RE: BMW Z4 M40i: Driven
Discussion
king serious word with yourself.
SalesManager said:
My Cayman has PDK. My old M135i had the ZF.
The PDK changes lightning fast but the ZF in the M135i is better as an all rounder - no doubt, it was always in tune with what you wanted. The same ZF box is in the F Type but it didn't feel the same to me. I drove both the v6 and tool eater.
The ZF is hugely tunable. The same 'box in different cars/different states of tune feels like a totally different box. My last 4 cars have had the ZF box. The 6-series was far better tuned (more aggressively) tuned than the previous 5-series where is was more comfort/slush tuned. My current Alfa is another level and drives like a PDK/DSC/DCT/etc - so much so, early testers mistook it for a DCT.The PDK changes lightning fast but the ZF in the M135i is better as an all rounder - no doubt, it was always in tune with what you wanted. The same ZF box is in the F Type but it didn't feel the same to me. I drove both the v6 and tool eater.
Top pup said:
Enricogto said:
Yet BMW managed to sell 223,105 first gen Z4 (E85/E86) over a six years production run against 118,444 second gen (E89) spread over an 8 year production run. Incidentally, where they experienced the largest market loss is in the US, where clearly the combination of a lardy car, automatic gearbox and lukewarm performance wasn't really appreciated. So maybe yes, the armchair commentators in here know better than BMW what they (i.e. the market) would buy.
For full disclosure, i've owned since new one of the first ever produced Z4M Coupe. When the E89 was launched i was invited by my dealer to test drive the 35i. Appalling experience, not a sport car and not the sport car feeling i was looking for. I was hoping for it to get the S62 to create an M version which i may have considered, but it never came. I haven't of course driven the G29 so i will reserve judgement, but from what i read it seems very similar with to an E89 in a new frock.
What makes the E85/86 still appealing (and unbearable to people like Cerb4.5lee) is it's compact size (4.10m long), the great N/A engines (i know they won't come back, yet..), the sometimes hard to manage gearbox, which makes for an engaging and demanding driving experience, and the lines which make it a modern design still to date - who would have thought that we would be regretting the departure of Chris Bangle....
Your experience pretty much mirrors mine, I've also owned my Z4MC from new and also was waiting for the rumoured S65 powered one.For full disclosure, i've owned since new one of the first ever produced Z4M Coupe. When the E89 was launched i was invited by my dealer to test drive the 35i. Appalling experience, not a sport car and not the sport car feeling i was looking for. I was hoping for it to get the S62 to create an M version which i may have considered, but it never came. I haven't of course driven the G29 so i will reserve judgement, but from what i read it seems very similar with to an E89 in a new frock.
What makes the E85/86 still appealing (and unbearable to people like Cerb4.5lee) is it's compact size (4.10m long), the great N/A engines (i know they won't come back, yet..), the sometimes hard to manage gearbox, which makes for an engaging and demanding driving experience, and the lines which make it a modern design still to date - who would have thought that we would be regretting the departure of Chris Bangle....
I have to say I agree with everything you have said.
The combination of naturally aspirated straight six, manual gearbox and small roadster will lead to it being seen as a classic in future years
It’s something that you just cannot but now
Was really looking forward to this - what a disappointment- £49k for clunky styling and fake engine noise....Have just sold my Elise S and promised my better half something more passenger friendly and suitable for weekends away. Couldn’t face aTT and Boxters are just not my thing. Had an S2000 pre Lotus and loved it - no need for fake exhaust note at 9000 revs! Result - have commissioned a total restoration of a TVR Chimarea - why can’t anyone do a proper roadster at a decent price?
So, once again BMW has missed a golden opportunity to prove that it can still make a great drivers car. It's looks are awful, but subjective to personal taste, the interior looks cheap, it's heavy, it's far too big, and is saddled with an automatic gearbox only. These are all exactly what a sports car should not have or be.
The original Z4 was a good size, and even at 6'8 and well over 20st i was perfectly comfortable. It looked great and still does, and had a smart interior. The range of engine and gearboxes was right. How have they gone so wrong in so short a time? Not only on the Z series either, but the saloon, pointless suvs, and other wretched things. Sad.
The original Z4 was a good size, and even at 6'8 and well over 20st i was perfectly comfortable. It looked great and still does, and had a smart interior. The range of engine and gearboxes was right. How have they gone so wrong in so short a time? Not only on the Z series either, but the saloon, pointless suvs, and other wretched things. Sad.
Wiltshire Lad said:
Was really looking forward to this - what a disappointment- £49k for clunky styling and fake engine noise....Have just sold my Elise S and promised my better half something more passenger friendly and suitable for weekends away. Couldn’t face aTT and Boxters are just not my thing. Had an S2000 pre Lotus and loved it - no need for fake exhaust note at 9000 revs! Result - have commissioned a total restoration of a TVR Chimarea - why can’t anyone do a proper roadster at a decent price?
Amen to this!Miss my S2000 as well
mikey k said:
Wiltshire Lad said:
Was really looking forward to this - what a disappointment- £49k for clunky styling and fake engine noise....Have just sold my Elise S and promised my better half something more passenger friendly and suitable for weekends away. Couldn’t face aTT and Boxters are just not my thing. Had an S2000 pre Lotus and loved it - no need for fake exhaust note at 9000 revs! Result - have commissioned a total restoration of a TVR Chimarea - why can’t anyone do a proper roadster at a decent price?
Amen to this!Miss my S2000 as well
Ares said:
mikey k said:
Wiltshire Lad said:
Was really looking forward to this - what a disappointment- £49k for clunky styling and fake engine noise....Have just sold my Elise S and promised my better half something more passenger friendly and suitable for weekends away. Couldn’t face aTT and Boxters are just not my thing. Had an S2000 pre Lotus and loved it - no need for fake exhaust note at 9000 revs! Result - have commissioned a total restoration of a TVR Chimarea - why can’t anyone do a proper roadster at a decent price?
Amen to this!Miss my S2000 as well
My only interest in the BMW is as a second car to take miles off a far more resolved roadster I already have.
I just don't want it to be bland to own or drive.
RickRob said:
If I thought that I might be tempted to move on from my Z4M Roadster, I know know that I won't. Not an attractive car!
Agreed! This is just so disappointing and in so many ways. I own three E85 Z4s...a Z4M Roadster, an Alpina Roadster S and a 3.0Si Roadster...and whilst the subsequent E89 Z4 wasn't quite so much of a design statement, in my view it was still a good-looking car and I would have considered buying one them.
This new one just misses everything for me by a country mile. I wouldn't ever buy one!
PistonheadArticle-PAGE1 said:
It's not often a manufacturer admits it was wrong. So you can imagine PH's surprise when current Z4 product designer Michael Wimbeck admitted to us over dinner - the night before we drove the car - that BMW went down the wrong path with its second-generation Z4.
....
it was a refreshing and somewhat unexpected admission, but one that goes some way to reasserting the idea that BMW is once again focusing on the right audience - namely people like us.
...
Of course, with the car growing in size (it's slightly longer, too) it is actually fractionally heavier than the Z4 it replaces...
....
it was a refreshing and somewhat unexpected admission, but one that goes some way to reasserting the idea that BMW is once again focusing on the right audience - namely people like us.
...
Of course, with the car growing in size (it's slightly longer, too) it is actually fractionally heavier than the Z4 it replaces...
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