Hi everyone,

I'm an American woman married to a Brit. (Whether that calls for sympathy or congratulations, and to which one of us, couldn't say... )

Anyway, when I was researching the 350z, I stumbled on some reviews in British car magazines that typically liked the Z, but would say things like "if you can stand not having an upscale car" or something like that.

To which I said, "Huh?" The Z has one of the world's best engines, it has a classic heritage and in my opinion is one of the better looking roadsters around, the Touring and Grand Touring models are certainly upscale, and get better reviews in some American magazines than the BMW Z4 does.

So I'm curious, how is the Z perceived in Britain? As an also-ran compared to - what, exactly? - or as one of the top choices? Do you get all the trim lines (Base, Touring, Grand Touring) for the roadster? Do you mostly have the coupe, or is the roadster also popular?

I bought my Redline Touring Roadster just last week, and am loving it. It had 49 miles on it when I took it out for a test drive, has well over 300 on it now. Most fun I've had in a car since - well, for a LONG time!

 

I think the Z is HEDEOUS -- its headlights are oversized, making it look as though it's had too much coffee, and the tail....oh my, it's RUBBISH. This is a myth, but I do believe when the designer was working on the design of the rear end, a dog squated in front of him and took a dump, and the designer thought, "I've got it! That's what the Z will look like -- a dog taking a dump!!" Rubbish!

Pardon me while I have a cup of tea.


By the way, have you got any Grape Poupon?

 

The zed's received rave reviews accross the board over here to be honest.

The reviews have mentioned drawbacks being only having two seats;funny shaped/small boot but then go on to say it's a coupe so it's to be expected.All have said it's the best value coupe eclipsing TT's, RX8's +SLK's etc

Evo magazine had one as one of their test cars for a few months and they were
gutted when they had to return it.
It's only been one J.Clarkson that's had bad things to say and that was due to a prior beef with NissanGB!

It's all love from this side of the pond.

 

We only get two trim options here in Ireland/UK....Base and GT.

the Base model here is better equipped though, we get every thing the GT has as standard hid's,VDC, brembos etc......apart from heated leather seats and bose.

the GT pack then obviously adds the leather and bose system

 

Interesting, that they kept the same names for the trim line but the content is different.

Are the roadsters popular? Or do you mostly have the coupes? We've been lucky enough when we've traveled in the U.K. to have mostly sunny weather, but I wonder if it's warm enough, often enough, to make a convertible worthwhile.

It was indeed Jeremy Clarkson's negative review that had me really scratching my head, seemed strange and in contrast to most other reviews that I'd seen.

 

If your gonna qoute Jezza Clarkson mate get it right, the dog taking a dump line he used on top gear was refering to a Crossfire another crap american car.

Clarkson later admitted he was wrong about the 350z and was having a bad day.

Top gear magazine voted it as one of the best cars of the year!

 

^Easy there fella!!

The Zed was Top Gears car of the year 2004 IIRC, which was kinda nice after JC's complete slating of the car.
I'll try and find the picture of JC handing over the award to the Nissan houncho,
priceless!

Roadsters are pretty popular considering they haven't been available for long.
Considering our rainy weather the UK is one of the biggest buyers of soft-tops in Europe.

 

still the price of the Z in the U.K compared to the U.S is shocking.

£28,845 for a GT model and thats with out extras contributed into the price.

And then i hear that in the U.S they can be picked up for around $30,000

 

Well - you'll have to go north of $30,000, for the roadsters. A Touring Roadster, the middle of the lineup, with automatic transmission and the usual port-installed accessories (mud guards, cargo net, mats, kickplates) has a sticker price of a little over $40,000. Most people probably buy it for somewhere around $39,000-ish, give or take depending on one's negotiating skills.

A few people have recently picked up new, but left-over,'05 roadsters at prices around $33,000, give or take a bit depending on trim level and accessories. That's about as low a price as you're ever going to see for a new one.

 

Did you not have your cup of tea, or did somebody stole your grape poupon?

What I wrote wasn't a quote, it was my opinion. Funny how me and my homie Jeremy share the same view -- great minds think a-like

Touring models here cost about 33-34,000 dollars, out the door -- 26,697 in Euro.

 

 

aha! i was wondering what exactly i was looking at when i saw a Z the other day (in nuernburg) with brembos and the stock 7-spoke wheels (no Rays) -- no wonder my wheels get a lot of attention over here