MY THOUGHTS ON THE Z4

N

neo-ninja

Member
HI all,

Soooo finally I got to test drive a z4 at BMW today and here are my thoughts........

Firstly getting in I was surprised at how cosy yet spacious it was at the same time, a very odd feeling. I also found that it felt very sturdy and well made... unlike my Smart roadster which although I love, due to it only weighing 700kgs everything feels very plastically, and hence very light where as in the BMW.

I think pictures of the interiors do not do them justice, this one had no sat nav however it still looked smart and clever inside. and classy...

The seats were the sports seats and had electronic controls, and were amazingly comfy and held you perfectly.

The cockpit view is amazing, unlike my roadster you can see so much out the front and back, and the view over the long bonnet is incredible

I loved the feel of the pedals, very similar to my roadster, and the position of the gear stick was perfect, and meant you could rest your arm easily and with the slightest movement change gear!

The roof also seemed to have good build quality and didn’t seem too cheaply made, and didn’t seem to distort as is often the case with soft tops.

Boot space is incredibly impressive, as well! Easily enough space for all the shopping a two seater needs to carry!

The only thing I was disappointed about, was the speed...admittedly this was only the 2.0 (I was only testing it to get a feel for the car, as I am after the 2.5) but it just felt well ....slow even though on paper it is much quicker then my Smart roadster, because in the smart you are so close to the ground when the turbo kicks in you really feel very very quick (although your not actually going that quick!) but I just didn’t really feel much oommmph when I put my foot flat down in low gears.... so for me it has to be a bigger engine...

But all in all I have to say I loved it!
 
Hey ninjya, just wrote my impression on the zed myself. I bought mine 10 days ago but not done a proper run till today :oops:

As my previous was a mini (dont get me wrong I still think the car is a fun run around), Zed feels sooooo muc quicker. I love burning the poxy MGs off, especially out of corner/begining of motor way. My missus wont let me speed too much as I had license taken away several years ago :P

So what do you say? You getting one?
 
Its definaly a strong maybe for me at the moment, the only reason i am holding off is the whole..."do i need to get a new car?" lol but im slowly persuading myself!

Also the other thing, is im reluctant to spend 20% extra on what they were a few months back...however that said i recon i will wait until the frosts kick in like many have said on this forum (although BMW claim that the prices wont change at all but they are bound to say that i guess!)

I thinkn more importantly im building up a picture of the car i want..
 
I think you are right to waite till the new year when post xmas blues & frost kicks in. I had to get a new car as my old mini was due an MOT which I knew it will fail without having few things fixed.

Dont believe a word of what the BMW stealers says! Mind you mine at park lane gave me a decent deal (well, I think) as the salesman told me the group actually sells more BMW in a year then all of ireland put together in a year, and therefore looking for a quick turn over. Not sure if this is true but the price was good for middle of Sep and their service was decent.

Which cars are you looking at? I was impressed with both Scirocco & Golf mk VI but VW's asking price bit too much (especially as their standard option list is not as good) compared to 3 litre Zed with AUC and low milage. I heard 350z's price has dropped now and that might be a good bet but I just fancied the Zed more :thumbsup:
 
the 2.5 engine will help, the straight six makes a lovely noise which will help with the feeling of speed, and obviously it has more power.

well i dont think the prices will drop to where they did, i bought in February, recession was kicking in and everyone was worried about money/fuel/running costs, since then prices came back plus the summer bumps up the roadsters a bit. i dont see the prices dropping 20%, but buy in winter if your going private.
 
Glad you enjoyed your test drive they are a great car even at low speeds just feel special :D

Bought mine at Park Lane back in Jan 08 and they are cheaper than most around london and kent as they have a large turn over of stock when i was looking most Stealers had around 6 Z4s in stock but Park Lane had 24 :o plus some M roadsters.

Payed around £1500 less than i would have at local stealers

Dont know if insurance is a prob for you but test drive a 3.0 very nice.

Do not rush into the first car you see i hung on for 6 months and got the exact car i wanted plus more.
 
Can I polItely suggest, in defence of the beleagured 2.0, that getting it out of first gear might have been a good idea? LMAO :D

But seriously, even at this level we're talking about a multivalve two litre engine (slightly tweaked from that in the heavier 320) in a fairly light body that takes it to almost 140mph.....its not what you drive its how you drive it, and IMHO the 2.0 holds its own - the bigger cars might have it on the straight, but on the bendy bits its just as good....certainly you'd probably lose it before the car did.

just my very 'umble opinion..... :poke:

Good comments above though; don't rush to buy as there are plenty out there to choose from....but see if you can't get a ride in one without a stealer or sales reptile on board so that you can give it some welly..... :thumbsup:
 
I agree with lacroupade. Tried out the 2.0 and 2.5 and apart from the sound of the 6 I didn't reckon there was a huge amount in it. I'd have loved the 3.0 but running three cars and a fleet of motorbikes and having to start from scratch on the insurance..I went for the 2 litre. Thought I'd regret it but I actually like wringing out the best from it and it handles pretty well....just a shame about the sound..
 
I'm not sure the 2.0 is 'belaeguered' as it's a car that can hold it's own. Wootz had little problem over a spirited 200 mile run through Wales in his 2.0 up against a bank of 3's and ///M's, so it can hack it with the rest.

Where you gain is insurance, price, maybe servicing and perhaps on fuel. Downside is it's a 4 and sounds like it. It does lack power for that accelerating overtaking pass, but most of all imho is that the larger engines tend to be way better specced not only from the factory, but by wealthy first owners with wheels, lights, trim level, options, etc, but drop in value real quick in the first couple of years and you end up with a way better spec car for not that much more.

