Z4 sDrive 23i Highline (Deal Advice Required)....

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DannyBoy

Active member
 South Manchester
Hi Folks,

I have been offered a new sDrive23i at a very good price and am contemplating buying it.

The spec is....

Jet Black (Highline edition)
Manual
Red leather sports seats
19” Wheels, the nice ones that crack
Bluetooth
Heated Seats

Quite a nice specd, albeit Nav and metallic paint would have been nice.

I am however concerned about the 204bhp and whether that is enough to shift it on the basis the car is some 1700kg. As a guide, my TT is 200bhp and weights 1295kg and through the gears is very brisk, more so than a Z4 3.0i. The TT also returns 32mpg all day long over town driving with a bit of a motorway blast thrown in and I don’t exactly hand around.

I enjoy the odd blast and fear the limited bhp mated to the weighty Z4 chassis may leave me wanting. I do not want to stretch to either a 3.0 or 3.5, nor the new 2.8. I understand the 2.5 lump fitted to the sDrive23i is soon to be replaced however this does not concern me as I will retain the car 3 years then get rid.

So my questions to you sDrive23i owners are, how does the car perform during spirited driving and what sort of MPG are you getting?

The sDrive23i is a great deal and I would only consider this deal on the basis of a new car.

Cheers,

Dan.
 
I had one on a long weekend test drive last year. I had the M sport one.

The car looked lovely but felt underpowered compared to my old car which was a pre facelift 3.0 (231BHP). I personally think that you will be left wanting more power and may get a tad frustrated. I found myself thinking that when I had it.

Cant really remember what MPG it was returning. I seem to recall it was the high twenties.

Hope this is of some help to you :thumbsup:
 
Hi, well you havent said what deal you got offered.. i was looking for a 3.0 Msport, but ended up getting such a great deal on the 2.3 that the slightly lower BHP for the cost couldnt put me off..
having driven it for a few months i love the car... undoubtedly the extra power would be loads of fun... but def not £5k's worth of extra...
 
@JDM, thanks for that. High twenties doesnt sound too bad although I should expect the new BMW 2.0turbo lump to be high 30s from what I read. From what you say it sounds like the car may be a tad underpowered.

@Chopper, the car is about £32k. However the dealer is doing a deposit contribution scheme of about £6k so the car works out about £26k which, price wise, certainly should not be sniffed at for a brand spankin new un.

However as said, it may be underpowered.....
 
They're doing good deals on the 23i and 30i models because they're end of line, being replaced by the 4 pots shortly. Personally while the four pots might be a bit better on juice, if I could save £6K I'd be all over it because its going to take you a very very long time to make up that difference in fuel.

I have the 35i, madly quick car, but get to use the power rarely around Manchester. I drove the 23i, and with two people and luggage it deffo needed some revs to get it to move, however, with just me in, was more than acceptable. Presumably you've driven the 23i and have been left wondering?
 
I moved from 174hp (E85) to 204hp (E89). 0-62mph is now 0.5 sec faster, so I have no complaint. I have not driven any TT, but I think two cars will be similar on performance. 30i is 0.8 sec faster than 23i, but it would cost me £4k more when I bought the car brand new. I rather spend the money on extra options. The unladen weight of 23i is 1480 kg, not 1700 kg.

My 23i has average of 31mpg on 90% of twisty B-roads journey. But I always overtake slower cars. :D
 
The 23i is going to feel slow compared to your TT, to make a noticable difference in performance you would need to invest in the 35i.
 
I swapped a old shape Z4 3.0si for my 23i SDrive and to be honest I find the performance fine.

Sure its not mentaly rapid, if you're looking for a car to really rag then you probably need a 35i (or probably something completely different from a Z4 - Lotus or a used 911 maybe?), but if you're looking for a fast cruiser that can outsprint most cars in everyday situations then the 23i is more than capable.

Mines an auto and averages 30mpg in heavy traffic and 35ish on motorways runs.

