As I raised the question about choice of options, here's (a lengthy list of) what I chose and why, and my initial reactions now I have the car, to help anyone else in a similar position...
Base Model: 35i. I confess this was partly a boyish emotional choice, wanting the fastest Scalextric car in the set, but also I like the higher-ratio gearbox in the 35i and the wider torque band, particularly at lower revs. It makes for more relaxed driving - for example on a motorway at just about any speed in any gear, there is ample acceleration at any point in the rev range without needing to change down a gear to overtake. Plus the overall higher power/torque across the range gives more flexibility around when to change gear in any circumstance (ie I can change up or down at the safest / most convenient moment, rather than having to change early or late to keep the car in a narrow power band). But I suspect all this is probably also true for the other engine choices too!
Manual gearbox because it's a sports car and all sports cars should be manual
, plus I've never driven an automatic I liked, and my left leg isn't ready to be made redundant yet. Plus whereas I don't doubt the DCT is good, I wasn't going to give BMW an extra ~£2000 for something they couldn't provide a test-drive with, despite 6 months of asking.
I didn't go for the M-Sport package because it's a lot of money for cosmetic additions that I don't actually like, I prefer the car without them. (The practical additions are all available as separate options and I did choose those, see below).
Colour: Orion Silver. I wanted a pale colour that wasn't white or silver (and Orion isn't silver, despite its name). Also, Orion goes well with my choice of interior colours. I'm still trying to think of a one-word description of the colour; "bronze" implies something darker and "champagne" sounds too frivolous. Any suggestions?
Interior: Beige leather and ash wood. I wanted a pale interior after years of black seats in cars, but "pure white" was too pale, and I'd worry about keeping it looking good long-term. Didn't go for "extended leather" as the dashtop and doortops look good as standard, not worth spending £1000 just to make them leather. I'm very pleased with the ash wood, it looks better in real life than in the brochure and give a more sumptuous look than the silver plastic/aluminium trim options.
Adaptive Suspension: I was happy enough with the non-adaptive suspension on the car I test-drove, but several comments on this forum convinced me the adaptive setup would be a good thing to have, and as I've bought the Z4 for driving fun I want to be able to set it up properly for the conditions. I was expecting the difference between the three settings to be more pronounced, but in my limited miles/tests so far of changing between the settings, it's quite subtle. I seem to have settled on keeping it in the middle setting 'Sport' by default - which I gather is a bit stiffer than the non-adaptive setup (with 'Normal' being softer than non-adaptive). I've yet to drive the car hard on twisty roads, but some experimental left-right weaving (on an empty road!) suggests that 'sport+' is very pleasingly controlled with minimal roll, without being overly harsh.
Wheels: I've kept the standard 17" 'turbine' wheels, although I think the 18" options are very nice. But reviews (and posts here) that talk about the harsh ride of run-flat tyres, that only gets worse with larger wheel sizes / lower profile tyres, put me off. Also, the wheels are easy to upgrade later on if I change my mind, so not essential to do anything about it now (unlike most other options that are either impossible or ludicrously expensive to retrofit). I was unsure about the turbine wheels from pictures, I'm pleased they look much better for real than I'd been expecting. Also, I don't find the ride too harsh with run-flat tyres; with the adaptive suspension in 'normal' mode it's a nicely cushioned ride, and even 'sport+' doesn't jar in the way other reports had led me to expect (but maybe I just prefer stiffer suspension to most people).
Satnav: this is (like most manufacturers systems) appallingly over-priced and under-featured compared to after-market satnav. But I like it being integrated, it includes lots of other neat stuff through the iDrive, and it's currently free-of-charge, so it's a no-brainer to have this. The traffic information seems to include (some) roadworks, which is good - BMW told me it wouldn't do this when I asked.
