So, whilst my car was in for 90 minutes having a light replaced (or not, long story), I took the opportunity to take out the new Z4 sDrive35i.
This was the 6 spd manual 306hp variant, 6cyl 3l twin turbo. Other models include:
sDrive 23i (2.5l 6cyl, 204bhp)
sDrive 30i (3l 6cyl, 258bhp)
There is a £10k price difference between the 23i and the 35i models.
So, it was straight round to pick up mrk1@1 and go for a spin.
First impressions:
Excellent / usual BMW build quality. The interior was a compelte joy to sit in. This modeal had the whitey / cream leather with wood dash. New iDrive system with 3d city maps was a real joy to see and the overall general iDrive interface has been improved no end.
Boot space was adequate. One fairly large suitcase would fit in with the roof down without issue.
The roof is simply stunning. Very intricate in its design and very very light. One bug that annoyed me from the off was a large cracking sound with the roof up coming from the boot. It was a typical plastic getting knocked on plastic sound which was only noticeable over bumps. With the roof down however, the car was much nicer to drive, and you got to hear the magnificent engine.
The ride:
Crashy. There was no noticeable difference between comfort / sport and sport + however other than sport and sport + the engine seemed slightly more responsive. Hit a bump and you really really knew about it. But, in essence, that is it exactly what this car is. A sports car. The bumps were soaked up nicely enough but you knew, withouth doubt, that you'd just hit a twig.
The drive:
Now i'm sorry, but there was absolutely no denying it. This car was poor around town where 2nd gear was needed to keep the car lively. This is more than likely down to the fact that the car runs turbos. However, there is no getting away from the fact that it will hit 62mph in just over 5 seconds. Once the revs get up to 3500 the engine really starts to push the car on in a matter that can only be described as scary. And the noise! Oh the noise. Worth thrashing it for that alone.
In gear acceleration was fantastic. Very linear but mind boggling none the less.
Ownership:
The OTR price of this car is a shade over £37k in its basic form. Given the options in this specific model I would be inclined to suggest we were knocking on £40k quite easily.
On our spririted drive which included dual carriageway, A / B roads and traffic, the combined mpg was 28.6 when we returned to the dealer.
Alternatives:
Are there any?
S2000, not made anymore
MX5, no
Audi TT, maybe, in Quattro mode
350z, no
Porsche Boxster S (about as close as you will get). Z4 is quicker on paper and marginally cheaper.
Would I own one? Yes, absolutely. But never with the intention of using it as a daily driver if I had to do more than 10 miles a day. Its a weekend sports car IMO and that's were it fits in nicely. You drive it to dinner parties and social events. Not to Tescos.
There is a short video but its 80mb mp4. Anything I can use to compress it down nicely and host on YouTube?
I'm sure mrk1@1 will be along in a min to add his thoughts. If you get the chance to test drive one, I suggest you give it a whirl
This was the 6 spd manual 306hp variant, 6cyl 3l twin turbo. Other models include:
sDrive 23i (2.5l 6cyl, 204bhp)
sDrive 30i (3l 6cyl, 258bhp)
There is a £10k price difference between the 23i and the 35i models.
So, it was straight round to pick up mrk1@1 and go for a spin.
First impressions:
Excellent / usual BMW build quality. The interior was a compelte joy to sit in. This modeal had the whitey / cream leather with wood dash. New iDrive system with 3d city maps was a real joy to see and the overall general iDrive interface has been improved no end.
Boot space was adequate. One fairly large suitcase would fit in with the roof down without issue.
The roof is simply stunning. Very intricate in its design and very very light. One bug that annoyed me from the off was a large cracking sound with the roof up coming from the boot. It was a typical plastic getting knocked on plastic sound which was only noticeable over bumps. With the roof down however, the car was much nicer to drive, and you got to hear the magnificent engine.
The ride:
Crashy. There was no noticeable difference between comfort / sport and sport + however other than sport and sport + the engine seemed slightly more responsive. Hit a bump and you really really knew about it. But, in essence, that is it exactly what this car is. A sports car. The bumps were soaked up nicely enough but you knew, withouth doubt, that you'd just hit a twig.
The drive:
Now i'm sorry, but there was absolutely no denying it. This car was poor around town where 2nd gear was needed to keep the car lively. This is more than likely down to the fact that the car runs turbos. However, there is no getting away from the fact that it will hit 62mph in just over 5 seconds. Once the revs get up to 3500 the engine really starts to push the car on in a matter that can only be described as scary. And the noise! Oh the noise. Worth thrashing it for that alone.
In gear acceleration was fantastic. Very linear but mind boggling none the less.
Ownership:
The OTR price of this car is a shade over £37k in its basic form. Given the options in this specific model I would be inclined to suggest we were knocking on £40k quite easily.
On our spririted drive which included dual carriageway, A / B roads and traffic, the combined mpg was 28.6 when we returned to the dealer.
Alternatives:
Are there any?
S2000, not made anymore
MX5, no
Audi TT, maybe, in Quattro mode
350z, no
Porsche Boxster S (about as close as you will get). Z4 is quicker on paper and marginally cheaper.
Would I own one? Yes, absolutely. But never with the intention of using it as a daily driver if I had to do more than 10 miles a day. Its a weekend sports car IMO and that's were it fits in nicely. You drive it to dinner parties and social events. Not to Tescos.
There is a short video but its 80mb mp4. Anything I can use to compress it down nicely and host on YouTube?
I'm sure mrk1@1 will be along in a min to add his thoughts. If you get the chance to test drive one, I suggest you give it a whirl
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