Compared to the TT, its a bit more modern inside, a bit nicer with the roof down, more exclusive and generally a bit more expensive feeling, but not as economical and the boot is a pain to use with the roof down.

Hope this helps!
 
well, £26k is a great deal on a new 2.3
i cant see the value in spending the extra ££££.. unless you really want to race around all day. i'm very happy with me 2.3 all in all especially for what i paid..
 
I have the 2.3 too and it is great for a wee blast not massively quick but fun and actually feels quicker than it is due to high revving and exhaust noise which I love above the 5k :thumbsup:
Fast enough for hat we need and miles etc
Although looking at the new RR Evoque later in the year too :o
 
shambolic said:
I have the 2.3 too and it is great for a wee blast not massively quick but fun and actually feels quicker than it is due to high revving and exhaust noise which I love above the 5k :thumbsup:
Fast enough for hat we need and miles etc
Although looking at the new RR Evoque later in the year too :o
Click to expand...

Ooohhhh funny you should mention the RR Evoque, I was looking at them on the website the other day. Was so tempted to request a brochure, but slapped myself across the face in the nick of time. :oops:
 
Thank you to all of you for the great advice. :)

I had a go in one today and have to say I am impressed with the build quality and the looks of the car up close. I thought the car drove quite well, “smooth” is a word I would use to describe it and a far more mature drive then my old E85 3.0.

Whilst the car was certainly smooth it seemed to sway in corners and needed to be revved to get anything out of it. IMO the car is a tad underpowered for the bulk it has to move around, after a 12 mile test drive along a dual carriage way and some county roads the car returned 26.8mpg which I didn’t think was too bad considering I was revving it quite heavily.

Overall the car felt mature and refined, rather then raucous and edgy. That is where the problem is it is just not enough of a sporty drive to flick my switch and I can see what will happen in that I will buy it then chop it in for the 35i further down the line. So I’ve decided to pass on the 23i and consider the 28i when it arrives due to the tax and mpg benefits.

Got back in the TT and have to say it felt far more lively and punchy when pulling on the carriage way I’d just driven the 23i on so my mind was made up. Would I buy an E89, yes I would but it would have to be more powerful than the 23i. I understand many of you love the 23i and rightly so, however I like to stretch a cars legs and unfortunately the 23i didn’t have legs that could stretch enough for me.

The E89 is a nice bit of kit so I will hold out for a “deal” on a 28i when they arrive.

Cheers again for the advice and assistance to everyone who contributed. :thumbsup:
 
My 2.3 Auto is about 27 mpg knocking about. Long journeys loaded and higher speeds- up to 40mpg BUT swap to sport or ' heavy right foot' and woops it's down to 23sh!!
Wish I had bought the 3 Ltr. Having said that the performance is not bad --7secs to 60MPH.
 
A bit late but as a previous TT owner (had a 03 225) my past 3 Z4's 2.5's were better. the 1.8 v5 turbo needed a bit of playing around. The rear seats were pointless and had to drop them to get any food shopping in the boot. It was never any real fun 4 wheel drive was plane safe and a bit joyless.

I had it for 3 months and had major issues and was lucky the main dealer also agreed that the issues was not what should be so he refunded the full value back (the 225 was stopped so demand pushed up the market)

Saying that it made me think that I dont need the rear seats and so I slipped in to the z4 and never looked back. Now my 4th I would never ever get another TT.

I have just got a 10 plate 3.0 as the 2.8 will not be around for a year for what I want to pay, and as somone said a 5K + discount gets a lot of pertrol. I got a better deal than that its not new but 10K + off

I have also said you dont get something for nothing the TT dulled 28 mpg, my last 2.5 SI pulled 30 and I would say the new twin turbos will not pull any more unless you pull them off the turbo and run them like a 2.0l (and what fun will that be NOT). The turbs will be like my TT and have to mess with the revs so trubs kick in at 1800 rpm so not have the straight pull. my last 2 2.5 si did kick in againa round 4K
 
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