Is G29 a worthy upgrade from the E89?

Having owned and run all three generations of the Z4 and over a hundred thousand miles, I absolutely disagree with B21 comment, that the E85 and E89 are alike, absolute tosh. Being one of the early partakers of the e89 in 2010, the amount of negative comments on here around that time, how disappointing it was to drive, being a bit lardy, and designed by women was incredible. It didn't put me off at all and I enjoyed my two years of ownership. My first Z4, a 2.5Si was like a go kart, nippy, nimble, agile, fun but not overly comfortable and whatever you say the e89 isn't any of the first three, it was more grown up and comfortable.

My first M40i was 90% of how the 2.5Si drove and 125% of the e89, practicality and comfort, my second M40i, with a 6MT, is just better than anything that preceded it and I just feel for the rest of you because you'll never get to experience how great it is. It is just like my 2.5Si, just everything dialled up to 13.

As for looks, I like them all and each have their own merits
 
That's interesting, maybe the manual gearbox was a significant factor?

I've no desire to ever own a pram-top or any sort of Auto so my MC works just fine. If I was going to move on to an E89 it would have to be a manual 35i, but a leggy N54 seems to have at least as many issues as a leggy S54!

So if I moved on to the G29 generation I'd be looking for a manual Supra. :rolleyes:
 
100% agree with Sars, I’ve had 5 E85’s, 7 E89’s and a G29. My previous one auto, one manual E85 3.0 si’s were so different from the E89 35i manual and 35is that the only similarity was the badge and for exactly the reasons Sars has said. It’s cobblers to have an opinion on how a car feels and goes unless you’ve had one, looking at them in a mirror on a run then commenting on how they go and stop is frankly ludicrous.
 
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sars said:
Having owned and run all three generations of the Z4 and over a hundred thousand miles, I absolutely disagree with B21 comment, that the E85 and E89 are alike, absolute tosh. Being one of the early partakers of the e89 in 2010, the amount of negative comments on here around that time, how disappointing it was to drive, being a bit lardy, and designed by women was incredible. It didn't put me off at all and I enjoyed my two years of ownership. My first Z4, a 2.5Si was like a go kart, nippy, nimble, agile, fun but not overly comfortable and whatever you say the e89 isn't any of the first three, it was more grown up and comfortable.

My first M40i was 90% of how the 2.5Si drove and 125% of the e89, practicality and comfort, my second M40i, with a 6MT, is just better than anything that preceded it and I just feel for the rest of you because you'll never get to experience how great it is. It is just like my 2.5Si, just everything dialled up to 13.

As for looks, I like them all and each have their own merits
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Who would have thought it would take the only lady on the forum to provide the best post on the subject.
And there was me thinking women were only useful for one thing! I stand corrected. :poke::rofl:
 
I think they are all great for different reasons. I have cars for different purposes. The MC is for “the OMG what have I bought” type car, the E89 is the refined cruiser for holidays (although they are all taken to Spain actually), the M240i for general use with four seats (well it was until I inherited the Fiat). To me, all of the cars have to work on the looks front and be reasonable to drive. All do but I have still to find a BMW that drives as well as some other marques. The reason the G29 didn’t make the cut was that in the scenario above it didn’t have a role. It was too similar to the 240 and wasn’t as pretty (subjective but mine is in Long Beach Blue) nor as practical. But if there were no cars in my garage - and despite the overly styled styling - I would probably have done what SARS said and bought a nearly new one. In fact everytime people mention try a manual I want one! Weird or what?
 
Mr Tidy said:
That's interesting, maybe the manual gearbox was a significant factor?

I've no desire to ever own a pram-top or any sort of Auto so my MC works just fine. If I was going to move on to an E89 it would have to be a manual 35i, but a leggy N54 seems to have at least as many issues as a leggy S54!

So if I moved on to the G29 generation I'd be looking for a manual Supra. :rolleyes:
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Have you sat in a Supra?

They were on my list, visibity is awful, they feel very claustrophobic. The top of the dashboard over the instrument binnacle looks unfinished. The steering wheel looks like it’s out of BMW from about 2010. Someone mentioned ‘Parts bin special’ the G29 isn’t that, but the interior of the Supra feels exactly like that.

My least favourite interior of any of the cars I looked at. Even the Alpine A110 had better visibility and felt more special inside… with some Clio switchgear!

BMW have been building ‘modular’ cars for some time now. That’s not the same as a ‘parts bin special’. Walk into a BMW showroom and the dashboards are nearly all the same, bar some trim colour differences. They’ve all got the same ‘double touch-screen’ that looks like it’s been stuck on. I guess it’s a very cost effective way to make cars; That screen is probably exactly the same part in every car.
 
