Nothing compares to a summer’s day on a back country road with the top down on a two-seat roadster. Even if the Nissan 350Z Roadster is getting a little dated – an updated coupe version with slightly more horsepower will be out next year with the convertible updated soon after – it still offers as much fun in the summer day category as you can buy for less than $40,000. Who cares if it looks a little like a scared turtle when the soft top is up?

What Is It?

Top down or up in the 350Z, when you’re enjoying the raspy sound of the 306 horsepower engine with 268 pound-feet of torque, shifting with the short-throw six-speed manual transmission, and enjoying the taut suspension that takes the corners eagerly without being rough over the bumps, who cares what it looks like from the outside? And the top is going to be down as much as possible anyhow.

Appropriate to its purpose, the Z has a minimalist interior of matte black textured plastic and nylon that looks like a GT Prototype race car; no pretentious wood and chrome trim in this car.

What’s It Up Against?

There are several other drop-top roadsters on the market which compete against the 350Z, led by the venerable Mazda MX-5 (we still call it a Miata) which is cheaper, and maybe a bit more practical, but with less power.

The Honda S2000 is about the same price as the 350Z, but with its cramped interior and non-existent luggage space, it’s not much good for anything except short run-around trips and track fun.

The much newer Pontiac Solstice/Saturn Sky compare more with the MX-5 than the 350Z, and the other contenders, including the Audi TT and Porsche Boxster are much pricier.

Any Big Breakthroughs?

Let’s be honest: the 350Z itself isn’t a new face on the playground and there’s nothing new for 2008, unless you count the addition of one exterior color to the range.

Even though the roadster wasn’t introduced until well after the coupe, the ragtop is now several years beyond its launch party, and even the engine is in its second year. Nissan will be introducing the new 370Z coupe in Los Angeles this fall, so we can expect the convertible version to be past its sell-by date sometime in early 2010.

How Does It Look?

The Nissan Z-car styling has not changed much since the original introduction of the coupe, and we’ve grown to appreciate the idea of less-is-more that Nissan brought to the party. The Z has done away with excess air openings and ducts covered with fancy mesh grilles and front dams. Instead, there’s just the minimum amount of paneling needed to cover the chassis and wheels, with subtle curves to break up the light. Two triangular light housings on the front, two similarly-styled tail light structures on the rear, and two business-like tail pipes are the only trim pieces on the exterior.

The door handles are the only unnecessary pieces of trim on the exterior, added as if someone said at the last minute, “It still needs something” and dimpled slabs of brushed aluminum was the best idea they could come up with.

We do agree that from a styling perspective when the soft-top is up the convertible isn’t as graceful as the fastback coupe. However, we do like the look when the top is stowed under the hard tonneau cover. The simple fairing behind the headrests provides a nice little touch of roadster tradition, encouraging owners to keep the top down as much as possible.

And Inside?

The car is very comfortable in the top-down mode. Driver and passenger sit well down into the body, and the clear plastic panel between the headrests breaks the wind enough that the temperature has to be very low, or the rain pretty hard, before one will be forced to put the top up.

That’s fortunate, because like most of today’s roadsters, there is very limited vision to the back or sides with the top up, making us feel a little tentative when merging or maneuvering in busy freeway traffic.

The interior styling is all business, with very supportive seats – upholstered on our base Enthusiast model in comfortable and practical nylon – simple controls, and not much more to distract us from the purposive nature of this car.

There are a few storage compartments hidden away, but they’re mostly behind the seats where they are totally inaccessible when the car is underway. Even the locking compartment that fills in for the non-existent glove box is tucked behind the passenger seat.

On the other hand, there’s lots of people-space in the interior. Instead of feeling as if we’d just been shoehorned into a Formula 1 car, we had lots of shoulder and elbow space. A long-legged driver might have to bend a bit at the knees, but there was no serious limit to headroom (the convertible actually has more headroom than the coupe).

Unlike some of the other roadsters, this one actually has a trunk, and if you follow the instructions glued to the trunk lid, a medium golf bag can be stowed there. However, if you and your passenger need more than a small roll-aboard suitcase and a backpack, you aren’t going to be making any weekend trips.

But Does It Go?

With 306 horsepower moving 3600 pounds, the 350Z Roadster is very quick. It is at its best on the track or on back country roads, where you can enjoy the acceleration on the straights as well as the handling which allows you to take the corners flat and fast.

We’re pleased that Nissan figured out the problems in the first generation suspension in the 350Zs, because this model is actually comfortable over rough pavement. This is a trackable car we could live with during the week without many regrets.

Nissan doesn’t seem to have sacrificed much in the way of torsional rigidity with the convertible body, either. If you think in terms of the car as a very low coupe with a hole in the roof, rather than a regular coupe with the top half cut off, you’ll see the wisdom in the somewhat awkward exterior styling.

In the interest of full disclosure, fuel efficiency is only 17 mpg city and 24 mpg highway, but if you’re the type who likes the no-nonsense look of the 350Z, you’re probably filling up with $8 a gallon track gas whenever possible, so you’ve already factored low mileage into your personal buying equation.

Why You Would Buy It

If you like your roadsters looking as if they were designed in a wind tunnel rather than a jewelry store, and rate track performance higher than luggage hauling capabilities, you’ll enjoy the power, handling, and functional nature of the 350Z roadster. And the medium-sized price is attractive, too.

Why You Wouldn’t

But if you want to have a car that will turn heads from across the parking lot, maybe you should wait for the next generation Z-car, because no one is going to notice that your car is brand-new.

What We Drove?

Our test car was the “Roadster Enthusiast” package, priced at $36,350, including dealer prep and optional carpeted floor mats, it is actually the least costly of the three versions of the roadster.

However, it’s the only version of the Z roadster we would buy, even if they all cost the same. The high-tech “web” seats and fancy stereo available on the Touring model are unnecessary, and the upgrades to brakes, wheels and aerodynamics on the Grand Touring model would be negated by the automatic transmission even if better go-fast stuff wasn’t available at less cost on the aftermarket.

Word and photos by Gary and Genie Anderson.