Well I promised a review a few months on for the Z4 M Roadster I bought, so here we go.....it's a bit long, but if you are bored it should be a good read
The car (http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18128514&highlight=booner)
Engine (drive and noise)
I'll start with the best part of the package. The E46 M3 (S54) engine is simply superb. You fire it up to listen to a throaty and lumpy churning on cold, which turns to a charasmatic dry, mettalic sound once warm. Coming from a deep V6 growl, it become apparent to me that I could instantly miss this howl.....which actually hasn't been the case. In addition to the engine note, the exhaust is full of character when it starts to warm up, with pop's and cracks upon letting off the throttle even at gentle cruising. Whilst exploring the rev range, loud back pops and gunshots has brought massive grins to those in proximately (and also a tendency to provoke a repetition for personal satisfaction!)
The Z4 M has numerous reviews stating that the car must be driven to the edge and grabbed round the collar to get the best out of it. This loomed at the back of my mind and initially, I spent a good few weeks treating the car with respect and slowly exploring the gearing/progression of throttle (mainly due to bad weather and poor road surfaces). The car is a solid drive and is quite happy to cruise around town in, having no problems with the "notoriously" notchy gear change, even at low town speeds. I am getting mixed driving mpg of 21-23mpg...but I know this will be more like 18-19mpg if the sun is out.
However, once I became more comfortable... I enabled the "SPORT" button, which stiffens the steering, increases the throttle response among other small tweaks to provide a more lively character to the already sporty nature of the car. I had savoured this and in a simple button press, it transformed the experience of driving this car for me. I can't help but feel that BMW didn't have this as standard, given that the M was supposed to be of a hardcore nature out of the box...why have sport as much of an button press option as aircon? In my opinion, buying a Z4 M indicates what the driver is likely to want from the experience, to enjoy an even more fruity drive than that of the standard Z4. This isn't a dig at the drive of a normal Z4, but I couldn't feel a huge amount different in the nature of the physical drive between the 3.0si and the Z4m until I engaged the sport mode on the M. In my opinion, have the Z4 M with sport engaged as standard...with a softer drive button option.
This niggle aside, whilst in sport mode, the throttle never fails to deliver plentiful power from any gear and combined with the lavish soundtrack of the 3.2 grinding away, can prompt thoughts of "be sensible, don't lose your license" in the back of your head. Again, it must be treated with respect, as it will quite easily chip away at three figures with a few brief seconds on the throttle. Everything about the car comes alive in sport mode, every throttle press is more eager than before. It fills you with confidence in the drive and the peddle melts with every foot press, begging for more and more as the rev's match the challenge all the way up to 8000. Barking and commanding you to explore 3 digits+. Although, resisting the temptation is equally as rewarding (luckily!), as the exhaust fills the surroundings once again with ample gunfire. This throttle control adds to a fluid, progressive driving style which takes me onto my next point of handling...
Handling
As I am personally quite convinced of a big difference between sport mode engaged over standard, I'll begin by talking about the standard unaltered drive of the car. First of all, the steering wheel is very chunky and enhances the connection between you and the wheels. I have used the car for a few long distance (150miles +) motorway trips and also my usual 32 mile return journey of mixed driving. The car has a distinct solid feel and never really requires much effort. It's very low, making you feel rather vulnerable around lorries with the roof down. Driving the car softly is quite easy, with solid gear changes and the throttle not kicking power up your backside if you accidently become too keen.
My dad has fallen asleep both times as passenger when I have driven on the motorway, if that says anything about the suspension setup and the in cabin noise. However, the suspension does live up to it's reputation of being too stiff for the back roads, where I have had passengers complaining of the ride. Luckily, I do not care and just make sure that I avoid potholes and drive away from bumps where possible. I like to think that it has become second nature from driving a high performance car and mostly because I am too focused on enjoying the rest of the experience chucked at you from every other angle.