CliveN said:
I think they are all great for different reasons. I have cars for different purposes. The MC is for “the OMG what have I bought” type car, the E89 is the refined cruiser for holidays (although they are all taken to Spain actually), the M240i for general use with four seats (well it was until I inherited the Fiat). To me, all of the cars have to work on the looks front and be reasonable to drive. All do but I have still to find a BMW that drives as well as some other marques. The reason the G29 didn’t make the cut was that in the scenario above it didn’t have a role. It was too similar to the 240 and wasn’t as pretty (subjective but mine is in Long Beach Blue) nor as practical. But if there were no cars in my garage - and despite the overly styled styling - I would probably have done what SARS said and bought a nearly new one. In fact everytime people mention try a manual I want one! Weird or what?
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I agree with a lot of your sentiment.

However, the Mrs had a 218D sport convertible and the rear seats were not a comfortable place to be, roof up or down. Would have been decent for a dog or a young child not in a car seat, or a short trip for an adult. The roof mechanism was painful, you had to duck to avoid head and neck injuries if you were sat in the back at the point it was raised/lowered.

We did consider an M4 Comp convertible this time around, but the rear seats in that weren’t brilliant either. The roof mechanism was even more woeful and contrived, took something like 22 seconds. Oh, and I felt like I’d need some deck shoes as it was the size of a yacht!
 
Matt.rowley.1990 said:
I think Peter is bang on the money here. It feels like the G29 is the furthest away from what the E85/86 started as and has evolved to be more of an SLK alternative than ever before. Arguably the E89 was going that way but as Peter points out, it shared underpinnings of the cars the E85/86 were based on, even if slightly modified and with a bit of E90.

For me, if I wanted a new convertible, I’d be looking at a 2 or 4 series.
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BMW don’t make a 2 series convertible any more, the 4 series does look good. But is very big and the roof mechanism is painful.
 
True-Blue said:
the 4 series does look good. But is very big and the roof mechanism is painful.
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The roof mechanism (on an F series) is also twice as complicated as an E89, if that is possible. Part of the reason I got shot of mine. I looked at it and just worried how expensive it would be when it went wrong (which it will at some point).
 
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Pondrew said:
Who would have thought it would take the only lady on the forum to provide the best post on the subject.
And there was me thinking women were only useful for one thing! I stand corrected. :poke::rofl:
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I do hope you can duck quickly and your tin hat is up to current regs if not Pondlington….:oops::poke:
 
Pondrew said:
Who would have thought it would take the only lady on the forum to provide the best post on the subject.
And there was me thinking women were only useful for one thing! I stand corrected. :poke::rofl:
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Scubaregs said:
You'd be wrong there mate, we're not in the 50's now you know, my wife can't cook.😕
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Yeah, but I bet bet they can easily make it so you never have sex again, eunuch what I mean :eek:
 
If you want a 2 seater roadster the G29 M40 is pretty good, a comfortable long distance cruiser that can take full luggage, its fast, you can use it as a daily driver if you want, any dealer can service it.
Its not a trackday car, buy a 718 instead

I agree with Sars my 2.5si was a great fun car, not refined like the M40, obviously not as quick but for a 20 yr old design has a character that endures. My wife just loves the G29 top down at every opportunity.
 
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Honestly, I've always felt like the E89 was the red-headed stepchild of the Z4 lineup, and have never really found that it holds much desire for enthusiasts. That's not to say it's a bad car – it's not – but I think it's kind of stuck in a middle-ground. It doesn't have the sports car ethos of the E85, nor the GT-with-muscle feeling that the G29 has. And while I think that the hard top looks nice and would certainly be convenient, that fact that it makes the trunk essentially useless is a huge drawback in my mind. I'd be bummed if I had to take a trip with the top up because that's the only way I could fit our bags in the trunk.

I've always found the styling to be a bit bland, and if I had to rank the generations in terms of looks, it'd be the E85 by a mile, followed by the G29 and then E89. Though obviously not a roadster, to my mind the E86 is an absolute work of art – maybe the best looking car BMW has ever made.

Of course, all of this is completely subjective, and I would never say that anyone who loves the E89 is wrong.
 
javis20 said:
My E89 is in perfect working order and people are constantly stopping me to comment on my car. While I know the G29 is a very good car, I don't see it as being a crowd pleaser. Asking because my wife as been suggesting upgrading.
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Had 3 E89s with various engines and now 2 G29s. Was initially wondering if I had made the right decision to change but so glad I did. My current one gets loads of attention anywhere I go and very happy with everything about this machine.
 
Well, I need to get something out of my system. There is an Alfa 4C for sale about 20 minutes away. I might have a drive out and try it. I'm retired and only put less than 5k miles on my car. Will it be too loud and uncomfortable, we will see. Maybe keep the E89 and add the 4C. Or keep the E89 and get new BMW, but not the G29. I test drove the G29 and everything said is true, but I just don't like the styling.
 
Some upgrade options:

E85 Z4M Roadster
M4 competition convertible
440i Convertible
8 series convertible
6 series convertible

Stretch / Present to yourself- Mercedes AMG GT roadster or BMW M8 Convertible

In my eyes, the G29 is a mess.
I’m sure the manual m40i is better in every way (apart from looks).

The 8 series is a boat, but has a long bonnet. Looks great in person. Pictures don’t do it justice.
 
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