The latest in a long line of models that slot into the sports segment arrived at my door recently in the shape of the Nissan 350Z Roadster.

The roadster is pitched in the same segment as the Audi TT, Mercedes SLK and the Mazda RX-8, so it is competing in a very tough sector that contributed 64,681 cars to the total of all vehicles sold in the UK last year.

I have had quite a lot of experience in the models I have previously mentioned (the TT, SLK etc) and it is fair to say that they all have outstanding qualities so it was interesting to know if the Nissan, which I had not much knowledge of, would be able to hold its own in this sort of company.

Looks-wise the 350Z is stunning. Sitting very low over flared wheel arches, its muscular curves and aggressive grille with xenon headlights topped off with 18 inch six spoke alloys give the 350Z a lasting first impression. (Although I wasn’t too sure about the burnt orange (sunset) colour of the model I was sent, personally I think the universal silver model is the real eye-catcher but I suppose it is all down to personal choice.)

The interior is typically sports based to continue the exterior feel. The seating is sporty and sculpted, the driver's seat is slightly narrower than the passenger seat, holding you more securely when you are throwing it around the curves.

I was very impressed with the instrument layout – it is very reminicesnt of models come and gone with a centrally mounted rev counter facing the driver in between a three instrument layout, to the left in the centre of the dash is the old sports car favourite binnacle line up of oil pressure, battery volts and on trip computer.

The rest of the interior and instrumentation subtley reflect all that is good about the 350Z, from the climate control, Bose system and the heated door mirrors to the surprisingly large boot space. The coupe can easily accommodate all you need to transport whether it be holiday luggage, office equipment or even two sets of golf clubs. I am taking Nissan’s word for this as golf is one of the sports that is guaranteed to drive me insane, having tried and tried and failed.

From a safety aspect the 350Z is right up there with the competition. The two stage twin airbags are backed up by curtain airbags (coupe model only), with ESP (electronic stability programme), ABS and EBD (electronic brake force distributuion) also as standard. So we know it's safe, but let's be fair, most models in the marketplace these days can boast this, so it was time to take it out on the open road.

The first thing I noticed about the 350Z on the first blip of the throttle was the delicious sound eminating from the exhaust: this car sounds like a sports car. If I was impressesd with this I was grinning broadly when I heard the sweet music of the intake roar as I opened her up. On further investigation I uncovered that Nissan’s engineers had been tasked with producing this exhaust note and spent many man hours studying intake and exhaust sounds to reproduce this wonderful aural driving experience, definitely class leading, head and shoulders above the rest of the segment by a mile.

The handling is cute and precise and the 3.5 litre V6 produces 300PS which powers you very quickly through all ranges, it really is a joy to drive. The wide chassis has all round multilink suspension and both suspension assemblies have been mounted track style on subframes, with massive 18 inch 225 and 245/445r18 performance tyres the 350 forms an almost unbreakable bond with the road surface.

The Nissan 350Z entry model lists at £26,345 on the road and I think this represents good value for money if sports cars are your bag. It sits very comfortably in illustrious company and even out performs them in certain areas. Well worth a punt.