New Owner First Impressions

[MattZCars]

So after a day of ownership and about 200 miles I have already found plenty of things to like and a few things to dislike, as well as some things to have a good think about :dizzy: .

I've been looking at the forum for a few weeks as a guest before taking the plunge and buying one, I can now see how much wisdom you guys have accumulated!

Things I like

Engine! Of course! Sounds great, smooth, punchy and even quite economical! For me, so much nicer than a 4 cylinder, however many bits you bolt on to it.....happy with the 2.5, even though it's too weedy for some, for me it's a decent balance for a road car. I have 0 points for the first time in 17 years and I might just be able to keep it that way.....

Roof. Great design & execution. A huge improvement over the Z3.

Gearbox. It has 6 speeds, I like that! See next section for the rest of my thoughts on it.....

Visibility. Much better than I expected. Mirrors are excellent. Driving on the M25 in rain and mist was much easier than I thought it might be.

Handling. I think the handling could be really good but the apalling runflats make it impossible to tell at the moment, their time is already running out!

Steering wheel/column. Adjusts for rake and reach, perfect! So many cars don't....

Rear parking sensors. Parking in the rain...at night...very handy!

Looks. For the most part great. The bit that doesn't work is the front on view where the lines of the headlights and grille just jar with each other. Good thing is you can't see that when you're driving. From all other angles looks good to me 8)

Build quality. For the most part impressive. There's a rattle but I think it's only the wind deflector so should be an easy fix and everything still seems to work as it should!

Things I REALLY don't like :thumbsdown: :x

Runflats! As expected. You guys are all right and how! Before I drove it home I was still thinking....hmmmm are they really as bad as everyone says? They are :!: On poorly surfaced roads I would say they are borderline dangerous. Thankfully I am picking their replacements up as soon as oldgitdave is back from hols!

Headlights. For a modern car, terrible, absolutely terrible. There's really no excuse BMW. I can see uprated bulbs won't make enough difference, so better get ready to raid the piggy bank...

Things that are a bit...meh...

Gearbox. Well documented on here of course, very notchy in 1st & 2nd. and the clutch delay thing, what's that about? You can sort of drive round it but why should you? Ratio's overall seem about right though. Looks like oil change and CDV delete coming...

Seats. Not comfy for me but I expected that, I have a degenerative back condition so I'm going to try replacing with the electrically adjustable ones. If that doesn't work, I guess we're on to M Sport seats....more pain for the piggy bank.... :sos:

Sound system. Not sure exactly what spec I've got, a quick look shows speakers in the footwells and I guess 2 in each door plus the poxy little rears but the rear cubby holes are just that. Oh and a 6 CD changer. It all works but the sound is less than impressive. It's a long time since I've messed around with speakers in a car, but looks like I'll have to do something. I'll do a search here eventually but low priority for now.

Cabin storage. Not the best with some weird shaped nooks and crannies I haven't worked out what to do with yet! And the cupholder thing.... I don't have any and I think I'll save my money for more important things but they could surely have come up with something better...and cheaper? I always have to travel with water so I think I'll just stuff it down the back of the passenger seat!

Hmmm...it seems I've written an essay after owning it a day... better go and have a bit of a lie down....

 

[buzyg]

Once you bin the runflats and get some MSport seats, the other niggles will fade to a distant forgotten memory. :wink:

 

[Marlon]

Very accurate report I must say, you don't have to have a back condition to find the standard sports seats unsupportive. For £15 Orsam Night breakers are an improvement on the standard candles, but I can see why you'd want to replace the headlights

 

[mjennings23]

For seats, if you're after a bit more comfort you can install the M sport/M3 seats from the E46 very easily. They're also much cheaper than the Z4 M sport seats!

Sound system will be the basic 6 speaker one from the sounds of it, both 10 speaker systems have speakers behind the seats instead of cubby holes.

 

[Mr Tidy]

So welcome to the ownership experience!

The gearbox does work better after a fluid change and a change of gear-knob (I've got a ZHP, but there are other options).

CDV is also a huge improvement!

M-Sport seats are just so much better, but used pairs tend to fetch the best part of £1,000! E46 Sport seats, or E46 M3 seats are a much cheaper option.

Cabin storage is very limited, but thankfully my current one has cup-holders! I used to just wedge a bottle behind the driver's seat so I could reach it.

My current one now has a 2nd First Aid Kit box under the driver's seat which works perfectly for my Garmin - it's the same box as fitted to the E46, but you need the bracket too!

I don't often miss the Professional Sound System my 1st one had, because this one has a custom Cat-back exhaust which sounds better!

But I do miss the Bi-Xenons. :laugh:

 

[oldgitdave]

As said above the first aid boxes under both seats add a good amount of storage space for a relatively small outlay.
6 speaker system does not have any speakers in the doors except the tweeters at the top (unless someone has retrofitted them, which I have done with mine ). I took the time to fit sound deadening to the door internals too. A cheap upgrade that makes the doors sound chunkier on closing rather than the tinny sound they have from the factory.
Yep, still on my hols & loving it :icb: :drinkwine: Just a little bit of pop going on here

 

[wonkydonkey]

Welcome! I agree with all of your thoughts

A word of warning about the E46 M3 seats: yes, they're are vastly superior in terms of comfort and support, but they do make you sit considerably higher than the Z4 seats. It might be worth sitting in a Z4 with M3 seats before making your decision. You'd be welcome to try mine (in Somerset).

