[flav]

i have an opportunity to get a new 2004 350Z instead of my 2004 MCS. i have had a few minor problems (replaced transmission) with my MCS. but i love it. it is an amazing car. but i also test drove the 350Z. that car is a beast. you think the MCS is fast you should get into one of these. 287 horses. you can't hear the engine at all when it is just idleing (whisper quiet) and the when you give it gas. (aggghh). it has , dare i say, too much low end power. anyway i bought my MCS then got a new job so i can now afford the 350Z. the dealer has one (dark grey like my MCS) coming next week. he will sell for $26,000 new. i commute 50 miles a day round trip to work (so i'm worried about gas, 350Z gest 21 miles a gallon). and here is the main problem. i live in cleveland. it snows like 5 months out of the year. the 350Z is rear wheel drive. and has so much power it is almost rediculous. has anybody ever driven one in the winter? or a similar car in the winter. do snow tires help? also what would you guys do? keep the 2004 MCS or get the 350Z? thanks.

[Kvack]

How much $$$ will your insurance be?

[flav]

$2 more every month for the 350Z. so basicly the same.

[obehave]

It's been done. If I remember right Basil dioesn't seem to have minded the sswitch.

[Rob.]

Flav, imho the 350Z is a totally different car. In the UK the Cooper S and Nissan are not similar in price. The nissan is a sports car
Cooper S starting around £15000 and the 350Z £25000. So you get it a good deal cheaper in the US
I have driven rear wheel drive in the wet and not often in the snow. All I can say is you sort of get used to it, but it is 'harder' to control. The nissan having all that power will be even more difficult. But if i had the opportunity I think I would go for it

[minibat]

I have a MCS on order, I still look at other vehicles, I have a full size extended cab Silverado, but I would love to get a full size CREW CAB truck with a Diesel, I mean, come on, I am spending the same amount of money practically. MCS I estimate is going to get 29 mpg, Most people that have a similar truck to what I want are getting 20 mpg and diesel gas is cheaper. I sticking with the MCS though...I have wanted on for sooo long that I know that I would kick myself a couple of months down the road. The truck makes more sense from a family point of view. I do have 2 other vehicles that I can get my family in, did I mention they get about 16 mpg? Two gas guzzlers already, now I need something that gets better mileage. I am in the process of selling my old house and 2 other 'family' vehicles, so now is the perfect time to get a barely practical car. 350Zs look nice and have some good power, but the MCS is more fun and more character. Not to mention, my 2 and 1/2 year old can say "mini cupper" and point them out on the road...If I switch to a different vehicle I would have to teach her to say and find those.

Motor on

[RadYOacTVe]

I have been thinking about doing the reverse. I have a 2004 G35 which I bought to replace a 2002 Mazda Miata. I almost regret trading the Miata but the space constraints being a daily driver took its toll. I love the power and looks of the G35 but the fun to drive factor is missing. I'm at the point where i'm trying to convince myself that a 05 MCS would satisfy my needs but what I lose on the trade sucks. I'm buying a new house and my commute to work goes from 15 minutes to 35 minutes and the better MPG is also a plus. Looking back at it now, I should have traded my Miata for an MCS.

Think long and hard if you can really live with a 2 seater if this is your only vehicle. I look forward to your decision and what made you choose the car.

[badboyzbadboyz]

Quote: Originally Posted by badboyzbadboyz

Yesterday I went out on my first 350Z experience. I think what it showed me was just how fast a car can go really comes down to driver ability.
My friend borrowed his dad's 350Z so I got my MCS too so we could have a bit of blast in them. First we decided to see if my MCS could keep up through then twisties, and it could . Then we tried me in front and the 350Z behind .... and I put a good distance between us . THEN I went in the 350Z as a passenger whilst he drove .... it all made sense. The 350Z was clearly the faster car compared to my MCS as I originally thought it would be but the problem was my friends driving. He really didn't have a clue how to drive it and even in a straightline he wasn't using the power to full ability. Just goes to show how much comes down to the driver and not 0-60 and bhp figures.

