Long-Term Road Tests

Below are the fuel economy numbers for October 2009. We've listed the best, worst and overall average tanks.

As usual, a couple of cars are out on the road or unavailable at the time of this writing. I'll continue to add them as they come in and let you know in the comments.

After the jump you can see the list sorted by best average MPG.

Continue reading Big List of Fuel Economy: October 2009 .

Categories: 2007 Honda Civic GX,2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution GSR,2008 Pontiac G8 GT,2009 Audi A4 Avant,2009 Audi S5,2009 BMW 750i,2009 BMW M3,2009 Dodge Challenger R/T,2009 Dodge Ram 1500,2009 Ford Flex Limited,2009 Honda Fit Sport,2009 Hyundai Genesis V6,2009 Infiniti FX50 AWD,2009 Mazda 6 i Grand Touring,2009 Nissan 370Z Touring,2009 Nissan GT-R,2009 Suzuki SX4,2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS,2010 Honda Insight EX,2010 Mazdaspeed 3,2010 Volvo XC60 T6 AWD

A couple of weeks ago, Dan Edmunds and I headed over to Adam Carolla's place to take part in his new weekly car-themed podcast, Carcast. 
Now, be warned, iTunes rates his podcast as Mature, and there is some grown-up language (never by Dan, though). Overall, I'd say pg-13. But use your discretion and click on over to the podcast to hear Dan and Adam talk new cars, electric cars, the worst car name of all time, and, of all things, air conditioning. There're also segments with  Rick Hendrick and Jeff Ross after Dan's wrapped up.
Dan Edmunds on Adam Carolla's CarCast. 
Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant

Categories: 2009 Mini E,2009 Nissan 370Z Touring

I've driven our 370Z a bunch of times and I like it quite a bit. Besides the blind spots when trying to back out of spaces, I think this thing is an absolute blast to drive.

Random weekend errands are made fun. Gotta go over to Home Depot for some JB Weld? Awesome. Pick up some pickling spice from the grocery store? Perfect. Go across town to see an open house? Even better. Good acceleration, auto-blip shift and an all around fun package make this thing a great little weekend car, provided you don't need the cargo room.

The only thing that annoyed me about this car was actually using it's cargo area. The pressure hatch release button in the back doesn't always seem to release. There were a few times I had to press it multiple time to get it to let go completely. Once I had to shove the hatch back down to get it to release with another press of the button. Honestly in the grand scheme of things, not that big of a deal but annoying none the less.

The next time I get the keys I got to make sure I make good use of it. I think a good drive up the coast along Highway 1 would be a great idea.

Scott Jacobs, Senior Photographer

Categories: 2009 Nissan 370Z Touring

The guy I know who owns a gas station admits that he's an idiot. In a misguided attempt to represent what he sells, he put a set of gas station tires on his 1997 Jaguar XK8 convertible. They wear like iron (apparently no one who buys gas station tires ever thinks about braking distances or wet weather traction), but they're so noisy that he can't stand to drive the car for more than 45 minutes. He feels like a fool for cheaping out and saving a few dollars.

The Nissan 370Z gives me the same feeling. Every time the tire roar gets so overwhelming that the radio volume needs to go up to maximum, I think about the Nissan engineers cheaping out on the acoustic insulation for the cabin air extractors. Such a little thing that you'd never think any individual driver would notice and yet a huge cost savings spread over a lifetime of production. Seems like it's worth saving $5, doesn't it? And of course it ends up undercutting the whole driving experience.

A fix has already come down the production line we understand, but it's little compromises like this that always worry me about the long-term effect that the Renault way of doing business will have on the Nissan way of engineering. I don't want a generation of automobiles designed for people who buy their tires at gas stations.

Michael Jordan, Executive Editor @ 14,250 miles 

Categories: 2009 Nissan 370Z Touring,Vehicles

...but only two boxes worth. Our family has a "subscription" to a local farm for our weekly produce and yesterday was the day. Turns out it's a good thing we only get one box of fruit and one box of vegies because that's all that would fit in the back of the 370Z.

Chris Walton, Chief Road Test Editor @ 14,104 miles

Categories: 2009 Nissan 370Z Touring

Is it just me or is this a weird feature for our 2009 Nissan 370Z, a sport coupe with 332 horsepower and a 3.7-liter V6, to have?

I don't think anyone on our staff pays attention to it. When I drove our Z this weekend, all I noticed about this mpg bar is that when I took my foot off the throttle, the bar went up to 60. Ooh. But when I'm passing cars or zooming up a freeway on-ramp, fuel economy is not really a concern. Then again, it's not my car.  Is it different for you owners out there?

Caroline Pardilla, Deputy Managing Editor @ 14,108 miles

Categories: 2009 Nissan 370Z Touring

I was reminded again this past weekend that our long-term 2009 Nissan 370Z is a helluva sexy sportscar.

When I left the office Friday night it was already dark. As I left the parking garage I was greeted with a view similar to the above pic. The instruments are bathed in an orange-reddish light -- if it's too bright for you, turn it down with the rheostat.
The ambience is quite attractive -- and sexy (except for the Atari-inspired clock and fuel gauge.)

Adding to this feeling is that the car is low and that you're also sitting low -- damn near on the deck. As you accelerate and watch the HID lamps cast their eerie pattern, you feel like you're flying a UFO through traffic.

