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The street lights have yet to be switched off as the sun is still feeling too lazy to wake up. It’s winter, I understand. On any normal day, it would be the same with me too. But not today. After three long years of anticipation, I am finally getting a chance to drive the Nissan 350Z. Ever since the latest car to wear the hallowed Z badge was launched in 2002, I have been waiting. What would the new Z be like? For one, it certainly is not retro. A lazy designer would have fallen into the trap of taking elements off the previous Z cars and retro-fitting them into a new-age car. All to make nostalgic previous owners open their wallets – only to realise that it isn’t the same thing. The real test is to distil the essence of the original and incorporate it into the new machine. And I am happy to say that Nissan has passed the test.
Some aspects define Z cars. The engine has to be at the front, it has to be rear-wheel driven, it must perform effortlessly, it should look smashing and it has to wear a value-for-money price tag. The 350Z is all this and more.Its lines are crisp and it is one hell of a good-looking car. Every time I looked at it, I found a new design facet to dwell on. The muscular fender. The cut of the tail lamps. The air dam below the bonnet line. The very stylish cut of the doors. The swept-up headlamps. And that roof arch... right out of a Porsche! That’s all right, as long as it looks great.
Though Mumbai never sleeps, the roads are empty enough for me to give free rein to the 350Z. People who wouldn’t know about the car are turning their heads. The groggy all-night cabbie. The milkman. The BEST bus driver. Guys, I think I have made your day. Mine was made the moment I got a clear flyover. The 350Z is pretty docile at low revs, without being a handful to drive. But once you hoist the needle, the growl from the engine is extremely satisfying – I think the sound engineers from Nissan must have spent quite some time to get that note right. The 350Z attacks the flyover and very soon I am at the crest, as if the Nissan doesn’t understand the concept of gravity. The way it suddenly whips up into a frenzy is addictive. I don’t want to let go of the revs, I don’t want to let that needle drop below 6000, I don’t want to slow down. But slow down I must because the city has well and truly woken up.
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