask me to comeout for a test drive on the demo Z car. The car was a CS color--very beautiful and classy color--in base trim. My first impression seeing the car up close for the first time---the car is very beautiful. It is quite roomy inside but there is not much trunk space in the back. I don't really care about the trunk space since this is a sport car. The interior is well design with controls within easy reach.

Up we go the saleman hand me the key. I fired up the car and hear that lovely exhaust sound from the twin pipes. The 6 speed have a very close spacing so I practice driving in the parking lot to get used to the gear. After 5 minutes or so of adjusting to the car, we head out to the main road. As soon as I got to the first stoplight, there was this Eclipse GS-X with huge wing came to check out the Z. The driver rev his car and took off as soon as the light turned green. I didn't go with him since the car only have 86 miles and don't want to risk crashing it. Well we got stuck at the next light again this time. The car saleman look at me and said "Smoke him boy". The road we were on lead to highway entrance which has two lanes---perfect for drag racing. I floored the damn gas padal when the light turn green. That Eclipse didn't even have a chance. The car hits 95 mph by the time we got to the end of the ramp. The car rev so hard and fast that I could not shift fast enough to keep up before it hits the red line. We then went to some back roads to test the handling of the car. I was very impress how well the car is corner and stop. The break is very strong. Now this car has standard brake, I could not imagine how good the Track model brake is going to be. I can't wait to get the car in Febuary. I had order a dayatona blue enthusiast model. I have never see this color before beside in the photo. I just hope that it looks as good as the CS color. Over all this car is the bang for the buck. Comfortable drive on highway. Lots of torque over the rev bands. Beautiful design. Nissan did a great job at bringing back the Z. Drive carefully out there.

Bobby

 

Good story, but I dont really believe a sales person said "Smoke him boy". But if he did, thats kinda fun.

 

Bobby, you'll love the DB. I got my DB Enthusiast two weeks ago and I almost have 1K miles on it. Just a little more til break-in is over, which I can't wait. The blue is a rich color, which shines when there is a light on it. I like it best at night under the city lights.

 

I have not seen the DB color myself but I will take your word. The DB color was tested on autoweek TV and it looks stunning. For one thing, the car will be hard to keep under 4000rpm. The gear is very close in ratio and it doesn't take much to exceed the 4000 rpm. It revs so fast in the 1st and 2nd gear and I think I will have a difficult time during break in. The car was a blast to drive and it sounds great. So much torque in every gear. I don't see much need to shift down a gear to pass someone. Both the saleman and myself were very happy yesterday. It was the first time both of us got a chance to drive the car the way it meant to be driven.


Bobby