My car was ordered with three optional packs included; Technology Package, Comfort Package and Visibility Package. The Head-Up Display, Comfort Access, Adaptive LED Headlights and Wind Deflector can all be thoroughly recommended. However, I feel that the Harman/Kardon sound system in this car is not nearly as good as it was in two other previous BMW’s that I owned. It just lacks detail, struggles to achieve decent volume and lacks overall presence. The standard BMW sound system is probably adequate for most owners.
The inside of the car is nothing short of luxurious. One other forum member complained of the lack of seat adjustment and overall comfort but I must say that I find the Vernasca leather seats to be extremely comfortable and easy to live with. The new iDrive version 7 system is way ahead of previous versions with lots of nice usable technology to assist the driving experience.
Now to the engine and driving dynamics. First of all, the B58 engine is absolutely amazing. It sounds fantastic and is extremely smooth. Frightened a few of my neighbours the other day when I went past them in my estate. Reminds me of a super smooth turbine that revs effortlessly. In Sport mode it responds with the slightest touch on the loud pedal, although I am still taking it easy since it still has another 900 miles or so to go before it is run-in. I will post another review later once I get to open it up properly.
Some other reviewers have mentioned that the M40i is a bit nose heavy, particularly when compared to its cheaper sibling, the sDrive 20i, which I have also driven on an extended test drive a couple of weeks ago. To be fair, the extra weight does make the M40i a little less nimble than the sDrive 20i, but that is down to the much heavier B58 engine. For me, I can sacrifice a bit of front end feel and nimbleness to have the B58 engine’s thump in the back power and that fabulous sound track.
One problem I experienced was a stone got trapped between one of the rear wheels brake disc and protective shield. Sounded horrendous so I headed straight to the dealer to have it checked out. No visible damage done, thank goodness. Apparently, the gap between the brake disc and shield is very small on the new Z4 and this could lead to a recurring problem on this model. My local dealer had the same thing happen to another M40i driver last week and there are only two of us at the moment. One thing I should point out is that the tyres throw up a lot of stones even on regular road surfaces. I don’t know if it is a lack of sound insulation in the wheel arches or if this is a characteristic of the Michelin Pilot Super Sport tyres.
I mentioned in a previous review of the sDrive 20i that the M Sport brakes were absolutely incredible. Very powerful and efficient with little effort on the brake pedal. The M40i is no different, even with the extra front end weight.
Fuel consumption; over the first 100 miles I could only manage about 25 mpg and that was driving the car pretty easily on a mixture of local and open roads. Now that the engine is starting to loosen up a bit I am managing around 30 mpg without pushing the car too hard. I expect to achieve the BMW published figure of around 32-33 mpg once the car is fully run-in with a mixture of driving styles.
Well that’s all I have to report at the moment. As I said earlier I will keep the forum updated on how the car performs over time.
