Southwest - the dead zone . . . .

L

liffy99

Member
Well, I'm really want to move on from my old Mk1 TT now. Anyone gone to a Z4C from one of those ? Impressions ?

I've tried an early Z4R and, nice as it was, there wasn't enough stowage space to make it practical for me (daily driver at 20k miles a year). I also missed the mid range turbo torque, and the build quality to be honest, of the (remapped) TT.

So thinking of a later coupe (2006+) hoping they are more practical / roomier / a bit more powerful, and refined enough for a lot of traveling (all my miles tend to be 50-150 mile trips down a mixture of roads - I rarely get stuck in much traffic and live in the sticks). So my cars have relatively easy lives and I always seem to do well on mpg accordingly.

Anyone have a view on how they might compare to a TT ? I don't know what it is about the SW but it's an absolute desert when it comes to buying cars - everything is miles away so I've not even found a coupe to try yet (the black one in Devon at £15k is already sold on Pistonheads).

Even been looking at E46 M3s but that's a heart and head battle - great fun, tremendous urge at the top end and love the seats (are those in the Z4C the same ?) but beginning to get old now and the couple I've seen are showing signs of rust at 7 years old (a problem I thought I'd left behind after several years of galvanised VAG cars). And of course there is the small matter of more tax, insurance and running costs which I guess would add at least £1500 a year to a Z43.0i Sport.
 
Z4R and Z4C have identical performance statistics, so what would you expect more from a Z4C?
 
liffy99 said:
About another 35bhp (change of engine from earlier 231bhp in roadster to 265bhp in coupe).
Click to expand...


That increase isn't because it's a coupe over a roadster, rather a 3.0Si over a 3.0
 
Why don't you try a car sourcing agent to find the right spec for you? Try Ashley at Palmdale (palmdale.co.uk) or Jeremy at WR Autos (wrautos.co.uk). Both seem like nice guys when I spoke to them about finding a z coupe (before I completely changed my mind and got an MR!). Both offer to find the right car and save you money...

Get a test drive in a zed to check it's the right car for you and then give one of them a ring, they are very helpful on guiding a purchase. Coupes are rare full stop so you may need to travel in order to arrange a test drive but if you don't want to go entirely on their word at least these guys can find the car and check it over before you do.
 
liffy99 said:
Well, I'm really want to move on from my old Mk1 TT now. Anyone gone to a Z4C from one of those ? Impressions ?

I've tried an early Z4R and, nice as it was, there wasn't enough stowage space to make it practical for me (daily driver at 20k miles a year). I also missed the mid range turbo torque, and the build quality to be honest, of the (remapped) TT.

So thinking of a later coupe (2006+) hoping they are more practical / roomier / a bit more powerful, and refined enough for a lot of traveling (all my miles tend to be 50-150 mile trips down a mixture of roads - I rarely get stuck in much traffic and live in the sticks). So my cars have relatively easy lives and I always seem to do well on mpg accordingly.

Anyone have a view on how they might compare to a TT ? I don't know what it is about the SW but it's an absolute desert when it comes to buying cars - everything is miles away so I've not even found a coupe to try yet (the black one in Devon at £15k is already sold on Pistonheads).

Even been looking at E46 M3s but that's a heart and head battle - great fun, tremendous urge at the top end and love the seats (are those in the Z4C the same ?) but beginning to get old now and the couple I've seen are showing signs of rust at 7 years old (a problem I thought I'd left behind after several years of galvanised VAG cars). And of course there is the small matter of more tax, insurance and running costs which I guess would add at least £1500 a year to a Z43.0i Sport.
Click to expand...

Perhaps the best option is to satisfy yourself what you want the car for and then go from there. A 2 seater sports styled car will never have the space or luggage room of a 4 seater (E46 M3) - make this decision and then start looking at the options. If your not happy with the build qualitry of the Zed than I would suggest it's not for you.
 
I went from a Mk I 225bhp TT coupe to an ///MC. The Z4 is everything I had hoped the TT would be (and wasn't). They are completely different cars.
The TT certainly does pull well once it gets going, but show it a corner or ask it to stop, and it will reveal its true self. The handling is vague and plagued by understeer, and made more so by the ever-intrusive stability control.

Whilst the TT's overall performance is very reasonable on paper, mine failed to ever raise my heart rate, except in anger and frustration - I owned mine for five years and 70,000 miles, and it was the most unreliable car I have ever driven.