I thought I would paste a reply to another thread I put the other day as is it so related. The 350Z is definately a great car (without question the sound is the best bit) but as someone else here said the price difference in the UK is pretty huge and I personally would have wanted more performance difference for my money between it and a MCS. The engine just wasn't brutally fast like I thought it would be ... but damn did we get some looks in that thing

[Billy Smart]

Go for the 350Z,

then you will have had the opourtunity to drive two great cars,

just take it easy in the snow

Billy

[SFJAMES]

WOW.......I love that your making a choice between a 350z and a MCS, we are too cool.
Handle your biz man. I like'd the 350z more on the Billboards, same goes for the rx8, the 350z is HUGE though. I think its the height of the doors or something, seems like there should be decals all over the sides. good luck man.

[KenL]

No contest for the same money - get the 350Z.

[EBMCS03]

You'll be fine... get the 350Z if you want it. Definetly nice car.

[Mr_You]

I'm not a big fan of the new 350Z styling.

But I have had an interest in the next-gen Porsche 987 Coupe (boxster platform) for a while now and still do.

I'm leaning more toward a 2005 Mini Cooper S. I've mainly wanted a short wheel base car all along but would prefer rear wheel drive or RWD biased AWD. But I'm getting over that and looking forward to a better bang for buck from the Mini.

[antsmini]

I love the 350Z, dont get me wrong...I LOVE my MINI. But if I had 35k...I wouldve gotten the Z.

[Aqualung]

In the latest issue of Road & Track, when they put comments in about their MCS I noticed comments about the 350z....and it seems the 350z likes to eat tires, very prematurely ( the Acura NSX has had this problem for years, but I guess if you can pay $75k for a car, you don't care about the tire cost).

You may want to get a copy of it, and/or do some searches on long-term 350z ownership....it's definately a nice car and yes, gobs more torque than even my JCW....but the "hidden" costs may be far more expensive in the long run.

[sequence]

For $35K I'd buy a used M3 (or a used NSX).

MO those 350Z's are the butt-ugliest quasi-appliances Japan's ever created, short of the Honda Element. Reach for the barf-bag, Nigel. Yecchh!!

And the last time I looked, new NSX's were pushing $90-100K.

[EBMCS03]

350Z look good... I would consider a G35c too...

[JBOO]

As much as I love the MINI, for $26K, I would have gotten the 350Z. That's not to say I would have enjoyed the experice as much, but I think the Z is more of a car. Personally, I would go for the G35 instead. The extra 2 seats would be useful and I think the styling is slightly smoother.

They are are very sweet cars though.

[flav]

sequence,
the 350Z is not $35,000 it is $26,000. and as far as your opinion on looks you are definately in the minority. but thanks for your opinion.

believe it or not i don't like the G35 as much. it looks "to refined" and not as raw as the 350Z. the back seat would be nice but not worth another $9,000.

my biggest concern now is the winter time. seriously it snows 5 months out of the year here in cleveland, ohio. i don't want to spend another $2,000 for a crap car to drive in the winter. i have read that if you put $1200 snow tires on the Z it will be pretty good in the snow. but the ground clearance is worse than the MCS. does anybody have any experience driving one in the winter. or driving any rear wheel performance car in the snow and ice, thanks

and for that matter i have never driven the mini in the snow either. how is it. i assume it handles good because of the front wheel drive.

[sequence]

flav, saw a loaded 350whatever at a mall recently and sticker was near the mid 30s--then I saw the sister G35 Coupe that was a couple thou less, and actually liked it better. the lines seemed smoother, more flowing, cool taillights.

But then I'm not a big fan of the aero-angular, huge wheel well-centered design school, to me it looks cheap, forced, weird. Like the TT. Like the Lexus SC430. Like the Chrysler 300. Like the Bugatti Veyron (1,000 HP? 0-180 in 14 secs? Why???)

All unlike a MINI, an aesthetic masterpiece of auto design. It's the only car under $30K I'll buy. peace Jimbo