First Look At 09 & Comparson Pics

WLH · Post by **WLH** » Thu May 07, 2009 6:57 pm

Well got my first look at the 09 and also went for a test drive. I am not jumping up and down crazy with the looks of the new Z4 but it's not bad either. It's very comfortable and has a more finished feel to it. More of a luxury cars with auto close boot/trunk and other slick features. Love the push button hand break...

That's a nice feature. The electric steering is much to light and has very little road feel IMO. With a sticker price of over $60,000 it's not for me. I did take a few pictures along with my M Roadster:

ksher · Post by **ksher** » Thu May 07, 2009 7:17 pm

Was it the car that you tried? Even the standard 17" wheels look okay. How was the handling with smaller wheels? Did the car have Adaptive M Sport Suspension?

WLH · Post by **WLH** » Thu May 07, 2009 8:27 pm

The car I drove was the one you see in the pictures. It did not have the M suspension. It is the 30i model with 17 inch wheels. They also have the 35i model on the show room floor but as they know I am not in the market to buy I did not want to ask them to let me drive it. The performance of the 30i seem to be a bit less that that of my previous Z4 which was a 3.0si. Did I mention the steering did not have a very good feel to it...

However, there is a lot to like about the car and the target market is not current Z4 owners for the most part or so I was told. If down the road there is an "M" version of this car it could be quite interesting but very expensive for sure...

jimzchick · Post by **jimzchick** » Thu May 07, 2009 8:39 pm

When sp3ctre was in South Africa we went to our biggest motor show and it was very dissapointing not to see a proper BMW stand.

As sp3ctre found out driving a BMW in South Africa is not actually a good thing...

WLH · Post by **WLH** » Thu May 07, 2009 9:03 pm

jimzchick, sounds like there is a story here to be told...

Post by **sp3ctre** » Thu May 07, 2009 9:05 pm

LOL, not really.... judging by the BMW drivers in SA, BMW stands for Bad Mannered w****r!

Post by **sp3ctre** » Thu May 07, 2009 9:08 pm

I am not a fan of the new ~~bonnet~~ hood on the Z4. On the current M it looks like it is bulging because of the huge engine underneath, but on the new one it looks like it is creased coz someone hasn't ironed it properly!

jimzchick · Post by **jimzchick** » Thu May 07, 2009 9:15 pm

WLH , sp3ctre is spot on..

There is also an afrikaans saying...

'Blik Met Wielie' means 'Can with Wheels' and I know I can get into sooooo much trouble for even posting that..(SA ONLY)

South African drivers in general are scary, BMW drivers just exceed all expectations of how bad it can be...

But on a lighter note, I absolutely love the new car.....

cj10jeeper · Post by **cj10jeeper** » Thu May 07, 2009 9:16 pm

Great pics to see the 2 side by side. the first pic makes the back end look so big and heavy compared with new.

Interesting that you make coment that the target market is not existing owners. Over here the UK dealers have made a real play of telephoning Z4 buyers to attend launches, previews, etc. A buddy has one of the first one's, no intention of buying as was called to see and drive it. I was asked to attrend tonight (which I couldn't) and again Saturday, which I may.

Post by **sp3ctre** » Thu May 07, 2009 9:21 pm

I am not a fan of the swap they have done with the heater controls and the stereo. Ok, if you have navigation then you can see things up there, but I want to see the information roughly in my line of site, I dont want to be peeking down below to see the display when I am tear arsing down the road.

Other than that I think it looks ok... it doesnt blow my mind and is nothing ground breaking like the new style SLK was when it came out. BMW playing it safe I think.

WLH · Post by **WLH** » Thu May 07, 2009 9:34 pm

cj10jeeper wrote:Interesting that you make coment that the target market is not existing owners. Over here the UK dealers have made a real play of telephoning Z4 buyers to attend launches, previews, etc.

Yes, I saw in another thread where you had been invited to a demo of the new Z4 and when I was told today that BMW is looking at a different market (Buyer) I thought that was quite interesting.

Two more things that I like...

The red leather of the seats in the demo I drove is a soft leather and IMO quite beautiful...

Also there is an arm rest which was at the right heights for me anyway...

Zed_Steve · Post by **Zed_Steve** » Thu May 07, 2009 9:53 pm

Nice shots you took there

Love the interior on that particular model, from a design angle through to the overall colour scheme. One thing i could live with, seems more subtle. And yes those red leather seats mmmm....

Not convinced overall though, as you mentioned am curious about them saying the new model is not aimed at current Z4 owners. Are we being deserted, or do they have something else lined up for us?

Post by **Wondermike** » Thu May 07, 2009 10:42 pm

Nice pics. Seats don't look very supportive, bet you were glad to get back into your ///M.

WLH · Post by **WLH** » Thu May 07, 2009 11:17 pm

Wondermike wrote:Nice pics. Seats don't look very supportive, bet you were glad to get back into your ///M.

You know as it's not an ///M....

2 Zero · Post by **2 Zero** » Thu May 07, 2009 11:23 pm

Classic case of how to take something good and change it so the masses like it better

Z4-forum.com

Z4-forum.com

First Look At 09 & Comparson Pics

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