I was at the local dealership the other day, and I sat in the 370Z roadster they have in the showroom. I was surprised at how high the rear of the car is right behind the seats. It seemed like the view out the back even with the top down is more restricted than it is in my 350Z coupe and the 370Z coupes I've driven. I'm six feet tall, so I was expecting to be able to have a much better view out the back.

Was my quick evaluation correct? How do you rate the rear view obstructions of the roadsters compared to the coupes? Is it even worse with the top up?

 

Not sure. Guess you would have to do a coupe and roadster test, and make a mental note of the results. I can tell you that the coupe side view mirrors are huge. Passenger side no big deal. On the drivers side the mirror is a BIG deal making left turns. Field of vision is cut considerably.

 

I agree with the Mirror comment. Cant tell you how many times i stop at a stop sign and proceed to move and hear a horn blaring go to look and my fkn mirror blocked the view of the car completely.

 

That's never happened to me. How tall are you guys, and how far back do you lean the seat?

My eyes are about 3 1/2 inches above the top of the mirror when I sit in my '08 coupe. I didn't think to measure that when I sat in the 370Z roadster, but it did feel like I was sitting sorta down in a hole. I attributed that to the high rear deck.

Are the seats lower? Are the 370Z mirrors much larger than the 350Z mirrors?

 

370Z Mirrors looks twice the size of the 350Z mirror. Plus there heated.

 

350 mirrors are heated too.

 

request: comparison picture of both mirrors side by side

 

I dropped by the Nissan dealer again today, and sat in the red 370Z roadster again. This time I looked forward and to the sides.

WOW!! That mirror IS a serious obstruction. Even for me at six feet and sitting upright, I believe it would block a car at an intersection like RedBull said.

 

Can't help you w/the 370Z since I've never driven one but for an obstructed rear view, I'd set your outside mirrors outwards as directed in http://www.cartalk.com/content/features/mirrors/.

I HAD to do this once I got my 350Z since the rear blind spots were so large. It took me awhile to get used to this setup but once I did, I'm never driving a car w/o the mirrors set this way again. There's no point in seeing the sides of your car in the mirror.