BMW Z4 (From York Press)

BMW Z4

11:16am Friday 5th June 2009

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Motoring Editor STEVE NELSON lifts the lid on BMW’s new Z4.

DESPITE a host of innovations, there’s no doubt what is the big talking point about the new BMW Z4. It now has a folding metal roof.

After almost 80 years of two-seaters with fabric tops, the German firm has changed direction with its flagship roadster and given it a two-piece electro-hydraulically operated retractable hard-top that can be lowered or opened in 20 seconds.

The car still has the classic ingredients – the long bonnet and front-engined, rear-wheel-drive set-up – but the simple fact that the Z4 was losing customers to the arch-rival Mercedes-Benz SLK meant something had to change.

When BMW carried out some market research, it found that one of the key reasons for choosing a SLK was the safety, security and styling of the folding metal roof. The phrase “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” springs to mind.

The result is a beautifully crafted new Z4 that is easier to live with and veers towards being a grand tourer, and is all the better for that.

It is also the first BMW roadster to be offered with adaptive M Sport suspension that lowers the ride height and allows the driver to fine-tune the car’s set-up for a quite blistering “sport-plus” drive.

In another first, the chassis configuration can be altered through the drive dynamic control function to allow the driver to choose between sporty cruiser or outright performance car.

The new-found extra space that has been built in was certainly much appreciated by me and my passenger as we headed off on to deserted roads in the Scottish Highlands, engine purring and the sun shining.

There’s room to stretch your legs full out in the passenger seat, where you are enveloped in luxury leather on both the doors and dashboard.

Elbow room has been increased by 43mm and headroom by 44mm, there’s 20mm extra shoulder room, the body is 148mm longer and it is a smidgen wider. That helps to make the new Z4 a whole lot easier to live with.

You still feel like you are in a sports car, and with acceleration capability of 0-62mph in 5.2 seconds and a limited top speed of 155mph for the range-topping sDrive 35i, it’s like loading a two-seater luxury sofa into a missile tube, but the Z4 is also geared for relaxed and hushed progress.

The only thorn in the design is the undignified procedure required to raise the seat position. Having to lift your torso while hanging on to the steering wheel was a hardly and enduring introduction to the car, and the cause of some laughter and irritation.

Otherwise, BMW seems to have thought of everything. There’s 14 per cent more visibility – much appreciated in a car of this type – a 25 per cent stiffer bodyshell, third-generation run-flat tyres, sun-reflective technology to stop those leather seats getting too hot on a sunny day, a boot that varies in capacity from 180 to 310 litres – large enough to stow a full set of golf clubs – and the most advanced form of traction control currently on offer in a production car.

For the driver, everything comes instinctively to hand. BMW’s latest generation of iDrive makes its first appearance on a Z4 and the company’s professional multimedia navigation system features a hard disc drive capable of 12Gb of audio file storage. Once you have become used to the enormous swath of aluminium bonnet before you, it is time to settle in to the snug seats and enjoy the performance.

Which one to choose? Three engines are being offered from launch – the 204hp sDrive23i, 258hp sDrive30i and 306hp sDrive35i.

For those looking for a seriously sporty performer, it would have to be the 35i, equipped with a 2,979cc six-cylinder twin-turbo petrol petrol engine that holds the title of International Engine of the Year. Yes, it’s that good.

The sDrive35i has a combined consumption figure of 30.1mpg and CO2 emissions of 219g/km. It can also be specified with a double clutch transmission, which trims the zero to 62mph acceleration time to 5.1 seconds, and reduces the fuel consumption and CO2 emission figures.

The seven-speed auto box in the tested car 35i is so seamlessly responsive it might well be the preferred choice over the six-speed manual gearbox offered as standard across the range. With the addition of paddle-shift gears on the steering wheel, it is so efficient it delivers faster acceleration and lower fuel consumption and CO2 emissions than the standard six-speed manual gearbox.

Drop the top, and the wolfish growl of the all-aluminium straight-six engine can be more clearly heard, complete with exaggerated grunt as the auto changes up and a blip as it changes down.

Joining this model are the Z4 sDrive23i and the Z4 sDrive30i. The 2.5-litre entry-level Z4 sDrive23i produces 204hp to achieve its zero to 62mph time of 6.6 seconds and a top speed of 151mph. It is capable of a combined 33.2mpg and produces CO2 emissions of 199g/km.

The sDrive30i comes with a 3.0-litre powerplant producing 258hp that records a zero to 62mph time of 5.8 seconds before going on to an electronically-limited top speed of 155mph. Its combined consumption figure is 33.2mpg, while the CO2 figure is 199g/km.

For this latest BMW Z4, the challenge before the designers and engineers was immense; how to increase comfort and space while not losing any of the driver enjoyment? They have achieved it.

At a glance

Model: BMW Z4

Price range: £26,645 to £37,060

Engine: 2,979cc six-cylinder twin-turbo petrol; 306bhp at 5,800rpm and 295lb ft of torque at 1,300-5,000rpm. 2,996cc six-cylinder petrol; 258bhp at 6,600rpm and 228lb ft at 2,750rpm. 2,497cc six-cylinder petrol; 204bhp at 6,200rpm and 184lb ft at 2,950rpm.

Transmission: Six-speed manual or six-speed auto in the sDrive23i and sDrive30i and seven-speed auto in the sDrive35i.

Performance: sDrive35i: top speed 155mph, 0-62mph in 5.2sec (sports auto 5.1sec), urban fuel consumption 20.9mpg (auto 22.4mpg), CO2 emissions 210g/km. sDrive30i: 155mph, 5.8sec (auto 6.1sec), 22.8mpg (auto 23.7mpg), 195g/km.

sDrive23i: 150mph, 6.6sec (auto 7.3sec), 22.8mpg (auto 23.9mpg), 192g/km.

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