To Z4 or not to Z4

M

mr lee

New member
Good evening all!

I have a confession....I do not own a Z4....

However, I currently own a seat leon fr and I am considering chopping it in. For, you guessed it, a Z4.

So, I have a few questions for you owners out there:

What have your experiences been with your Z4? I consider myself a keen driver and would like a nice drivers car. I do not really need a car that is too practical, however, I do move about with work when posted every now and then. So a little boot space is always helpful.

Is the Z4 a massively fun drivers car?
What's it like comfort wise? (I understand its a sports car so I'm not thinking exec saloon style comfort, more of additional comfort helps for longer drives. Also, do people have issues with other road users headlights being so low down and that sort of thing?)
And economy wise?

Ideally, I would opt for a 3.0 coupe.


Cheers,

Lee
 
A. It's practical ! Get loads and loads in the boot. The smaller engine sized ones are cheap to insure ( cheaper than my peugeot 207 ), road tax is only £220 and you get decent mileage if like me you use it as an everyday car. Not sure about the 3.0 litre one, but I am sure someone else can advise. :o Can't say about winter performance.... yet.

B. It is LOTS of fun, but even when you drive it in a sensible fashion on the daily commute it still puts a smile on your face. Only if you buy the convertible version though....

C. It's a hard ride, but the car itself is a dream to drive. You do feel every lump and bump in the road though, which can be a bit annoying on a long drive.

D. No issues with headlights being low ???? Just issues with 4x4s and some audi drivers not liking me.
 
We will soon have a Z4 (pick it up Saturday) to go with our Z3 both 3.0 and i would say the Z4 is more refined.
 
Hi all.

Taz that is a brilliant photo! shoehorned in. That should be more than enough space.

Nondizzy: the 3.0 was the only one available in the coupe besides the M I think? In which case it would be the engine of choice. I was driven around rural lincolnshire in my friends z4 convertible which was really nice on a summers evening. But I did feel a bit tall (I was staring at the top of the windscreen) and I'm only just 6ft. Unless she had the seat unusually high perhaps...? How loud in the convertible (having never had to use one day to day)?

The FR is fairly stiff so if a z4 is on par with that then its fine. A game of avoid the pothole.
 
Husband is 6'2 and he fits into the car nicely. I think you may be right about the seat not having been lowered and far enough back. Not that noisy, I can have conversations with people without shouting, have music on, etc. Just did 160 miles last week inc. lots of motorway with it down.

Had an MR2, just as a fun car, before then and that was much noisier, although the ride was far less bumpy !
 
Great car to drive - you will definately enjoy the experience of driving any version I think. The convertible for me, though you will find real enthusiasts for the coupe on this site.

Ride is hard in the sports versions of the car (the SE is meant to be a better ride as it has higher profile tyres and slightly softer suspension - other Forum members will comment on this) Newer model is meant to be a more refined ride - earlier model more a drivers car (?)

Despite the harsher ride of the sports versions the car is comfortable and more so without the 'run flat' tyres which owners often change to normal tyres. Seats are comfortable and endlessly adjustable (The seat you sat in will have been on a high setting - it was a problem for me when I intially sat in mine then adjusted and fell what seemed like a foot into the cockpit when using the height lever.

Real smile factor to owning a Zed - I would say - read all the comments on this forum and go for it! :thumbsup: :driving:
 
Hi go for a test drive.

I would consider myself as an enthusiastic driver have had a few hot hatches a mk1 TT. And the zed is brilliant through the twisty bits performance and comfort wise epic. I am 6.2 and have no problems I suspect you didn't have the seat low enough.
 
Bought a 3.0si a couple of weeks ago absolutely love it , so does the misses, can't stay out of it, I feel 21 again LOL.
My dream car was always a Jaguar XKR, I finally tried one before buying my Z4, it was pants compared to the Z4, I went form this



To this



And finally to this

Best fun I have had in years, thought my 535d m sport was fun but nothing compared to the Z4
Ride is a bit harsh, but you soon get used to it

 
Sure, they've got a smaller boot than a Transit van and several other cars, but to be honest I've never actually found storage or luggage space to be an issue with the Zed. Once you switch to non-RFTs the ride is totally fine, but I will admit, it's a tad harsh with the RFTs on. Are you in the military? Because if moving around once every couple of years is an issue, you shouldn't base your car choice on that. You can always just hire a van or another vehicle for 24hrs to move your stuff, which leaves you to enjoy the car of your choice.

What you should go for is a 3.0 Roadster. Preferably a 2005 version.

I have one for sale, pure coincidence. ;)

http://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=53112
 
I moved from a BMW 123d coupe to a Z4 coupe 3.0 si sport last November as I had the 2 seater sports car itch that just had to be scratched. And I absolutely love it!!

It's a great drive offering a good balance of performance and economy. I've done 11k miles in nearly 8 months and on longer journeys it's easy to get over 35 per gallon. Servicing is reasonable and if you opt for none run flats tyres you'll save loads and get a much better riding and handling car too.

I've got the sports suspension and seats so it is a firm ride and the sports seats are quite tight but they are such great looking seats I don't care. Also the boot is a very useful size and you can get a good amount of stuff for two people in of packed carefully.

It did take a bit of time to adjust to the Z4 but now I can't imagine life without her :D
 
I've had loads of performance cars stretching from things like 106 gtis, civic type r's up to an exige s, and 911 turbo.

The 3.0 z4 I have now is a compromise, pure and simple.

It's cheap fun performance motoring with a sprinkle of practicality and decent fuel economy.

In nearly all of my other performance cars there has been something that niggles me every time I got in to drive - be it MPG, no boot space, too low to go in a car park, no cruise for long journey etc etc.

The Z seems to do it all, and I don't find myself saying "I can't take it because..."

For that reason my Z has pretty much become my daily driver over my diesel MINI, which we only tend to use now where we need to take the bikes / dog with us (only me an the misses).

Compared to my old Elise / Exige the z4 is wooden, the electric power steering void of feel and not a great car for driving feedback, but that's not a critism, it's just a fact because its built to be mass appealing - a compromise. Remember the ///M versions have normal hydraulic PAS, so BMW knew this.

Anyway, £6k, glorious 6cyl noise, 30+mpg with pretty much any driving, cheap tax and insurance - it's a winner.

Find a good one and you'll love it unless you want die-cut dynamics.
 
As most said above, you will definitely have fun in a zed - especially on those rural lincolnshire roads (as a resident there, can vouch for a number of them being good driving roads :thumbsup: ). You can fling it around - no LSD (except for the ///M) but still a bundle of fun though. I've taken mine to Cadwell Park a number of times and had a hoot. Accept it as a compromise between fun and a daily driver.

Boot - not an issue, even in roadsters. I take a full size suitcase (with clothes for 2 - 3 weeks), laptop bag, coat etc in mine with room to spare.

Comfort - depends on a number of factors, but would say mine is very comfortable, done a 400 - 500 mile round trip in a day, no comfort issues at all. Run flats are a big no-no for most, but not an issue with Alpinas or ///M (unless someone's daft enough to do a retro-fit). Alpinas are only available in roadster variants though, so not an option if you stick with the coupe idea.

Height-wise - I'm 6' and my son is 6'5.... he only gets in the passenger seat, but has had no issues with height. Neither do I.

Only ever noticed headlight issues with Xenon-equipped 4x4s, but the mirrors are glare-free, so don't have an issue.

Finally, you really need to get in one and take it for a good drive :driving:
 
Wow, so many comments and advice. Thanks folks!

I'm not sure I can respond to all of them individually but I'll try and cover what I can:

I have heard a lot about the Run Flats and how they upset the ride. A good idea, then, to have them changed. Though I guess it opens you to puncture issues... but how often to people really get punctures hey?! To be honest I think the non-sport versions would do just fine really as it doesnt need to be a rock hard racer and the slightly softer set up could be a good compromise. I am a sucker for sporty looks though (fortunately, all Z4's look nice!)

One of my main loves with driving is when I thread some twisties together in a fluid way. can be done in the FR easy enough but I should imagine a Zed would be another level. I feel I need RWD in my life haha.

Dan425; I'm not military persay but I am a met office weather forecaster. I work in defence aviation so support to the military at home and on operations (cue the weather related banter). You make a very valid point, and I had a nosey today and if I am posted I can have a van to move all of my stuff anyway, so as long as I can fit a couple of weeks stuff in it that's fine. I do shorter postings more frequently which means I need to fit sufficient stuff in the boot for spending a couple of weeks away but it sounds like that wouldn't be a problem. That's a nice roadster :). I was pretty struck on the coupe, though I am now warming to the convertible.

There are a lot of very positive comments coming back, which is awesome! Certainly seems to tick my boxes! I'm surprised by the impressive fuel economy also!

Markeg: I am no longer in rural Lincolnshire but did love it up there. Salisbury Plain has plenty of good roads to offer as well :). I'm not sure I could warrant an ///M Coupe really as awesome as it would be. I do love Alpina wheels though. I may have to look into Alpina's a little more! Good shout, though I am guessing they are proper collectors items?! Glare free mirrors for the win! Not something I have every been fortunate enough to have before!

So in summary, I need to go test drive one! BMW garage at the weekend it is then!

Lee
 
Hi, this is my opinion.
I have a 3.0 si sport coupe in black. I am 5'6, I too like dizzy ( sorry, none dizzy) have owned an mr2 previous to this and I say this! OMG what a car, paddle shift, power, six pot sound track, boot, ant bumping suspension!,,, Go get one!,,,,

Things to remember, it has a supertanker long bonnet so adjust parking accordingly. It does track on some roads so just remember that. It's as frugal or thirsty as you your right foot wants it to be. Doors are long so give yourself room in the car park. Rear window is a letterbox so use those mirrors that stick out. Get a coupe cus the softies are in the majority.

Above all, enjoy it.
 
However, if you get a ragtop, if you park too close you can climb out the top (and I have) :rofl:
I was worried about the parking, but you do get used to the nose, and whereas I have always been a demon reverse parker, I could never get my Pug or my MR2 into any space going forward and do it straight, I can the zed !

It does track, forgot that, yes - but you get used to that too.
 
I think the e89 new shape is supposed to be more set up as a GT car and the 1st gen as more of a sports car. I was very surprised with the comfort of the e89 even on 19's and m sport suspension. Still a cracking drive and great fun when the roads get twisty.
 
NonD
I agree it is real easy to park and the track you get used to after a drive or too.
I wonder if I could climb in through the boot??

Hmmmm
 
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