2016 Nissan 370Z Enthusiast Edition: No-Frills Fun

The Nissan 370Z has been around for a little while now—since 2009 to be exact—and when this happens, manufacturers usually come out with a plethora of special-edition models to keep buyers interested until he next generation hits showrooms.

Nissan actually did just the opposite with the 370Z: they came out with a no-frills, bare-bones trim called the Enthusiast Edition with a starting price of just $29,998. Now it could be that the company realized the 370Z wasn’t selling as well as they’d have liked and decided to move some inventory, but the new price got people talking.

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The test vehicle you see here is the 370Z Enthusiast Edition. I like that name because it’s an inexpensive, rear-wheel drive, track-oriented sports car that can provide a lot of fun, which is exactly what many enthusiasts are looking for.

The exterior is your basic Z with no add-ons whatsoever and standard 18-inch alloy wheels. The LED daytime running lights are a nice touch that let the casual observer know it’s a 2013 or newer model year.

Moving onto the interior, we find a similarly bland environment with grey plastic and grey cloth prevailing, except for some white stitching around the console and seat edges. The radio is your basic unit and the gauges are plain old standard issue. There is no navigation, no touchscreen, no backup camera, no auxiliary input jacks, no aluminum pedals and no Homelink transceiver. We are really going back almost two decades in terms of technology, because my 1999 Acura Integra is about on the same level here save for Bluetooth hands-free phone capability.

Fire up the engine and you’ll notice that the Z is quite loud. I don’t mean exhaust noise, but the engine itself sounded more like a recycle truck than a sports car. The motor is Nissan’s 332-horsepower, 3.7-litre V6 and has been around for quite some time. It’s a tried, tested and true powerplant, but one that’s getting long in the tooth and likely to get the boot in the next-generation model which is rumoured to be coming out for 2018.

Those 332 horses are loads of fun in the 2016 Nissan 370Z, especially with the six-speed manual gearbox. This is a car that begs to be pushed to the limit with every shift and can carve up the asphalt like a pro. Handling is crisp and the brakes are excellent. Helping out the Z is the significant weight reduction from the lack of all the extra stuff you get in the higher trim levels. The car is 100 kilograms lighter than a fully-loaded model.

The Z makes it hard to hold back because you want to push it more and more, but you remember that you’re on public roads and there are limits. The Z’s abilities give its driver an extra level of confidence behind the wheel.

The Enthusiast Edition also does away with a number of other features, including the limited-slip rear differential, the automatic transmission (yay!), power-adjustable or heated seats (back to good ol’ manual sliders) and basic Z insignia on the exterior. Of course, all of these options can easily be had if one opts for some of the higher-end trim levels, but you’re looking at a $10,000 bump in price.

With this edition, Nissan takes aim at cars like the Toyota 86 and the Subaru BRZ which offer inexpensive, rear-wheel-drive fun. We can’t wait to see what the next generation Z has in store.