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Latest Update 27-3-2012: Bluetooth and satnav fault on one reader's 370Z taking months to solve and putting the car off the road.

Introduction (from road test):

I had always thought that the Mazda MX-5 was the World's best selling sportscar. But I was wrong.

If you start counting at the original 240Z of 1969, Nissan has sold 1,700,000 Z cars to Mazda's 950,000 MX-5s.

Sure they lost their way in the 1980s and went through a lardy stage. Then, as a result of the last recession, we lost official imports of the heavy-duty 280PS 300ZX twin-turbo. Z cars died completely by the end of the nineties and it wasn't until 2002 that keen drivers started personally importing the sensational all-new 280PS 350Z.

UK demand for that car was so huge that when Nissan put the roadster on sale in October 2005, the entire UK allocation for a year was sold out within minutes.

Power hikes then followed, with 300PS from March 2006 and a new 310PS engine from May 2007.

These are real hairy-chested sportscars, in the same league as a Porsche Cayman but with different driving characteristics. Front mid engined and rear drive, they are beautifully balanced so even an average drive like me can have a lot of fun with them without getting into trouble. And that's with the ESP switch off. In a race, a Boxster or Cayman driver would probably win, but the one in the 350Z would have the biggest grin.

Now, for the fifth generation, Nissan has completely redesigned its Z car. The Nissan 370Z looks very similar, but it isn't. It's 50mm shorter, 30mm wider, the front and rear wheels are 100mm closer together and the structure is 30% stiffer. There are new arrow shaped headlights, boomerang shaped tail lights, lighter suspension, scratchproof paint, bigger brakes and innovative variable braking that gives good low speed response as well as excellent braking from high speeds.