i'm considering buying a 350z when the cobalt lease is up. How do you think the car would handle in the northeast winters? Also, lately i've been seeing alot of 350z, do you think they are starting to get played out?

 

get a g35 instead, they are way cooler. the 4 doors also have an option for awd

 

RWD car handles as good as you drive it. my father had a stock s10 and could get through anything compared to my FWD taurus. but also it was my first winter driving.

 

i've had rwd in the winter...its a little less forgiving if you make a mistake

 

Rwd Ftw

 

I myself am not to fond of 350Z's and truthfully think there were old news a year after they came out due to hype vs real world performance.

When it comes to RWD vs FWD in snow I would rather have RWD. The FWD may have better traction but when you loose traction you go straight. In a RWD the rear end will wonder a little but if you can drive you can make it straight.

The only problem with the 350Z will be clearance issues that will only make traction harder to find.

 

RWD is not hard to drive in the winter. You will definately want some winter tires though and you just have to be more cautious. It's really not hard though. Just take it easy and it will be fine.

As for the 350z itself. I like the car, I almost bought one but I couldn't find one with the options I wanted and all the Nissan dealers around here are dicks. Just be weary that if you get one over 30k there are better cars out there. Especially if you are not opposed to used cars.

 

RWD with a good weight distribution is the best for winter. RWD is much more predictable adn easier to maneuver when you do lose traction. Its also a lot more fun.

In your case, I have heard the 350z's suck in the winter, even with a decent set of tires. Not sure on the weight dist. but it cant be great. it doesn't seem like there is any weight over the back tires in those. and as others said, clearance will become and issue.

 

I thought it was AWD > FWD > RWD for winter driving. I have gone up to the poconos with my friend and his mustang got stuck on every little hill. I had a civic at the time and i just cruised over the hills he couldn't get over.

 

I had to drive my 2000 Camaro SS with 350WHP in the snow a few years ago, now that was a experience.......

 

It is all about the tires. I used to drive a Geo Metro hatchback. Small, light, FWD car...should be good in snow right? Nope, the tires I had on it sucked in snow and I slid all over the place. To me it doesn't make a difference if the car is FWD or RWD. RWD is definately more fun.

 

doesnt matter what you drive. get a good set of snow tires and drive safely and anyone can get through a winter.

 

My brother did the same in his SS... took him 6 hours to get home from work. Took him 20 minutes in the summertime.

 

It all depends on driver and experience, i'll probably drive my GTO through snow and i have driven a 200SX through snow and never had a problem unless i drove it into the ditch while sliding sideways on a dirt road while it was being video taped.

 

I wouldn't let a thing like how RWD performs in the snow have an effect on what vehicle you choose. If I was buying a 350Z I wouldn't be driving it in the winter. I don't know how they handle in the snow but they are balanced almost perfectly(I think its 53/47). I would go with the G35. The coupe has back seats as where the 350Z does not. As said before the 4door has an AWD option which would rule.

 

i drove mine in the winter and it was a base, but if i had it to do again which i hope i will, i'd get an enthusiast model at least. get a set of Blizzak LM-22's and don't be stupid with it and you'll be fine. see if you can take a winter driving course as well. just don't get a base model, you'll want an enthusiast model or better to at least have a limited slip instead of an open differential like the base. base>enthusiast>performance>track>touring are the models, listed by lowest price and features to highest.