Sport mode gets engaged and the car gets instantly more direct. Not only are you harnessed to a rapidly accelerating weapon, but you are targeting every movement of the car. This feeling is helped by the seating position over the lively rear axle, where all of the action starts. The steering becomes stiffer and you are granted with a unique sense of connection with every mm of the car as a result. The turning circle and cornering becomes unreal, almost comparable to the likes of the entry Caterham and Lotus's I have driven, but obviously not quite as focused. You can eat up corners and acceleration simply becomes a sound factor, whilst you develop a deep progression through windy roads. I feel that you could give it 50% at all times, but obviously it's too early for me to find this without adaquete track/road/training, something I doubt I will have time for anytime soon. Bodyroll in pretty much non existent, another factor adding to the already mountain sized level of confidence the car provides.
I've driven in a mixture of conditions and I've never had more than a twitch in the wet, which DSC and a small manual influence allowed the car to simply control with ease.
Gearing is long and allows you to quickly establish that you rarely need to step outside of 3rd gear to get everything you desire, offering power, lavish audio and the most exhilarating drive through the corners. DSC seems to provide the perfect balance in sport mode, allowing you to enjoy your addiction for dabbing the throttle, whilst maintaining the car facing the direction you are aiming for...
Exterior
The styling has been somewhat of a split area for me. I previously complained that the Z4 was common and a bit bland on this forum a year or so ago. However, since it seems that everyone on the roads who used to have a Z4 has now bought a new Audi TT(!), I have noticed that I don't see as many Z4's around.... and if I am honest, I want to publically denounce/totally retract the "bland" styling comment.
The styling of the "M" over the standard Z4 provides various subtle improvements, which in the eye of a passing glance doesn't distinguish it vastly from the base model (with the exception of the noise and passing tips of the exhaust). Upon a closer reflection, the styling is superb with lines and curves gleaming from pretty much every angle. The panel gaps are a bit on the large side, but the exaggerated lines/curves such as the aggressive bonnet raise distract from another minor niggle. I think it's one of a very few cars which has a perfectly balanced styling from both the front and rear, where I can't decide whether I like to stare at the four shiny exhaust tips and muscular wide arches or look at the exaggerated front bumper cooling vents.
The paint is in great condition and doesn't look dirty despite being on holiday for a few weeks and not being able to clean it, the Imola red was a nice choice...even though I still equally adore the Interlagos blue.
Interior
Obviously this post would not be complete without repeating some of Fox's enthusiasm for BMW interiors. It's a BMW and the quality you would expect is apparent at every level. The car is built for the hardcore driver, but making your drive pleasant and comfortable as possible. The optional extra heated seats help warm you up when needed and extend the life of driving with the roof down. The little touches of the extended leather on the roll hoops and the carbon fibre effect leather dash is a great finishing touch to a cosy cabin. There are no rattles.
Other extras include the multifunction steering wheel controls, auto dimming mirrors, auto lights and auto wipers take away most interaction with anything other than the driving experience. Through technology does BMW achieve further focus with the Z4 M. Obviously this is present on the Z4 too, but it certainly helps avoid distraction from the heart of the M experience.
The seating position is fantastic as mentioned before, above the rear axle. It's pretty low and it made judging the front end slightly nerving when parking up and avoiding damage to the front splitter etc, but soon became second nature, with acoustic parking sensors helping whilst reversing.
Next up, the roof down experience. Press and hold the roof down button and on the best side of 10 seconds you have the roof down and windows sorted. It's the same case for putting the roof back up. The best part about sitting in the Z4 M with the roof down, is look in the wing mirrors and seeing the chunky square shoulders of the rear arches in your mirror and reminding you that the car has some cracking styling.
Wind noise is pretty apparent through the middle of the headrests and centre console, something a wind deflector would remove completely. Alas, the full extended leather prevent me from fitting any known fixed deflector...something I need to spend some time researching again. However it doesn't ruin the experience for me at all, except on the colder mornings/evenings or when I have a passenger. Needless to say, the roof is down whenever possible, unless it's raining...but I've been known to drive in light rain with the roof down to hear the noise (OcUK meet!)
