Nissan 350Z Roadster GT Review

There's a lot to be said for buying the final year of any design. The main point is that the bugs have all been ironed out. So, as much as I'm waiting with great anticipation for the new Nissan 370Z, the final-year 350Z Roadster is looking mighty good.

I was among those disappointed with Nissan's execution of the new Z when it first landed. Way-too-cheap materials (especially in the interior) marred what could have been an incredible bargain. To Nissan's credit, they've worked on the Z continuously over the past five or so years, to the point where it's hard to find fault with the outgoing Z.

I recently spent a week in the Roadster GT, and thoroughly enjoyed it. The base price of $41.570 takes care of a 306 horsepower, 3.5 liter V6, a six-speed manual transmission, electric soft top, 18 inch wheels, 8-way power driver's seat (4-way for the passenger), keyless enry, power everything, a 7-speaker Bose audio system that can actually be impressive with the top down at speed (a neat trick) and a bunch more. The only options were floor mats for $95.00 and an $1800 nav system that I'd skip in a heartbeat.

Still, the fun-per-dollar factor, even with the nav driving the bottom line to $44,160, is awfully high...and with strong crash test ratings and an EPA estimated 17 city/24 highway miles per gallon, the Z Roadster GT is a fairly responsible choice (at least in the realm of two-seat sports roadsters).

A strong finish for what's become a very good car. May the next generation do so well.

Jaguar XKR Convertible Review

I remember the thrill I felt as a tiny TireKicker when I saw the Jaguar XKE Convertible back in 1961. There was no question: I was in the presence of something special.

Even with the passage of 48 years (!), it's tough to top that design. The requirements of modern motoring make it virtually impossible to build anything that sleek and lithe (where would the computers fit?). Jaguar's attempts to evoke the old E-Type have largely fallen far short of the mark...until the current XK and XKR.

Again, practicalities keep the new car bigger in every dimension than the original E-Type, but there is a sense of something special...and a close-cousin resemblance to the current Aston Martins that's not a bad thing, either.

No question, it's a dream to drive...the XKR packing 420 horsepower mated to a six-speed automatic transmission and a computer active tech suspension with speed sensitive steering.

Downers? The Bowers & Wilkins premium audio system was just barely adequate for top-down listening at speed, and the control screen housing the audio, navigation, Bluetooth and climate settings was prone to freeze up. The only way out was to turn off the engine and re-start the car...sometimes more than once. By the end of the test, I was simply calling it "re-booting".

So, it's a mixed bag. High marks for looks and performance (with decent mileage...EPA estimates are 15 city/23 highway)...but a big question mark (as in "is it just the one I drove or is this a bigger problem?")over the reliability of the control screen. $93,400 (base price...$104,425 as tested) should buy you perfection...or at least peace of mind.

Volvo C70 Review

They say the third time's a charm. Well, Volvo got it right in just two tries.

One of the first press events I attended as a professional TireKicker was 10 years ago and it was the launch of the first-generation Volvo C70 convertible. I was prepared to be impressed. A premium convertible with Volvo's legendary safety and structural integrity.

During the half-day drive through Central Arizona, I thought I must have gotten a bad one that slipped through. When we met for lunch at The Royal Palms Resort in Phoenix, 25 journalists compared notes on 25 identical test cars. Six words summed it up:

"It shakes like a wet dog."

Cowl shake is the common enemy of convertibles. Cut off the top of a car, and you give up a bunch of structural rigidity. It shows up in the cowl...the area where the windshield and the hood meet...and it telegraphs into the steering column. And the '99 C70, otherwise a very desirable car, had it bad.

Flash forward a decade and slide behind the wheel of the '09 C70. A lot of changes here. First of all, it's now a retractable hardtop, not a ragtop. Strong and shake-free. But the remarkable thing is how solid it is with the top down. Volvo knew what needed to be done and did it.

There's also ten years worth of tech improvements in this car, which goes faster, gets better mileage (18 city, 26 highway), possesses better-than-average handling and benefits from Volvo's huge leaps in interior design. Fine leather and real wood...Nordic Oak, no less.

The $39,240 base price gets you an exceptionally well-equipped vehicle, with a turbocharged 2.5 liter 5-cylinder engine good for 227 horsepower mated to a six-speed manual transmission. The test vehicle I drove stepped up the content with metallic paint ($475), the Dynaudio Package ($1,550 for 130 watts per channel of surround sound Dolby ProLogic II with subwoofer), an automatic transmission ($1,250, and given how good the manual was in the C30, I'd be temped to pass and shift it myself), and $750 worth of 18-inch alloy wheels.

Bottom line: $44,010. Not cheap, but in line for a premium convertible with style, substance and...solidity.

Mercedes-Benz SL550 Review

A lot of cars wind up on people's want lists....but only a handful inspire awe. For more than 50 years...all the way back to the original drop top version of the legendary 300 SL Gullwing, the Mercedes SL has been one of those cars.
It's difficult to imagine improving on any one of them, until the next one comes along. The jump from the 2008 SL500 to the 2009 SL550 gets you a much more aggressive front-end styling treatment, 382 horsepower (good for a 0-60 time of 5.3 seconds) a seven-speed automatic transmission, multilink suspension, a huge glass moonroof (taking up virtually the entire top surface) and a new COMAND audio/nav system with Bluetooth.
The SL550 rolls on 18-inchers now...and the experience of driving one is nearly as heady as the attention you get on the street, in parking lots....well, everywhere. Within hours, I was fielding (and fulfilling) requests for demonstrations of the retractable hardtop mechanism (very, very fun to watch)...and comforting the inadequate feelings of the lady who parked next to me in a New Beetle ("It's all German engineering", I said, hoping she bought it).
Nobody buys them for this, but I'll mention that the seven-speed automatic is a gas saver...I averaged 22 miles per gallon in a mix of city street and freeway driving over the course of a week...making it the most economical (in terms of fuel consumption) near-supercar I've ever tested.
Base price? Um...$96,775. Good luck getting one out the door for less than $100,000. But if you can...it's a car that lives up to the price tag.