Sports Seats: I didn't like the standard seats, and their headrest juts forward too far, I kept irritatingly hitting my head on it. The Sports seats are much more comfortable, and the supportive, adjustable side bolsters are good. Electric adjustment is standard on the 35i, but I'd have probably chosen it anyway having read in just about every review that the manual seat controls are very fiddly (although I'm sure there are plenty of people who find the adjustment easy). Seat heating for year-round top-down driving. Lumbar adjustment because most car seats seem designed for short people and their curvature doesn't match the spines of tall people. Or maybe it's just my spine that's wrong. Either way, the lumbar adjustment lets me get comfy.
Connectivity Package: I'm one of those who agree with RoSPA that all phone use while driving is dangerous, even hands-free, so I was unsure about this one. However it is useful for emergencies and for phone calls while stationary. Plus it's an option that will be expected by a future buyer of the car so useful for resale value. Plus it's a pre-req for the 'connected drive' online stuff, which while not essential sounds like something fun to play with (more boyishness). Plus I definitely wanted the USB audio socket and the (phone) Bluetooth audio. So I ticked this box too.
Comfort Package: I wanted most of the options in this, so it made sense to take the whole package.
- Cruise Control for comfort on long journeys and keeping within the speed limit on slower roads
- Extended lighting is standard in the 35i, but I'd have chosen it anyway, mainly for the puddle-lights in the doors
- Folding door mirrors obviously very useful.
- I liked the idea of the dimming mirrors but am now not so sure. I was being followed one night by a moped with a barely-visible headlamp, then a car with very bright lights behind that. The bright car lights caused my mirrors to dim, to the point where the moped was barely visible. It was quite scary trying to keep track of where the erratically meandering moped was going and which side of me it might have been trying to pass (yes it shouldn't have been doing that, but I still want to be able to avoid him/her if they were to do something reckless). I'd like a manual override for the dimming mirrors; if there is one I haven't found it yet.
- Park Distance Control, others have stated the benefits of this so no need for me to repeat, just to say I agree having now tried it.
- Extended Storage, mainly for the little compartment by the driver's right knee but the rest is useful too. Although I'm a little disappointed by the flimsiness and small size of that driver's-side compartment.
- Wind deflector; I didn't think I'd be too fussed about this, but for top-down motoring on cold days in particular, it makes a massive difference, particularly in terms of keeping the hot air from the heater within the car to warm the occupants.
Adaptive Headlights: I do enough driving down dark twisty roads to want this, assuming they work as well as the brochure claims. My worry is that they won't, but I haven't had a chance to test in detail yet.
High Beam assistant: I ticked this box with the logic that I'd ticked all the others so why not. First impressions aren't great, it doesn't turn the main beam off if you're following another car, so you still have to do it manually to avoid dazzling them from behind. Will have to see how it performs longer term. I've left it turned off at the moment.
Comfort Access: although initially I thought this was an expensive gimmick, it's actually really useful. Within a day I can't imagine going back to a car that doesn't have this.
Through-loading: for skis. Or long planks of wood from B&Q. I do plenty of both, although I have yet to check how well my long skis fit. I was also pleased to discover that if you order both extended-storage and through-loading, they give you the parts for both storage compartments in the rear bulkhead, you can clip-in whichever you want on a particular day (I thought that ordering through-loading would mean I wouldn't have the shelves/cupboard between the seats that you get with extended-storage).
Grey shade band on windscreen. I prefer having this to pulling down the sun visors (being tall the sun visors obscure my line of sight too much so aren't useful).
Steering wheel heating: the best invention ever for convertible cars
DAB radio: this was another "I've ticked all the other boxes so..." choice, but there are a few DAB stations I'll probably listen to occasionally.
Professional speakers: I chose this based on reviews that the standard system isn't good enough, and with the logic that it's not that much more expensive than the Business upgrade so let's go for the full monty. I'm sure one could fit a better after-market system for similar money, but I'm one of those who'd rather keep the car with OEM equipment. Initial reactions are that it's good, but not quite as good as I'd hoped. I still need to play around with all the settings though to fine-tune it.
Voice Control: Just for the fun of trying it.
