Z4 M40i Test Drive Impressions

[gwatson]

Evening all,

Long term member here, but sold my E89 30i 18 months ago after buying a Jaguar F-Type V6S 2 years ago. Also had a Z4M and ESS supercharged E85 3.0i.

The M40i has intrigued me and the looks are certainly growing on me. I'm not ready to replace the F-Type yet, but had always planned to "upgrade" to the V8 model next year, however prices have rocketed and the gap is now too big to consider. I'd be looking at putting in £30k in to get a V8 AWD facelift model. Whilst I absolutely love the F-type, most entertaining car I've had by far, I simply can't justify the money (or afford it) without PCP, which I'm personally against.

So, I was away for a few days and there was a M40i for sale nearby so arranged a test drive. The car itself is for sale at Harry Fairbairn Kirkcaldy £43.5, 7k miles and ALL the options I'd want (tech and comfort package) in the gorgeous SFR. Only downside was the cream interior.

I only managed a 15 minute test drive due to time constraints, plus it was pouring down. So what did I think:

Performance- There's no escaping it's bloody fast!! No way does that car only have 330bhp, but that's well documented. Faster than my F-Type for sure. I've never had a turbocharged petrol car before, but the pick-up was excellent, very little lag in sport mode. Didn't keep an eye on red line, but seemed to run out of puff at around 6500rpm.

Gearbox - Of course it has the very familiar ZF8 box, have this in the F-type and my 530d. Definitely a different tune to the Jaguar, seemed a little slow to respond on the paddles (car in sport and knocked over into manual mode) and doesn't have the mechanical feeling\thump the F-type has (more like a DCT box), but it very smooth, much smoother than the Jag which is a good and bad thing depending on your mission.

Exhaust - Very quiet with the roof up, much much better down, nice little turbo noises. Absolutely love the burbles, much better than the obnoxious\anti-social noises the Jag makes on the overrun, but disappointing when flooring it. That said, I've definitely been spoilt with the F-type, that's it's party piece. Fake speaker sound wasn't as bad as I expected. Doesn't sound as deep as I was used to with my previous straight 6's. For me it would 100% need an aftermarket exhaust and they're certainly not cheap.

Ride - Wow, probably the biggest surprise of the car which I wasn't expecting. Even in sport the ride is very compliant, massive improvement on the two previous two versions (even with run flat replaced). Car was running super sport tyres. Couldn't really push the car in the conditions to see how it handles on the limit, but felt very sharp, light on it's feet and lots of grip even in the rain.

Interior - Very nice place to be. I'm not one for gadgets or toys in a weekend car and can't help but fear the interior will date very quickly with the digital dash. Also, seats didn't feel very supportive. Tried to play around with the settings, all I got was a very uncomfortable lumbar feel, but I'm sure that's just a lack of familiarisation and easily sorted with finding the correct bolster settings. Heated steering is amazing. Boot is huge! Heads-up was an annoyance, but appreciate those with it would never go back, but not my thing. To be fair, seeing your speed is handy, but no need for rev counter and constantly being reminded when you breach the speed limit, hope that can be turned off!

Exterior - Vey subjective, as is all of the above I guess, but as I indicated above it's really growing on me. Not as classy as the F-type, but I like it. Until I saw both yesterday, I would always have gone with Misano blue if ordering new. But I actually much prefer SFR now seeing the two side by side. Worried Misano blue will age very quickly and go out of fashion in a few year. So SFR for me, but would need to get the brake callipers colour coded, standout like a sore thumb behind the lovely wheels.

Conclusion - Unless something drastic happens with F-type V8 prices, I think the M40i will be a great replacement for the F-type in a couple of years old, mine is now 8 years old. The Jaguar is definitely the more special car (but different budgets new). Not just to look at, but the overall driving experience, every drive is an event. Whilst the Z4 is quicker probably and more dynamic, the F-Type puts a smile on your face like no other car I've owned. So for the M40i, prices need to drop to around £35k which will allow for a few modifications to complete the package and turn it into a weekend toy.

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[Mr Tidy]

That's an interesting comparison!

And while I'll probably get flamed for this I think the F-Type looks better than the G29.

Plus the V6S was offered with a manual gearbox, although if I was looking for an F-Type it would have to be a Coupe.

[BrianD]

I am really pleased with mine, the engine sounds lovely and is more free revving once the mileage had turned 11K. There are options in iDrive to customise what is displayed in the HUD including turning off the warnings when the speed limit is exceeded.

[Argyll Andy]

Evening, I had mine for a day for test driving and managed to put it through its paces properly thanks to a 2/3 hr test route provided by Swiftly

The weather was mixed but my immediate impression was about how planted and sure footed it felt compared to the 35iS.

My thoughts are also that there’s no way the official BHP is correct for this. Acceleration and overtaking are amazing. The SuperSports are absolutely fantastic in the dry, a bit iffy in the wet until they get up to temp and then are great. They are wearing quite quickly right enough. In the dry with the LSD it catapults a you out of the corners. It just digs in. One thing I keep hearing from forum members who have travelled behind me on runs is how flat it sits and how quickly and smoothly it powers out of corners.

I thought the engine/exhaust was a bit quiet from inside the car but again, on another forum run recently, at a lunch stop someone came up to me and said they loved the sound of my car while travelling behind me, especially when on full throttle in sports mode. Like Brian says it is changing as the miles are going on. Mine now has 4K in it.

Ride and comfort are amazing, seats are one of the main bonus points, maybe you just need more time to play about with the settings??

