BMW Z4 Coupé

[Gizmo!]

Today's random car hankering is...

I've never driven one of these, but I LOVE the way they look. And whilst the Z4MC I really want is still out of reach; the 'standard' 3.0 coupés seem to have dropped in value.

This one for example: http://pistonheads.com/sales/2564225.htm

Touch miley, but FSH and I don't do many miles. So... 260bhp instead of 330bhp; 232lbft instead of 260. That's not a huge difference frankly... and the 3.0 is a much simpler engine so presumably more reliable.

What could go wrong?

[Stu R]

On anything other than smoother roads and track days, I'd rather drive the 3.0 than the M.

[richtea78]

Gizmo! said:

What could go wrong?

This for starters

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.ph...

I brought one a couple of months ago though and love it, I brought the normal one as I wanted an auto as I do a lot of driving in town and the M is manual only.


The HVA issue appears to come up on cars that arent used as much

[CooperS]

Stu R said:

On anything other than smoother roads and track days, I'd rather drive the 3.0 than the M.

I'm the other way round. I found the 3.0 si with Run flats and m sport suspension really hard and jittery compared to my Z4MC

[p4cks]

^^^ There is no 'R' in 'bought'.

[Gizmo!]

CooperS said:

Stu R said:

On anything other than smoother roads and track days, I'd rather drive the 3.0 than the M.

I'm the other way round. I found the 3.0 si with Run flats and m sport suspension really hard and jittery compared to my Z4MC

The run-flats are widely known to ruin the ride... That's not a problem anyway.

[pilchardthecat]

CooperS said:

Stu R said:

On anything other than smoother roads and track days, I'd rather drive the 3.0 than the M.

I'm the other way round. I found the 3.0 si with Run flats and m sport suspension really hard and jittery compared to my Z4MC

+1

I am constantly baffled by reports of poor ride on the Z4M. I've been using mine as my daily driver on A/B road 65 mile round trip commute 5 days a week for 8 months and it's a much better ride than the 1 series coupe (on runflats) that I PXed

[Vladimir Pukin]

I like mine. HTH

[homerjay]

test drove a couple, before xmas.

didnt fall in love with it, i was rather gutted as i really like em.

just didnt seem like it had 265 horses under the hood.

[Vladimir Pukin]

homerjay said:

test drove a couple, before xmas.

didnt fall in love with it, i was rather gutted as i really like em.

just didnt seem like it had 265 horses under the hood.

Sport button and 4k rpm does make a difference.

[pilchardthecat]

Vladimir Pukin said:

Sport button and 4k rpm does make a difference.

Having the S54B32 engine and the M version makes a bigger difference

[ucb]

Agreed. Test drove the 3.0si and M before buying the MC last year. Feels more than 70 bhp difference and the ride in the 3.0 was much more sharp and less well dampened (if that's a word).
TBH you should buy the M because they don't make em like that anymore!

[Vladimir Pukin]

Here we go again.

OP wanted to discuss the 3.0 coupe. If I accept that anyone with the M has considerably bigger genitals than me can we continue with the original discussion?

[pilchardthecat]

Vladimir Pukin said:

Here we go again.

OP wanted to discuss the 3.0 coupe. If I accept that anyone with the M has considerably bigger genitals than me can we continue with the original discussion?

He could always embrace his inner gaylord and get an M Roadster (cheaper than the coupe)

[Huntsman]

They have dropped in value, I looked at one a while ago for the wife, they were 15k then.

[Harry Flashman]

Vladimir Pukin said:

Here we go again.

OP wanted to discuss the 3.0 coupe. If I accept that anyone with the M has considerably bigger genitals than me can we continue with the original discussion?

OP said:

So... 260bhp instead of 330bhp; 232lbft instead of 260. That's not a huge difference frankly... and the 3.0 is a much simpler engine so presumably more reliable.

OP invited a direct comparison here.

Wishing you bought the M, Vlad? I would be, too.

[RobM77]

I owned one for a year last year and absolutely loved it. Mine was jet black with M suspensionand wheels and I bought it with just under 11k on the clock. It had a great driving position, good sense of occasion, utterly lovely sound, and enough shove for everyday use to be quite honest. The handling was excellent too - extremely neutral in the wet! Don't forget they're quite light at 1395kg and have a low ratio back axle, so noticeably quicker than the 330i they share an engine with. I made the decision over the M purely on price and the age of car I could buy, and also mpg, two things which obviously still apply now. Highly recommended. The only downsides are the lack of steering feel (the M has hyraulic PAS, the 3.0si elec. PAS), a slightly laggy throttle that's two sensitive on sport mode and too lacklustre without sport mode switched on, and a tendency for higher mileage examples to rattle.

[pilchardthecat]

RobM77 said:

I owned one for a year last year and absolutely loved it. Mine was jet black with M suspensionand wheels and I bought it with just under 11k on the clock. It had a great driving position, good sense of occasion, utterly lovely sound, and enough shove for everyday use to be quite honest. The handling was excellent too - extremely neutral in the wet! Don't forget they're quite light at 1395kg and have a low ratio back axle, so noticeably quicker than the 330i they share an engine with. I made the decision over the M purely on price and the age of car I could buy, and also mpg, two things which obviously still apply now. Highly recommended. The only downsides are the lack of steering feel (the M has hyraulic PAS, the 3.0si elec. PAS), a slightly laggy throttle that's two sensitive on sport mode and too lacklustre without sport mode switched on, and a tendency for higher mileage examples to rattle.

You forgot to mention the roof rack anecdote

[Vladimir Pukin]

Harry Flashman said:

OP invited a direct comparison here.

Wishing you bought the M, Vlad? I would be, too.

In a way you are right because the M is undoubtedly the better car, but since you seem interested I'll tell you the story: My local Lotus dealer happened to have the one I bought in stock and I, like the OP, fancied one. Since I liked the dealer, had done business with them before and liked the car, I bought it without looking at any other options. Costs are fairly low, it's for occasional use but is fairly practical for a 2-seater and I doubt that unless I'm ragging it I'd notice too much difference.

Edited by Vladimir Pukin on Wednesday 16th March 16:41

[RobM77]

pilchardthecat said:

You forgot to mention the roof rack anecdote

Don't get me started! I'd forgotten all about that! actually, now I'm up and running with the 320d I've realised that it was stupid to even think about putting massive great kayaks on a small coupé plus all the stuff in the boot Plus I've got an awesome bike carrier for the 320d's tow bar now. It's the car I always needed to be honest. Much quieter on the motorway too.

That's one thing about the Z4C - it's a bit noisy on the motorway. Mine had huge tyres (19/255 or 265 from memory).