Potential Z4 buyer

B

Bill Badger

New member
I am considering a Z4 as a replacement for our ageing VW Golf GTI. The car will be used by my wife for a 5 mile journey to work, and then by both of us for a fun car at weekends. (I have a company car for work). I have been offered a 3.0 Z4 by a work friend but I haven't seen the car yet, and because the car is 100 miles away I thought it better to look into the prospect of ownership first. To this aim, we looked at a Z4 at a dealer site yesterday and the initial thing for my wife is that she can't see the front of the car from the drivers seat. This is putting her off somewhat, and to some extent I have to agree since it is a huge bonnet. Is it something that is easy to get used to? She needs to be able to swing it round in a multi storey car park (something that the Golf is great for), and she is worried that she will worry about driving it, if you see what I mean......

Your comments are welcome. As a guide, we are looking at the lower price end (about £5k) since we see this as a stepping stone towards her current goal of a BMW 120 coupe or convertible in a few years time. Other candidates are the Audi TT coupe or convertible, which is obviously more like the Golf. A Golf isn't on the list however, but only because she wants a change after 12 years of driving them.

I quite fancied a Z3........
 
Bonnet is big, but not unduly long... (this is sounding like a late night channel 5 chat show now :roll: ). The turning circle is pretty good with these cars, reversing into spaces is a doddle (esp with rear PDC), you may find the spoiler more of a challenge with parking kerbs. Best bet is to test drive one?
 
Dependent on height - Z4 drivers cannot see about an extra foot from where the bonnet looks like, but infact doesn't end.

There is also a blind spot on each of the front corners, maybe half a foot.

Yes you get used to it, but it will take a good few weeks.

I actually bought an aftermarket parking sensor when I first bought mine. But as detailed above I soon got used to the car and so never fitted it.


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I'm 5'5 so also can't see. Got used to my husbands car fairly quickly, loved it so much I have one too now. Have parked in quite a few multistorey car parks. Don't remember a problem and I'm not the most confident parker. Go for it, you'll not regret it
 
Ive got a E89 but have driven a Mates E85 the model you are looking at.
I'm 6ft tall and with the seat all the way down as I like to sit low in the car I cannot see the end of the bonnet. I would actually be amazed if any one here can see the end of they're bonnet as I would have thought there head would be poking out above the screen to do so.
The bonnet only seems very long as you sit almost on top of the rear wheels and its length i got use to very quickly.
Turning circle is very good and dispite the bonnet being long there is very little overhang passed the front wheels so not much risk of swipping something. However I would suggest that how low the car is to the ground could cause the nose to ground when coming back down the multi story ramps. Don't use multi story car parks myself for this reason and the fact that its a recipe to get your car battered by other peoples doors.
 
Welcome to the forum. I'm 5ft 8 and usually drive with the seat in its lowest position. You get used to the bonnet length fairly quick.

With the seat raised to its highest position, it'll help. Just take it easy for the first few weeks, once you're used to it, it'll be fine
 
Adamski said:
Welcome to the forum. I'm 5ft 8 and usually drive with the seat in its lowest position. You get used to the bonnet length fairly quick.

With the seat raised to its highest position, it'll help. Just take it easy for the first few weeks, once you're used to it, it'll be fine
Click to expand...

...same issue here. I can only see the end of the bonnet when I'm standing in front of the car :D
 
No problems here, find it very easy to park the car. You should try the Honda Civic (previous 'space ship' shape) - you can never, ever see the bonnet at all and the rear windscreen is so high you can't see anything behind. The C pillars were similarly massive, so you couldn't see the rear 3/4, I lost entire cars in that area when driving along.

Z4 by comparison is a doddle, and the turning circle is incredible - same as the latest shape Jazz and far superior to a Golf GTI. Only thing to get used to is you're sitting further back, so you turn earlier than you're used to. Also the low driving position makes ordinary driving harder - driving a little supermini I was amazed at how much easier everything is. Basically markings on the road itself are much, much harder to see. You also don't have a commanding view far up the road - even relatively small inclines can dramatically reduce how far you can see (in terms of road - you'll still see a car coming, but you can't see the road to know if it's safe for an overtake).

Basically the Z4 is great fun to drive, but a roadster and therefore has the caveats that entails. The Golf GTI is a family hatchback and has 'ease of use/driving' as a higher priority.
 
The long bonnet is not a problem because the whole car is still short. You can park 2 feet from the kerb stop and the rear is still forward enough you can't find you car parked amidst larger vehicles. It does make parallel parking on the street a bit more challenging.

You can often get by abrupt ramp angles without scraping by approaching the breakover diagonally. Other drivers will roll their eyes, but actually they're just jealous.
 
Hi & Welcome

As stated above, the bonnet is long but doesn't take long to get used to. The turning circle is better than my girlfriends VW Polo! I have used the headlights to help me find the end but only in extreme circumstances...

Good luck with the search...
 
bcworkz said:
The long bonnet is not a problem because the whole car is still short. You can park 2 feet from the kerb stop and the rear is still forward enough you can't find you car parked amidst larger vehicles. It does make parallel parking on the street a bit more challenging.

You can often get by abrupt ramp angles without scraping by approaching the breakover diagonally. Other drivers will roll their eyes, but actually they're just jealous.
Click to expand...

Parking spaces in the UK are much smaller than the states so we don't have that luxury. Most other cars are smaller to, huge SUV's are really rare over here and finding a parking space for one would be a non starter.
 
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