Listen carefully the next time you fire up the engine of a powerful sports car. Beyond the spine-tingling growl of the exhaust, you might just tune into a subliminal message.

There's nothing eerie or sinister here, it's just the thrill of the open road calling your name.

We had long planned for the new Nissan 370Z and BMW Z4 to land on our doorstep at the same time, along with an Audi TTS for good measure. What better way to put this new breed of real-world sports cars through their paces than haul out the map book and heed to the open road calling?

The plan

Somewhere off the beaten track in Mpumalanga sounded like an enthralling plan and a run to an exquisite venue called Dawsons near Barberton and back, followed by giving each car a final sortie around Kyalami, was put into action.

The beauty of these three cars is that between them you'll find most of the qualities you would want in a high-end sports car, albeit on a real-world budget. But which of them is the most desirable?

At first glance

The two newest entrants came under particular scrutiny. Neither of them earn universal praise, but no one can deny that the Nissan 370Z screams aggression.

It’s fussier and consequently less pretty than the classically elegant 350Z that preceded it, but it strikes an undeniably more brutal pose. Something like a Samurai dragon that’s morphed into a car, the Nissan looks like it’s built to destroy, finish and klaar.

Quite the opposite could be said of the BMW Z4, which was seemingly designed for the most upmarket boulevards in town. While the design has its complexities and certainly didn't gain universal praise, it seems less complicated than the previous Z4 and it has one big advantage: – its folding hardtop. What's more, it actually looks like a sleek GT coupe when that intricate folding roof is in place.

The Audi attracted few comments. We all agreed that it's classically proportioned and has a neat and timeless appeal about it, but it’s also the most understated.

The few hours of freeway driving that came before reaching the more exciting escarpment roads gave us a chance sit back, relax and determine how each of these cars fills the role of an everyday cruiser.

Page two ... Cruising along

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