Nissan 350Z

"He has all of the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire." My 20 seconds of Google research didn't unearth who Winston Churchill was referring to when he said this - perhaps the poor bastard is best forgotten - but I thought of this quote as I drove the new Nissan 350Z.

Reverse it, though: this car has all of the vices I admire and none of the virtues I dislike. It also has a great many of the virtues I admire, and the vices I dislike aren't there. Hope you get the picture. This car is great.

In its 2007 guise (£26,795), the Z has what Nissan calls an '80 per cent new' 3.5-litre V6 engine. It develops an extra 13bhp (up from 296bhp to 309bhp) and an extra 4lb ft of torque (up from 260 to 264lb ft). The end result is that a full 90 per cent of the torque is now on tap from as low as 2,000rpm. You can really feel the difference.

There are no differences to see, though, other than a slightly raised bonnet line to accommodate the taller engine. And that's it.

Vices to admire? Big noise, for starters, from that muscular, bellowing V6 up front. It is a seriously loud powerplant, booming through the cabin at low revs and fairly ripping your ears off at higher revs. But it sounds fabulous, so that's no hardship. Neither is the stiff, solid gearshift feel, nor the meaty steering.

You get into this car and it forces you to drive it properly - no messing, give it respect. The ride is stiff, too. Again, it's a vice, but it's an admirable one. Without that, you couldn't fling it through corners with the same complete and utter confidence.

Would I have one over a new Audi TT? Yes, without a second thought, but me rabbiting on about the Z's amazing virtues won't make a scrap of difference in this market. The 350Z has about 350 per cent more character than the TT and generates 3,500 per cent more excitement, but the Audi will still outsell it by eight to one because it has four circles on its nose.

What's more, Audi TT owners will tell you their cars are superior to the lowly Nissan, and there'll be no convincing them otherwise.

"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on." It's another Churchill quote. And another good one.

Bill Thomas