 

[MattZCars]

Thanks so much for sharing more wisdom , those were just my initial thoughts and I might well see things differently after a few weeks driving....

The M3 seat comments are really helpful.....it was bloody uncomfortable driving 3 hours from Canterbury home so I have to do something soon! A little jaunt to Somerset might be needed, thanks wonkydonkey!

 

[ben g]

Raise the level of the headlamp beam a couple of turns. It works wonderfully

I also fitted some H7 GE sport light ultra bulbs and I'm very happy

 

[wonkydonkey]

The M3 seat comments are really helpful.....it was bloody uncomfortable driving 3 hours from Canterbury home so I have to do something soon! A little jaunt to Somerset might be needed, thanks wonkydonkey!

Yeah just drop me a PM if you want a go in them (and with the 3.0! :wink. I couldn't handle much more than an hour in the standard seats. Evil things!

 

[Darkangelv2]

Agree with nearly all you’ve said. Hence spending loads rectifying nearly every one

 

[Anonymous]

Once warm the gear box is excellent, mine is anyway, it rewards a spirited drive. Fast and precise shifting with a near perfect weight and throw.

Having a ZHP helps as does fresh oil.

 

[Mr Tidy]

I'm currently on my 3rd and 4th BMW with an N52 engine and a 6-speed manual, and no 2 have been the same!

The best was in the E91 I sold earlier this year which had the highest mileage at 132K with full BMW History, so the oil wouldn't have been changed. :?

Thankfully my current Z4 is better than my E90, but as LordOxygen says they are all better when warm.

Good luck with the seats too!

My Compact was a Sport model and the seats were so much better than the "Sport" seats BMW put in Z4s.

Here's a photo:-

 

[MattZCars]

One of the main reasons I bought my Z is to get out in the New Forest and remind myself that I'm still alive! It was a nice evening so time to get the roof down and put a smile on my face

Bloody Brilliant!!

 

[buzyg]

Great Pics. Enjoy the summer.

 

[DSCOFF]

Hey Matt,
Enjoyed reading the feedback on your car.
You mention The New Forest - guess you must live in Hampshire or Dorset?
I’m often in ‘The Forest’, though have a coupé to keep-out the insects...
May finally be ditching my run flats and can’t wait.
+1 on getting a ZHP gear knob.
Enjoy your car!

 

[ben g]

One of the main reasons I bought my Z is to get out in the New Forest and remind myself that I'm still alive! It was a nice evening so time to get the roof down and put a smile on my face

Bloody Brilliant!!

Now that's a nice reflection 8) but those wheels should be banned from being put on a Z4 :lol:

 

[MattZCars]

So welcome to the ownership experience!

The gearbox does work better after a fluid change and a change of gear-knob (I've got a ZHP, but there are other options).

CDV is also a huge improvement!

M-Sport seats are just so much better, but used pairs tend to fetch the best part of £1,000! E46 Sport seats, or E46 M3 seats are a much cheaper option.

Cabin storage is very limited, but thankfully my current one has cup-holders! I used to just wedge a bottle behind the driver's seat so I could reach it.

My current one now has a 2nd First Aid Kit box under the driver's seat which works perfectly for my Garmin - it's the same box as fitted to the E46, but you need the bracket too!

I don't often miss the Professional Sound System my 1st one had, because this one has a custom Cat-back exhaust which sounds better!

But I do miss the Bi-Xenons. :laugh:

Custom cat back exhaust sounds interesting! Did you have it done yourself? Tell me more please!

 

[MattZCars]

Hey Matt,
Enjoyed reading the feedback on your car.
You mention The New Forest - guess you must live in Hampshire or Dorset?
I’m often in ‘The Forest’, though have a coupé to keep-out the insects...
May finally be ditching my run flats and can’t wait.
+1 on getting a ZHP gear knob.
Enjoy your car!

Yep I'm in Lymington. The 40 mph limit is a complete PITA sometimes, but still nice to cruise around a bit on a sunny day or even a clear night! I remember when I was in the Uni motor club back in the 80's a lot of the forest roads were still national speed limit and we regularly did our navigational rallies (we're not racing officer, honest.... :telloff: ) out there. We had a few accidents but a whole lot of fun too! Bit dumb though really with all the animals on the road

 

[MattZCars]

Raise the level of the headlamp beam a couple of turns. It works wonderfully

I also fitted some H7 GE sport light ultra bulbs and I'm very happy

Hi Ben, thanks I'll try that first. They are set a bit low for sure but it has uprated bulbs already (Osram I think they are) and the light output is pretty poor and the beam pattern isn't great either. The lights on my Mondeo 2.0 Ghia X Auto (old git special if ever there was one!) were 10x better. It's such a basic thing it amazes me that BMW have signed off something so poor. More tinkering and driving round the forest at night :roll: