To Ex-Hot Hatch drivers.

B

Breaker

Elite
To Ex-Hot Hatch drivers.

Do you get the same buzz driving your Z4 as you did with your hot hatch?

The reason I ask this is that I am struggling a bit to get the same buzz from my Z4 as I did with my MINI JCW S!! :?

I love the looks of the Z4. Love the engine, the way it performs and I also love the interior..............but when I go out for a spirited drive there is something missing in the experience!!

Strange!! :o
 
Hmmm, I find I'm getting MORE of a buzz compared to my previous cars (in reverse order, Ibiza Cupra TDI. Civic Type R EP3, Clio 172). The Ibiza was a bit dull so I won't mention that, but with the Clio and especially the CTR I found I had to thrash them to get any excitement from them, which more often than not resulted in very illegal/dangerous speeds. The CTR especially was boring at anything below the VTEC point, but was bloody good fun above it. With the Z4, I get the same buzz but without driving like a loony and despite the Z4 being an all-round quicker car than either of my hot hatches :D.
Z4: roof down (which you don't get ;) ), nice surroundings/interior, better soundtrack = better buzz for me :driving:

Is it the extra refinement that could be causing you to be missing something?! There's something to be said about thrashing the arse off a lower-powered car - something like a warm hatch such as the Fiat Panda 100HP - as it means you can drive everywhere flat out without being as dangerous/illegal but still get the buzz...
 
Breaker said:
To Ex-Hot Hatch drivers.

Do you get the same buzz driving your Z4 as you did with your hot hatch?

The reason I ask this is that I am struggling a bit to get the same buzz from my Z4 as I did with my MINI JCW S!! :?

I love the looks of the Z4. Love the engine, the way it performs and I also love the interior..............but when I go out for a spirited drive there is something missing in the experience!!

Strange!! :o
Click to expand...
Its called the ///M engine...... :poke:
 
All I can say is I MISS MY VXR!!!

Good job I still have it to hand when I fancy a spin! I'm not sure I mis the Hatch, I miss the noise from my Exhaust etc...
 
Well my JCW S had 210HP and was a quick car. Also the soundtrack was great! Supercharger whine + the pops and burbles on the over run was great! I can't put my finger on it to be honest. As for a soft top car, I've got my motorbike for that in the open feeling feeling! :P

On reflection I think it may have been just the fact that the MINI was such a great car! Shame they don't do the supercharged one now!
 
senwar said:
Breaker said:
To Ex-Hot Hatch drivers.

Do you get the same buzz driving your Z4 as you did with your hot hatch?

The reason I ask this is that I am struggling a bit to get the same buzz from my Z4 as I did with my MINI JCW S!! :?

I love the looks of the Z4. Love the engine, the way it performs and I also love the interior..............but when I go out for a spirited drive there is something missing in the experience!!

Strange!! :o
Click to expand...
Its called the ///M engine...... :poke:
Click to expand...

Nice try, but even that didn't feel the same as the MINI. Think it was just the way it made you feel you were driving on the edge all the time! I'll tell you what, I had a good run in on some A and B roads with an M3 in that MINI. I think he was surprised I was still with him after a fair few miles!! :P
 
i didnt have a particularly hot hot hatch but as a11y says, you had to drive it on the limit all the time for it to shift, ive just been sorting my old ibiza out before i sold it and was shocked when i put my foot down and nothing happened when compared to my z4, and ive only been driving it just over a week!

that mini is a different beast though, a proper rocket propelled go kart, i dont think much else on the road will give that experience. i cant say they are comparable, as to me the z4 is a much more refined car, where as that mini is a more sports focused model.

i find in the zed a spirited drive is a a much higher speed than in my ibiza, and you dont even realise it until you look at the speedo, on roads i travel a lot ive found i can go through corners at much higher speeds and still be accelerating, this being down to more power & lower/wider car and the fact the zed gives a lot more confidence to me to push on. i think ill have to turn on the annoying speed limit ping on my tom tom as a bit of a reminder to take it easy.
 
Sometimes I think this is the one flaw with performance sports cars...outside of track use, it's nearly impossible to thrash them unless breaking many laws or driving around in 2nd gear. :driving:
 
I get a great buzz from blasting around in the Z4, I had a 330i Sport Touring previously and a Clio 182 before that. With respect to the Clio, it was a completely different buzz, really ringing the engine feeling it come on cam and roaring away like a tuned 4 pot does, with the Z you get that effortless urge of power and torque, together with a much more refined sound track. Hot hatches, especially the smaller ones, like the Mini and Clio 182/172 ultimately feel a bit like go-karts, because they are compact and essentially have a wheel at each corner, a Z is a different proposition.

Sometimes you forget how much fun or how fast the Z is, however through work I get to drive a variety of hire cars on a regular basis which helps to remind me what a great drive the car is. The other weekend when I popped over to the Brecons, on a few ocassions I got stuck behind some slower traffic travelling at approx 35mph on a national speed limit road - now overtaking in second gear really gave me a buzz because on full throttle it's darn quick through the gears!

Ultimately like others have pointed out above the Z is pretty refined which may be blunting your particular experience....
 
Breaker

I can sort of relate to this, my girlfriend has just got a mini cooper s, she has had it for about 3 weeks and i can honestly say that my z has hardly been used since !...one thing i miss with the z that you get with the mini, is a solid feel, like its well planted and screwed together well, my z feels like an airfix kit when i get in it, a bit frail and soft as as for the ride, its really beggining to bug me. Its difficult to describe but i think i am getting a little bored with my Z4 ?.

i hope this passes to be honest, because so far i have enjoyed owning the Z4 :o
 
I've had a couple of the 'old school' hot hatches (Polo G40, Golf GTi, Corrado VR6) and what I've noticed is that I need a lot more power in a heavy RWD car to have the same fun as I did in the FWD ones.

However, I also think a lot of it is due to the revvy engines of most of the little 4-pots we're used to driving. A GTi would sound so fast when you're thrashing it, but you'd realise you're only doing 60mph, you do that in a VR6, 3.8 M5, or 3.2 Z4 and it doesn't feel as fast. I guess it's down to how our brains interpret the noise/scenery/etc.

I still find myself travelling a lot faster in the Z4MC than I did in the M5 or the VR6, as it just gets 'up there' so much quicker and my brain is still working on the 'put your right foot down for 9 seconds and we'l over 70mph. In the Z4MC you'll be doing a good bit more than 70mph for the same amount of 'foot-input'.

I do get a buzz from driving any quick car, but it's not the same buzz! I'd also prefer to do a 200 mile fast road-trip in the M5 or Z4MC than I would in my old GTi or G40. I could take the GTi and G40 for perhaps 60 miles before I'd be knackered.
 
sounds like having a 2nd car in the garage as a toy is the way to go. i know when i have a garage i would buy a 2nd car to use as a bit of fun, something like the mini or a hot fiat 500 would be just the ticket. either that or a caterham style car. i cant see me ever selling my z4, but it will be 4 - 5 years before i even consider owning 2 cars.
 
That's part of the problem though.

A new hot hatch has to be more powerful and faster to give you the same thrills the 20 year old model did.

A new 200bhp Clio is only just about the same fun as an old R5GT. It's the lack of sound-proofing, lack of safety equipment, lack of most things that make the old hot-hatches seem so fast.
 
My car history has always revolved around hot hatches - starting with Pug 205GTi, Mk2 Golf GTi and Renaultsport Clio 172 - all of which I owned for 5 years each and loved them all; then I got my KTM Superduke which made a mockery of all of them speedwise. 0-60 in 2.9 seconds.

So then conpletely the opposite and went and got my Defender which, again I loved as it was a different driving experience.

Then I sold both and got my Z4 and I can only say that it's in a different league to all the boy hatches I've owned... it's a "proper" sportscar, and a £35k (when new) one at that..! No comparison.

I very nearly got a Renaultsport Megane R26 but I'm so glad I didn't. Don't get me wrong it was a great drive, but the Z4 makes me feel a little bit more "special"...
 
Ah - this is a difficult one!

I had a Mini Cooper S for about 5 years - the first brand new car I'd ever bought. After 4 years I had it modded to 220bhp. It was an awesome car and I miss it - not nearly as much as my wife does.

At first the Z4 gave me more thrills from its sheer grunt - it is much much faster that the MCS even after it was modded (and that was silly quick for a mini at that point). I'm now getting more confident with the Z4 and whilst the thrills are different - yes it is as much fun.

However, I have resigned myuself to knowning that in the couple of years I'll be getting a new MCS JCW for my wife; so I'll have to run three cars - but I think its worth it over all! I do miss thrashing that Mini!
 
i can definitely relate with you. the z4 is my second car. my first car which i owned for 8 years was a 91 Golf GTI 16v. that car was incredibly fun to drive. just felt so tossable and like a go-kart and i truly miss that feeling with the z4. i actually sold it to my cousin and was able to drive it again a few weeks ago and let me just say, i get much more of a kick driving that hard then i do the z4. i also feel much more comfortable driving at the limit in that car but that could also be because im more used to it.

dont get me wrong i enjoy the z4 but that Golf just puts a smile on my face everytime i drive it.
 
I love my RWD cars now, ive also got a C2 VTS which is a warm hatch, 0-60 in 8.1 and 125bhp. Not driven it for a while and when i do it just seems worse then it did before i got the Z4, my other car is a mk1 mr2 and is still loads of fun and i love the noise my janspeed system makes at 7.5k rpm, it feels faster then the Z4 but is most prob on par. The Z4 does exactly what i want it to, it feels like the mr2 when pushed has awesome handling and is a nice cruiser for work, doesnt feel like i'm in a race everyday which is what the mr2 feels like. The C2 really needs to be pushed to get anywhere and i dont trust the grip as the feelback is next to nothing.
 
Topshelf said:
Sometimes I think this is the one flaw with performance sports cars...outside of track use, it's nearly impossible to thrash them unless breaking many laws or driving around in 2nd gear. :driving:
Click to expand...

You may have a point there!

I think the old supercharged MINI was one of a kind car! I will probably end up getting one again one as a play thing one day!! I keep seeing my old one as a woman has it now that lives in the same city! I may make her an offer one day!

On performance, I used to own a Yamaha R1 motorbike. Now that was acceleration!! 8)
 
Breaker said:
I love the looks of the Z4. Love the engine, the way it performs and I also love the interior..............but when I go out for a spirited drive there is something missing in the experience!!

Strange!! :o
Click to expand...

Yeah you're missing 75HP and the raspy noises under the hood/bonnet. :poke: :D
 
My Probe GT --sigh, loved it. The sound, the quickness. (stupid drunk driver, grrrrrrrrrr).

It FELT faster than the Z but I don't think it was. It was heavier and had almost 100 hp less, but that DOHC V6 would rev up soooooooo fast. Had a turbine like sound that was intoxicating.

Fast forward to the Z. I went though a 325Ci (very capable, but was a bit too mechanical--don't know how to describe it otherwise). The Z is fast as well, but seems faster on the top end. It has more personality than the 325, but somehow, not as much as the Probe.

On the other hand, the Z is not as raw, it inspires great confidence and is way more than capable. I'd say a comparison is the Probe was the rebellious early 20's kid and the Z is the mature sports car at the top of its game.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom