If you’ve read our 350Z buyer’s guide, then you’ll know there are many great examples you can buy for reasonable money, and they tend to be fairly reliable cars that aren’t too difficult to maintain. In terms of “power per dollar” the Nissan 350Z is probably one of the best automotive bargains out there. Affordable Performance – It’s A Very Fast Car For Not A Lot Of Money
350Z AUTOMATIC DRIVER
While there are legitimate reasons to disable traction control and driver aids, it’s not hard to browse 350Z forums, YouTube videos etc and come across people who want to disable their traction control system just to make the car more likely to oversteer.
350Z AUTOMATIC DRIVERS
To compound matters, base model 350Zs didn’t come with any form of stability control, which is a real life saver for drivers who get caught out by the combination of high power and RWD that is prone to get the tail out.Īnother problem from a safety perspective is that these driver aids can be turned off, and the kind of people most likely to turn off the driver aids are also those who are probably less capable of driving such a car safely without them. At some point, all of the best driver aids in the world can’t overcome physics, and the driver aids in the 350Z aren’t particularly sophisticated by today’s standards. Long story short, these systems definitely help reign in the 350Z if you start to get into trouble. Limited Driver Aids – And They Can Be Turned OffĪlthough the 350Z has a fairly solid crash safety rating, one issue that could contribute to its being a more dangerous car is the relative lack of driver aids compared to how powerful the car is.ĭepending on exactly which trim/model you purchase (as well as model year) a 350Z can feature VDC – Vehicle Dynamic Control and TLC – Traction Lock Control, as well as ESP (Electronic Stability Program). In particular, we think there are a some key reasons why the 350Z has a tendency to be involved in so many crashes. However, the 350Z is dangerous because of the nature of the car, the manner in which it is driven, and due to its popularity with often relatively inexperienced drivers who simply aren’t up to the job of handling such a beast of a car. All things being equal, the occupants of a 350Z would likely come out better than the occupants of a Toyota MR2 in a crash of the same nature/magnitude. With multi-airbags and fairly modern construction standards, it’s not that the 350Z is as dangerous in a crash as a classic from the 60s/70s/80s basically, the 350Z doesn’t do a terrible job of protecting its occupant(s) in the event of a crash. Of course the 350Z was first released nearly 20 years ago (back in 2003) and what constituted a safe car in terms of crash testing performance is vastly different to what we expect today. Here are some reasons/points to note: The 350Z Isn’t Inherently Unsafe From An Occupant Protection Perspectiveįirstly, the 350Z actually scored a pretty good safety rating in its day, scoring 4s and 5s across the board in official US testing data ( source). Just what is it about the 350Z that makes it more prone to being involved in accidents? Perhaps more important than the fact that 350Z is a statistically dangerous car are the reasons why. So if you like living life on the edge, then this could be the perfect car for you. The Nissan 350Z has a death rate double that of the average sports car, according to the same study. The 350Z (2005-2008 models were assessed) topped the list of most deadly cars on US roads, with 143 deaths per million registrations during the study period and 90 deaths per million registrations in single-vehicle crashes. This harrowing fact comes from a 2011 study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which we have added a screen grab of here: When researching this article we actually found it a little hard to believe, but multiple sources report that the 350Z is, on a statistical basis, one of the most dangerous cars on American roads. In fact, the Nissan 350z is – by the numbers – one of the most dangerous cars on the road in America. Is the Nissan 350Z/Fairlady Z A Dangerous Car?
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