Personally I'd always take an older but better engined and specced model knowing it's likley to have been better invested in and less wragged to get performance. What's most important is to get the car for what you want and need based on age (car and driver) price, use, insurance, etc. but having tried out a few different one's to jusdge for yourself what matters.
 
I completly agree with you CJ from my research online, you seem to get alot more in a 2.5 or 3 model spec wise for not a massive amount more, and infact there are many more 3.0 models with lots for sale cheaper then 2.5 which is annoying as insurance wise a 3.0 is a huge amount more for me...

I going to go test a 350z (although this is a bit more insurance wise) i just fancy giving one ago as they are much cheaper price wise (you can pick up a really nice example for around 10-11k)

All in all i did really enjoy them,

My ideal spec for 10-12k would be:

black/gun metal grey
full leather
2.5
108s or anything but the standards
aluminuim inside
satnav
cruise control
electronic sports seats
heated seats

and i think that is about all that is crucial...
 
cj10jeeper said:
I'm not sure the 2.0 is 'belaeguered' as it's a car that can hold it's own. Wootz had little problem over a spirited 200 mile run through Wales in his 2.0 up against a bank of 3's and ///M's, so it can hack it with the rest.

Where you gain is insurance, price, maybe servicing and perhaps on fuel. Downside is it's a 4 and sounds like it. It does lack power for that accelerating overtaking pass, but most of all imho is that the larger engines tend to be way better specced not only from the factory, but by wealthy first owners with wheels, lights, trim level, options, etc, but drop in value real quick in the first couple of years and you end up with a way better spec car for not that much more.

Personally I'd always take an older but better engined and specced model knowing it's likley to have been better invested in and less wragged to get performance. What's most important is to get the car for what you want and need based on age (car and driver) price, use, insurance, etc. but having tried out a few different one's to jusdge for yourself what matters.
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Yepyep agree there...
Tbh id love to have a 3.0 or 3.2...but tbh...i never need that extra power even tho its nice to have it...
on the motorway i dont need more than 150 bhp to cruise at legal speeds...you can manage that in a 1.2 :wink:
in town you never race it round...because u'd be goin over 30 within a second..so no need...
And yeah its manageable to keep up in country roads when out with bigger engined cars..you might need to work harder..but part of the fun is putting effort in..and i felt if i had gone much faster...it would have ended horribly after 24 hours of ownership..
so yeahh the 2.0 isnt much...but its enough :D

off on tangents once again...good luck finding ur car tho dude!
 
HI all,

quick question what is this option? SOrry for beeing a noob, but what difference does it make?

Sequential Sport Gearbox
 
Woots said:
Yepyep agree there...
Tbh id love to have a 3.0 or 3.2...but tbh...i never need that extra power even tho its nice to have it...
on the motorway i dont need more than 150 bhp to cruise at legal speeds...you can manage that in a 1.2 :wink:
in town you never race it round...because u'd be goin over 30 within a second..so no need...
And yeah its manageable to keep up in country roads when out with bigger engined cars..you might need to work harder..but part of the fun is putting effort in..and i felt if i had gone much faster...it would have ended horribly after 24 hours of ownership..
so yeahh the 2.0 isnt much...but its enough :D

off on tangents once again...good luck finding ur car tho dude!
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Gotto agree with Wootsy here. I've got a 3.0 but to my untrained hands it feels like I've not got enough skills to get the best out of it. And my day-day commuting sooo doesn't need all that power.

But, and this is a big but, the pure roar of the straight 6 and knowing the amount of power (dont laugh ///m owners) I have at my disposal puts smile on my face. And that is even when I'm getting to work at 8am, stuck in a horrible traffic with 3 busses and taxi cutting in or when I curse myself getting out of tight corner as I cant see whats coming around the bend because of the huge blind spot the zed has.

Yes, I do love my zed :D
 
Im mostly just jealous of the sound you guys will enjoy...but tbh the 2.0 doesnt sound all that baaad...better than my 116i did anyways :lol:
 
Woots, why have you not had to serve your stint driving a Fiesta/Corsa/Clio of fail? You clearly earn too much money!
 
My missus has 118d and its so quiet it might as well be an electric car. Mind you I dont think she understands the pleasure of listening to engine rev :)

I never test drove the roadstar so not tried the 2.0/2.5i, must listen out if I get to goto the meet
 
Spud said:
Woots, why have you not had to serve your stint driving a Fiesta/Corsa/Clio of fail? You clearly earn too much money!
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Oi!!
My first car was 1.2 grande punto...ive done my time :lol:
Although tbh that punto was hottt!! Go faster stripes and everything!! 0-60 in roughly 3.5 secs with those bad boys on!
 
RX-78 said:
My missus has 118d and its so quiet it might as well be an electric car. Mind you I dont think she understands the pleasure of listening to engine rev :)

I never test drove the roadstar so not tried the 2.0/2.5i, must listen out if I get to goto the meet
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Liverpool isnt too far from me....u ll hafta head into wales soon.. :wink:
 
Aye, before the average speed mobile camera kicks in :thumbsdown: Will look out for you if I'm heading towards that way

I actually had a nightmare last night where all our cars are electronically tagged and monitored using satellite and average speed worked out every time you start/stopped engine and automatically fined if it ever goes >70mph :cry:
 
neo-ninja said:
HI all,

quick question what is this option? SOrry for beeing a noob, but what difference does it make?

Sequential Sport Gearbox
Click to expand...
A few people on here have it, it's the same as the SMG fitted to the E36 M3, TBH getting a bit long in the tooth now. People who have it generally tend to love it, and everyone else slags it off :)

http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3666
 
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