The Audio is a tough one. The sound system is good and spreads the audio throughout the cabin well with all 10 speakers, so can't really ask for more on the courage of audio. I spoilt myself with the audio system I had kitted the 350z out with and also my digital surround system at home. Something I would like to do is fit a dedicated iPod connection to the system, rather than my current aux port in the glovebox, making music selection frustrating. I find myself listening to the car, rather than the audio as a result....which leads me onto wanting an exhaust or intake.
Bits and pieces, the future..
I have so far got into a very decent mindset with my passion for maintaining a performance car. I found with my 350z, that I spent quite a bit of dosh on various mods pretty early on and didn't really get to enjoy the car for what it was, before improving it to extend it's shelf life with me. For that reason, so far I have only fitted a stubby aerial and fitting new PIAA wipers this tomorrow. There are a few things I am setting aside money to do, but waiting until next year to do them. These include a stromung exhaust or remus backbox for some extra noise/burble/pops, possibly lower Eibach springs and there is rumour of a new intake coming to the market, which might be viable.
The next immediate steps are to get tyres sorted, so need to get 4 new tyres (front's have a bit more life in them yet, but rears need doing) which I am researching. I want to know the effect of simply going from 40 profile to 35 on the rear and if that doesn't have any negatives, 4 x Falken 452 will be on order (£520) and fitted, then laser alignments by a hunter machine is in order (~£100).
Then I will be uprating the discs and pads as I had knocked money off as they will need doing soon. So looking at red stuff pads for this and will get the clutch delay valve sorted at the same time which should eliminate any lumpy cold gear changes completely.
Overall, this is fantastic car and despite a woman driver trying to kill me on a roundabout, I am hoping to enjoy this for a few years yet!
I haven't had time to take photos, but here is a mixed few:
Just hit 40,000 miles on the clock:
The car (http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18128514&highlight=booner)
Engine (drive and noise)
I'll start with the best part of the package. The E46 M3 (S54) engine is simply superb. You fire it up to listen to a throaty and lumpy churning on cold, which turns to a charasmatic dry, mettalic sound once warm. Coming from a deep V6 growl, it become apparent to me that I could instantly miss this howl.....which actually hasn't been the case. In addition to the engine note, the exhaust is full of character when it starts to warm up, with pop's and cracks upon letting off the throttle even at gentle cruising. Whilst exploring the rev range, loud back pops and gunshots has brought massive grins to those in proximately (and also a tendency to provoke a repetition for personal satisfaction!)
The Z4 M has numerous reviews stating that the car must be driven to the edge and grabbed round the collar to get the best out of it. This loomed at the back of my mind and initially, I spent a good few weeks treating the car with respect and slowly exploring the gearing/progression of throttle (mainly due to bad weather and poor road surfaces). The car is a solid drive and is quite happy to cruise around town in, having no problems with the "notoriously" notchy gear change, even at low town speeds. I am getting mixed driving mpg of 21-23mpg...but I know this will be more like 18-19mpg if the sun is out.
However, once I became more comfortable... I enabled the "SPORT" button, which stiffens the steering, increases the throttle response among other small tweaks to provide a more lively character to the already sporty nature of the car. I had savoured this and in a simple button press, it transformed the experience of driving this car for me. I can't help but feel that BMW didn't have this as standard, given that the M was supposed to be of a hardcore nature out of the box...why have sport as much of an button press option as aircon? In my opinion, buying a Z4 M indicates what the driver is likely to want from the experience, to enjoy an even more fruity drive than that of the standard Z4. This isn't a dig at the drive of a normal Z4, but I couldn't feel a huge amount different in the nature of the physical drive between the 3.0si and the Z4m until I engaged the sport mode on the M. In my opinion, have the Z4 M with sport engaged as standard...with a softer drive button option.
