Safety

The car has standard dual front, side and side curtain air bags, ABS brakes with electronic brake force distribution and assist, traction and available stability control, and seatbelt pre-tensionners. The NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) awarded the 2003 350Z 5 out of 5 stars (a perfect result) for the driver and 4 out of 5 stars (a good result) for the passengers in a frontal impact. It also received 5 out of 5 stars in lateral impacts. The IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) has not yet rated the 350Z.

Photo: Mathieu St-Pierre

Conclusion

Having the job of evaluating automobiles and being a car nut, I usually dive into a vehicle looking for positive points. Often times the negative aspects rise quickly and take too much space in my conscience. I also always remind myself on why this car exists and for whom. This means that the 350Z does away with fancy trim and multiple dash accents even with a price encroaching on $50,000. Those that are looking for more luxury and a better appointed interior only have to look into their neighbourhood Infiniti dealer and purchase a G35 Coupe for very similar money. The G35 is not as finely tuned and as intimate as the 350Z but it will do a better job as a second car than the 2-seater will.

The 350Z is a worthy successor to the long and revered line of Z cars and it is tons of fun to drive. Power delivery is linear and addictive.

Photo: Mathieu St-Pierre

Conceivably, the only real downside is a fuel consumption of 14 plus litres of fuel per 100 km but for this type of car and given its performance, I could easily overlook it. I wonder if American Express would give me a Gold card.








Good stuff:
Handling
3.5L engine
Brakes

Not so good stuff:
Interior quality
A few irritating rattles

Competitors:
Ford Mustang GT
Mazda RX-8