The Z4C is a car which has enormous presence, more so I think than the roadster. It is a car in which two people and their luggage can cross continents in fatigue-free comfort. Yet it is one which can round a bend on a track sideways, smoking the rear tyres, testing your skills to their very limit.

I thought about a Cayman S when looking for my ///MC. I realised that when driven to the limit, whilst a TT would never harm me, and a Cayman would always flatter me, the ///MC was like a wild animal - if ever I dared to over-step the line, snarling, it would bite off my head. I was sold from the very first moment I saw it, heard it, and felt the relentless, screaming acceleration.

For me the Z4C is a car that can do everything. I have used mine as a daily driver, a continental cruiser, a car for nights out in town, a weekend toy, and a track car for over a year, and loved every second.

Currently, I change hospitals each year, and relunctantly I have bought a 320d for travelling to work for the next twelve months. Not because the Z isn't up to the task, but simply to avoid loading 25,000 additional commuting miles onto a car which I plan to keep.

My TT was used mainly for motorway cruising and as a means of consuming vast quantities of my hard-earned cash simply to keep it going. It did each of these very well, but it never excited me unless I was absolutely flat out. The ///MC excites me every time I sit behind the wheel.

I've never driven an M3, but I was passenger in one a few years ago and it was nothing in comparison with the Z. The cosmetics of the interior finish of the TT render it an extremely pleasant place to be (even when waiting for yet another RAC patrolman), and BMW could learn a great deal from Audi on this front. However, you sit on a seat in the TT (and M3). In the Z you are swallowed, integrated into the car.

I've owned two Westfields over the last seven years, and nothing I've driven on the road ever has come close to the sheer sensory experience of driving a Seven. Until now.

You can buy a good ///MC for similar money to a 3.0 Z4C, and for me there would only be one choice. Before you consider a test drive in the ///MC though, I'd do all of your "head-thinking" because your heart will struggle to let you walk away!

Sorry, bit of a rant I know, but I was rather disappointed by my TT, and I do love my Z :oops:
 
i had a TT225C. The dream turned into a nightmare, a shame because i wanted one since the day i saw the original concept car sketch. in fact it was so bad i thought about naming the local dealership on the V5 because they had it more than me !

The z4 is the longest i have kept a car, being almost 3 years and it has never got boring, the noise alone is worth having over the tt ! you wont regret it. And the z4 has been without fault and its my daily driver.
 
easty027 said:
in fact it was so bad i thought about naming the local dealership on the V5 because they had it more than me !
Click to expand...

That is funny :rofl:
 
Thanks BMWZFC - a great reflection.
Sorry to hear of your disappointment with your TT - I've had mine for over 60000 largely trouble free miles and is still running really well at 140000 ! I find it fun for the most part (remap, sports suspension, uprated arbs and brakes etc etc) but largely in the middle of the rev range which is where it is best - it's just not in the same league at really high revs / speeds, or on fast sweeping bends as the M3 or even S4 (Modded) I've tried. So maybe time to move from the security of (sort of) 4 wheel drive . . . .. then again I was laughing last winter whizzing up snow covered hills past big BMWs spinning their rears !

So it looks like I need to find some cars to look at. I've noticed the price of an M is almost down to 3.0si levels (and the insurance is only £100 more) and they are very tempting - especially as they have a few standard options that I might struggle to get on an si. I guess I'd need to be prepared for some hefty service and tax bills though. I think it is time to let my heart win out for a change.

Only concern is that sitting reading the BMW Car review they may be a bit too raw for med-long distance commuting (typical run might be Glastonbury to Bournemouth / Barnstaple / Exeter etc en route to various bastions of the NHS). I'll have to see.

The hunt is on . . . .
 
(typical run might be Glastonbury to Bournemouth / Barnstaple / Exeter etc en route to various bastions of the NHS
Click to expand...
another slave to the NHS joining the Z4 club :thumbsup: welcome! and good luck with the hunt!
 
I also had a TT225C. I really enjoyed that car whilst I had it. Unlike BMWZ4C & easty027 I found it to be very reliable. That said, it is no comparison to the Z4C I currently drive. The only potential downside of the zed will be the lack of 4 wheel drive come winter - other than that the zed wins in every other aspect :thumbsup:

Do it liffy99 - you will not be dissapointed :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom