If you have ever seen a news report on television of Premier League Footballers driving away from their training grounds, there are a limited selection of cars you are likely to see. The current trend seems to be Range Rovers, Aston Martins and the occasional Ferrari. Who can blame them? If I was earning over £100,000 a week I would probably drive something more ostentatious than a Ford Focus. If I was in the financial position to drive a car with more flair, I would (to use football terminology) ‘think outside the box’ a bit.
Having test drove the new Nissan 350Z I can confidently say that though it may not match a Ferrari in terms of brand value or consummate performance, I think I would choose the Japanese over the Italian. Before you accuse me of being a witch or just plain stupid, let me explain my logic.
Have you ever watched one of the many car review programmes on television and wondered why any of the myriad of middle-aged men are caning a super car around a race track and proclaiming it to be capable of upwards of 200 miles an hour? As a practical man of limited means I often find myself screaming at the idiot box “What’s the point! If I owned that car I wouldn’t be able to drive it more than 70 MPH anyway.”
Essentially my point is based around the economics of the situation. If you are going to spend £100,000 on a car with an engine which could move heaven and earth, what is the point in only using it on the British Highways? Other than the occasional track-day events, where scores of aging men with beards congregate and attempt to drive quickly round a small track, there is little chance of you pushing that big Ferrari engine anywhere near it capacity. So other than a snazzy body, a Ferrari is just expensive potential. Would it not be better to spend less and get a car which will make better work of the speed restrictions in this country? Enter the Nissan 350Z.
The Nissan 350Z has a 3.5 Litre V8 engine, which is hardly a slouch at all and can achieve 358Nm of torque, with 90% available from 2000RPM. For tearing down slip-roads on to the M6, the Nissan has the bulk and aerodynamics to put the power down and get you from 0-60 in 5.5 seconds. Let me tell you, this is quite a feeling. It also looks the part, like the product of an unholy matrimony between a Porsche 911 and an Audi TT, with the best features of both.