This niggle aside, whilst in sport mode, the throttle never fails to deliver plentiful power from any gear and combined with the lavish soundtrack of the 3.2 grinding away, can prompt thoughts of "be sensible, don't lose your license" in the back of your head. Again, it must be treated with respect, as it will quite easily chip away at three figures with a few brief seconds on the throttle. Everything about the car comes alive in sport mode, every throttle press is more eager than before. It fills you with confidence in the drive and the peddle melts with every foot press, begging for more and more as the rev's match the challenge all the way up to 8000. Barking and commanding you to explore 3 digits+. Although, resisting the temptation is equally as rewarding (luckily!), as the exhaust fills the surroundings once again with ample gunfire. This throttle control adds to a fluid, progressive driving style which takes me onto my next point of handling...
Handling
As I am personally quite convinced of a big difference between sport mode engaged over standard, I'll begin by talking about the standard unaltered drive of the car. First of all, the steering wheel is very chunky and enhances the connection between you and the wheels. I have used the car for a few long distance (150miles +) motorway trips and also my usual 32 mile return journey of mixed driving. The car has a distinct solid feel and never really requires much effort. It's very low, making you feel rather vulnerable around lorries with the roof down. Driving the car softly is quite easy, with solid gear changes and the throttle not kicking power up your backside if you accidently become too keen.
My dad has fallen asleep both times as passenger when I have driven on the motorway, if that says anything about the suspension setup and the in cabin noise. However, the suspension does live up to it's reputation of being too stiff for the back roads, where I have had passengers complaining of the ride. Luckily, I do not care and just make sure that I avoid potholes and drive away from bumps where possible. I like to think that it has become second nature from driving a high performance car and mostly because I am too focused on enjoying the rest of the experience chucked at you from every other angle.
Sport mode gets engaged and the car gets instantly more direct. Not only are you harnessed to a rapidly accelerating weapon, but you are targeting every movement of the car. This feeling is helped by the seating position over the lively rear axle, where all of the action starts. The steering becomes stiffer and you are granted with a unique sense of connection with every mm of the car as a result. The turning circle and cornering becomes unreal, almost comparable to the likes of the entry Caterham and Lotus's I have driven, but obviously not quite as focused. You can eat up corners and acceleration simply becomes a sound factor, whilst you develop a deep progression through windy roads. I feel that you could give it 50% at all times, but obviously it's too early for me to find this without adaquete track/road/training, something I doubt I will have time for anytime soon. Bodyroll in pretty much non existent, another factor adding to the already mountain sized level of confidence the car provides.
I've driven in a mixture of conditions and I've never had more than a twitch in the wet, which DSC and a small manual influence allowed the car to simply control with ease.
Gearing is long and allows you to quickly establish that you rarely need to step outside of 3rd gear to get everything you desire, offering power, lavish audio and the most exhilarating drive through the corners. DSC seems to provide the perfect balance in sport mode, allowing you to enjoy your addiction for dabbing the throttle, whilst maintaining the car facing the direction you are aiming for...
Exterior
The styling has been somewhat of a split area for me. I previously complained that the Z4 was common and a bit bland on this forum a year or so ago. However, since it seems that everyone on the roads who used to have a Z4 has now bought a new Audi TT(!), I have noticed that I don't see as many Z4's around.... and if I am honest, I want to publically denounce/totally retract the "bland" styling comment.
The styling of the "M" over the standard Z4 provides various subtle improvements, which in the eye of a passing glance doesn't distinguish it vastly from the base model (with the exception of the noise and passing tips of the exhaust). Upon a closer reflection, the styling is superb with lines and curves gleaming from pretty much every angle. The panel gaps are a bit on the large side, but the exaggerated lines/curves such as the aggressive bonnet raise distract from another minor niggle. I think it's one of a very few cars which has a perfectly balanced styling from both the front and rear, where I can't decide whether I like to stare at the four shiny exhaust tips and muscular wide arches or look at the exaggerated front bumper cooling vents.
The paint is in great condition and doesn't look dirty despite being on holiday for a few weeks and not being able to clean it, the Imola red was a nice choice...even though I still equally adore the Interlagos blue.