Love the HUD but again as Brian says can be configured, mine doesn’t show the revs and I find the speed warnings helpful

We were torn between Blue and Red and out of the two chose Blue but colour is a very personal preference, what works for one doesn’t for the other

All in all, absolutely delighted with ours and will replace it with another one when it’s 2 yrs old. Also the bonus of an article posted on here saying there’s an Lci on the way which means they’re making them for another while yet

[Viper77]

I bought a white 2021 Z4 m40i about two months ago. My three previous cars were a 2014 F-type V8, a 2016 F-Type V8 AWD and a 2020 F-Type Dynamic R coupe.

I'll admit that the F-Type looked better and I miss the AWD, but otherwise, I'm quite happy. The first two F-Types were white convertibles, but I was never too fond of the V-8's - they felt like an American muscle car. I liked driving the Dynamic R better, but after fifteen roadsters in a row, I hated the top. I thought I would get used to it, but it never happened.

The Z4 is smaller, lighter, handles better, and is faster than the Jaguar V-6, and I think the ride in sport or sport plus is about the same as the F-Type in dynamic.

[Ian J]

Ride - Wow, probably the biggest surprise of the car which I wasn't expecting. Even in sport the ride is very compliant, massive improvement on the two previous two versions (even with run flat replaced).

We used to have an E85 years ago which I hated due to the poor ride on anything other than perfect surfaces and after a while we part exchanged it for a Boxster which was far, far better.

I swore that I would never buy another Z4 but having read road tests that stated how much the ride quality had improved I succumbed to temptation and bought a G29 but only the 2.0i as at my age I'm done with haring around and tend to drive more sedately nowadays.

The road tests were correct and the ride has been improved enormously

[B21]

Several people have made the anecdotal observation that the stock EU G29 M40i feels quicker than the 335bhp 500nm manufacturer figures suggest…

I use these guys on a regular basis and there dyno figures match very closely the manufacturers figures normally..

You can see from this graph that most B58 engines as fitted to the G29 exceed the book figures..

So rather than 335/500 they seem to do 350/530 which is not a lot but a bit more, plus the ZF8HP box is blended with that engine in a pretty perfect match..choosing the best gear for the situation, much better than the 35i DCT box.

So my stock 35is did 347/506 but with a more rapidly declining torque curve. If you came from a stock 35i the impact would be even more marked..in addition for the 35is you have to fully depress the throttle to get that torque figure so for everyday road based driving all those points to a feeling that the M40i is quicker than a 35is and much more so a 35i..

[buzyg]

Nice right up and pictures.

[gwatson]

Good to hear you're all enjoying you M40i's, your feedback certainly sounds positive. Especially Vipper77 who has owned both and like you I couldn't go back to a coupe\tin top, convertible is just so much more fun and brings an extra dimension to the driving experience, even a slow cruise is fun.

I'll try and arrange a longer test drive when the time to change comes, whenever that may be. In the meantime, will keep an eye on prices.

Will be interesting to see if they change the front bumper on the LCI and introduce a few different colours.

[Scubaregs]

Is the suspension or set up different on the M40i cars than on the 30 and 20i?

[gwatson]

Is the suspension or set up different on the M40i cars than on the 30 and 20i?

Guess it'll have different spring rates and damper tune given it's a heavier car.

Does the 20i and 30i have adaptive suspension? If not, suspect that will be the biggest difference.

[Argyll Andy]

Is the suspension or set up different on the M40i cars than on the 30 and 20i?

You can select a pack on the 20/30i’s for £1975 that effectively gives you the same set up as the M40i. I think it also gives you an LSD nut that may be a different option.

[B21]

Sadly becoming au fait with G29s.. so the 30 MSport can be configured with a LSD, but not the 20 version..

M SPORT DIFFERENTIAL
M Sport Differential improves traction, agility, stability and driving behaviour depending on the driving situation and road surface conditions. Comfort is assured thanks to smooth transitions even with sudden steering movements. When it comes to traction, more torque is directed to the wheel with better grip which enables better pulling-away as well as cornering. M Sport Differential also enables higher lateral acceleration and driving dynamics potential and improves cornering ability of the vehicle. Stable and smooth load change behaviour improves stability thanks to targeted dynamic damping (counteracting undesirable yaw movements of the vehicle). Additional functions include a change of setup depending on the Drive Performance Control switch (for example, more dynamic/agile driving behaviour is achieved in Sport mode), Dynamic Traction Control (DTC)/Dynamic Stability Control (DSC)-off mode, detection of wheels with different rolling circumferences (for example, inflation pressure, tread depth) and corresponding response plus detection of wheel drift (DSC)-off and response with maximum locking torque. M Sport Differential can be opened, for example, to ensure optimum wheel slip control performance (ABS).

Standard on the M40i model. Only available on the sDrive 30i M Sport model with the M Sport Plus Pack.

Adaptive dampers available for the masses!

M ADAPTIVE SUSPENSION
The M Adaptive suspension further increases the vehicle's dynamic potential. The driver can adjust the driving characteristics via Drive Performance Control to enable whichever driving style is most appealing at the time – from comfortable to extremely athletic. It consists of adaptive damper control with lowering of 10mm and automatic ride height adjustment depending on vehicle load. It includes a sporty setup of elasto/kinematics (stiffer bearings, higher camber angle, body struts for increased rigidity) and, in addition to the optional M Sport suspension, electronically controlled variable dampers on both axles with wheel-specific control.

Standard on the M40i model. Only available as part of the M Sport Plus Pack.

Interesting (to me) that the adaptive suspension also changes the camber angles..that will part of the change in feel as well as 'better' steering linkage bushes..

[Scubaregs]

Argyll Andy, Makes sense. Had mine in sport+ last week and the handling is miles off the 718 Boxster. Luckily, as Lynn hates going fast in bends, I didn't buy it for the handling.

[john-e89]

Out of the two gearboxes I prefer the DCT, sharper and snappier than the slightly sluggish lazy ZF8.