Is the BMW 135 a better all-around performer? Yup.

But all it takes is a night drive at speed in the 370Z to remind you that this isn't yet another two-door sedan.

Albert Austria, Senior Engineer @ 13,700 miles 

Categories: 2009 Nissan 370Z Touring

Scene: Ontario, California airport parking lot, 9:28 pm, a rainy night, coming back from business trip.

Motivation: Flight was late, sat next to whiny lap-child for the last two hours, airport burrito not sitting well, had to walk 1/4-mile in the drizzle with no hat or umbrella because the parking lot shuttle is AWOL, your own kids are going to be asleep if you don't get home soon.

Action: With rain coming down a little harder now, use unlock button on key fob as you approach car. Once there, press hatch release button hidden under that lip above the license plate. Hatch pops up a quarter-inch, but does not release. Close hatch and try again. Repeat ten times. Swear through clenched teeth. Something about a mother... 

Continue reading 2009 Nissan 370Z Touring: All Wet.

Categories: 2009 Nissan 370Z Touring

The other day I realized that our long-term 2010 Chevy Camaro SS runs on regular gasoline (87 octane) but requires expensive synthetic oil. But our long-term 2009 Nissan 370Z requires more expensive premium gas (91 octane) but its engine is filled with much cheaper conventional oil.

Obviously, over the life of the car the Z will cost you more as you'll buy far more fuel than oil in the years you own the vehicle. But I'm still not sure it's right that the budget-buyer minded Camaro requires expensive synthetic oil.

By the way, the V6 in the Camaro LT uses conventional oil and runs on regular gas. 

What do you think?

Scott Oldham, Inside Line Editor in Chief   

Categories: 2009 Nissan 370Z Touring,2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS

One of the strong points of the 370Z is its styling, which manages to pay homage to the original, first-generation Datsun 240Z/260Z/280Z without looking contrived.  The long, aerodynamic nose with single headlights that wrap around the corners, the fastback roofline, the kicked-up beltline and the side window shapes all harken back to the clean, classic sports car look of the original. Yet there are modern touches, such as the aggressively-flared wheelwells and free-form headlights.  But if I had to pick one over the other purely based on styling, however, I'd have to go with the sleeker and cleaner original.

Between that first Z car and the current one, Nissan's sports car has gone through many iterations.  If you want to brush up on your Z car history, we've got it all right here.

John DiPietro, Automotive Editor at 13,094 miles

Categories: 2009 Nissan 370Z Touring

What you see here is the Enter button on the steering wheel of our 2009 Nissan 370. This up-down rocker button scrolls through menus on the dash-mounted screen and, most importantly, in conjunction with that out-of-focus button slightly below and slightly behind the Enter button, controls my iPod.

Normally I have the screen (not pictured) at the ready for when I'm bored with the current song. This means I only have to tap that little switch to advance/repeat. It works great 99% of the time. Trouble is, the Enter button is not flush, or better yet, below the face of, the steering wheel. So what happens is almost every time I turn the wheel more than 10-degrees and no matter how I do it, my palm trips the button and my song is changed. 

I've put thousands of miles on the 2009 370Z and this is one of those little issues that I just can't find a good workaround for. The only thing I've ever had so many unintended button presses with was the silly mouse-thing on the Lexus 250h

If it were my car I'd cut it down about 1/2 an inch and call it a day.

Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant

Categories: 2009 Nissan 370Z Touring

And the Ugly? Not with our long-term 370Z. Almost everything's good-looking, inside and out.

But the seat controls are both good and bad.

I love the power fore-aft and seatback rake controls on the bottom cushion right-side bolster (that are on most Nissans.)

Not only are they easy to access in the tight sportscar confines of our Z, but they also clean up the inner door panel (if instead Nissan decided to put them there due to the tight clearance between the door and seat.) 

If you're not used to them, the seat bolster-mounted switches are slightly difficult to find at first, but after that they're quite convenient.

Why don't more carmakers copy that switch location? 

And the bad? 
 

Continue reading 2009 Nissan 370Z: Seat controls-the Good, the Bad....

Categories: 2009 Nissan 370Z Touring

Ever since I drove our Nissan 370Z extensively back in August, the following thought pops into my head when I get into a different manual-transmission car: "Wait, you mean I have to heel-toe downshift to match revs? Well that sucks."

I didn't think this was going to be the case when I first drove our Z. "SynchroRev Match is just a novelty," I figured, and I even turned it off and matched revs the old-timey way.

But whether due to laziness or appreciation on how well it works (or both), SRM is now on all the time when I drive the Z. It matches engine rpm to wheel speed perfectly for every downshift (can't say that about my own heel-toe downshifts) and I still get the tactile pleasure of working the clutch and shifter, which is something I don't get from the GT-R's automated dual-clutch manual gearbox.

Brent Romans, Senior Automotive Editor

Categories: 2009 Nissan 370Z Touring

Just a few shots for your viewing pleasure...

Continue reading 2009 Nissan 370Z: Pretty Pictures Edition.

Categories: 2009 Nissan 370Z Touring

What do you want to know about the 2009 Nissan 370Z?

Have you driven one? Write a review in the comments section.

Any details you want us to take a picture of? Let us know.

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

Categories: 2009 Nissan 370Z Touring