Interior
Obviously this post would not be complete without repeating some of Fox's enthusiasm for BMW interiors. It's a BMW and the quality you would expect is apparent at every level. The car is built for the hardcore driver, but making your drive pleasant and comfortable as possible. The optional extra heated seats help warm you up when needed and extend the life of driving with the roof down. The little touches of the extended leather on the roll hoops and the carbon fibre effect leather dash is a great finishing touch to a cosy cabin. There are no rattles.
Other extras include the multifunction steering wheel controls, auto dimming mirrors, auto lights and auto wipers take away most interaction with anything other than the driving experience. Through technology does BMW achieve further focus with the Z4 M. Obviously this is present on the Z4 too, but it certainly helps avoid distraction from the heart of the M experience.
The seating position is fantastic as mentioned before, above the rear axle. It's pretty low and it made judging the front end slightly nerving when parking up and avoiding damage to the front splitter etc, but soon became second nature, with acoustic parking sensors helping whilst reversing.
Next up, the roof down experience. Press and hold the roof down button and on the best side of 10 seconds you have the roof down and windows sorted. It's the same case for putting the roof back up. The best part about sitting in the Z4 M with the roof down, is look in the wing mirrors and seeing the chunky square shoulders of the rear arches in your mirror and reminding you that the car has some cracking styling.
Wind noise is pretty apparent through the middle of the headrests and centre console, something a wind deflector would remove completely. Alas, the full extended leather prevent me from fitting any known fixed deflector...something I need to spend some time researching again. However it doesn't ruin the experience for me at all, except on the colder mornings/evenings or when I have a passenger. Needless to say, the roof is down whenever possible, unless it's raining...but I've been known to drive in light rain with the roof down to hear the noise (OcUK meet!)
The Audio is a tough one. The sound system is good and spreads the audio throughout the cabin well with all 10 speakers, so can't really ask for more on the courage of audio. I spoilt myself with the audio system I had kitted the 350z out with and also my digital surround system at home. Something I would like to do is fit a dedicated iPod connection to the system, rather than my current aux port in the glovebox, making music selection frustrating. I find myself listening to the car, rather than the audio as a result....which leads me onto wanting an exhaust or intake.
Bits and pieces, the future..
I have so far got into a very decent mindset with my passion for maintaining a performance car. I found with my 350z, that I spent quite a bit of dosh on various mods pretty early on and didn't really get to enjoy the car for what it was, before improving it to extend it's shelf life with me. For that reason, so far I have only fitted a stubby aerial and fitting new PIAA wipers this tomorrow. There are a few things I am setting aside money to do, but waiting until next year to do them. These include a stromung exhaust or remus backbox for some extra noise/burble/pops, possibly lower Eibach springs and there is rumour of a new intake coming to the market, which might be viable.
The next immediate steps are to get tyres sorted, so need to get 4 new tyres (front's have a bit more life in them yet, but rears need doing) which I am researching. I want to know the effect of simply going from 40 profile to 35 on the rear and if that doesn't have any negatives, 4 x Falken 452 will be on order (£520) and fitted, then laser alignments by a hunter machine is in order (~£100).
Then I will be uprating the discs and pads as I had knocked money off as they will need doing soon. So looking at red stuff pads for this and will get the clutch delay valve sorted at the same time which should eliminate any lumpy cold gear changes completely.
Overall, this is fantastic car and despite a woman driver trying to kill me on a roundabout, I am hoping to enjoy this for a few years yet!
I haven't had time to take photos, but here is a mixed few:
Just hit 40,000 miles on the clock:
. I think the reason behind the Sport button is for cold starts - sometimes the engine can kangaroo a bit. I found it to be particularly bad with some fuels (97 RON) it's apparently even worse with 95. Having the Sport button engaged when the engine is in one of these funny moods makes the kangarooing a pain to control. It's also nice to have Sport off when doing reverse parking on hills (the e46 M3 doesn't have a hill holding feature, although the SMG box has a hill assist mode) - it's basically there to make the car a bit more friendly if you use it as a daily driver. I can see why some people don't see the point in it though.
. I'm going to take mine down to Southern France in a few weeks - looking forward to it.
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
