Nissan 370Z

Executing a perfectly smooth downshift in a manual car is almost like making a hole-in-on in golf or scoring a perfect 300 bowling game - often aspired to but usually elusive.

At least you don't need extraordinary physical attributes for those sports. Operating all the pedals in a manual car at the same time - which you need to do if you want to blip the throttle while braking - is always going to be a challenge if you weren't born with three feet.

Nissan has come up with a wonderful solution in the manual 370Z, called SynchroRev Match. This automatically blips the throttle when you shift down, which completely eliminates drivetrain backlash when the clutch pedal is released. Sounds complex, but it works brilliantly.

You feel like a driving demi-god every time you go through the gears, and there's never a worry that you'll mismatch the revs and unsettle the car.

The rest if the 370Z isn't half bad either. While the car is smaller and tauter than the 350Z it replaces, is still serves up old-school brawn rather than the edgier feel of, say, an Audi TT.

The 333 bhp engine has deep reseves of power through the range and though the car's chassis doesn't feel that crisp initially, it's astonishing balance quickly becomes evident as you push harder.

The 370Z is a driver's car through and through. As long as you can stomach the road tax bills, it's currently one of the biggest bargains in the world of sports coupes.

Nissan 370Z Photo Gallery

Volkswagen Polo 1.4

More Than a Volkswagen Mini Golf!

The brand new Volkswagen Polo looks like a variant of the Volkswagen Golf. It is strange to make two cars look so similar to each other, but perhaps all thi shows is how Volkswagen intends the new Polo to be as successful as the larger Gold has been in its own segment.

The angular, minimalist look is a huge leap forward. A combination of bolder lines in the sculpted flanks and shoulders, as well as nicely-exceuted details like the L-motif tail-lights and integrated side mirror indicators give visual punch.

The driving experience is something too. While the Polo's chassis might not have pin-sharp responsiveness, the weight loss regimen VW undertook has made the car a more willing athelete.

The steering is accurate but full of levity, a common fault in urban-focused machines. But after a while, you realise it doesn't matter.

That's because there's no need to make any steering corrections in the middle of a corner because the well-behaved chassis does what it's told first time round.

Compact cars often suffer from vibration and noise issues from the lack of space-sapping insulation materials. While not entirely vibe-free, the Polo's cabin is probably the quietest in this class, making long-distance drives a cinch.

Helping that along, the cabin materials have evolved from merely heavy-duty to both tough and luxurious. There are even upper-class features, such as a touch-screen entertainment system and a clear driving information display.

Volkswagen Polo Ups

Excellent chassis
High Quality, serene cabin

Volkswagen Polo Ups

Engine lacks grunt
More powerful 1.2 turbo only arrives later

Volkswagen Polo Quick Facts

Engine: 1,390cc 16V in-line 4
Power: 85bhp at 5000 rpm
Torque: 132Nm at 3800 rpm
Gearbox: 5-speed manual
Performance: 177kmh, 0-100kmh 12.0 seconds

Photo Gallery: Volkswagen Polo