Launched almost a decade ago, the last generation of the Z4 was discontinued in 2016. The new car — under joint development with Toyota (for the Supra) since 2013 — took some time, but now it’s finally here. The new Z4 uses BMW’s Cluster Architecture (CLAR) and it’s got a raft of changes. The curves have given way to edges and angles and of course, the motorised hardtop has given way to a fabric roof.
Compared to the old car, the styling is completely different — even the traditional vertical bars in the kidney grilles have given way to a diamond-patterned mesh. On the whole, styling is aggressive and it works; proof of the pudding were the lively reactions we got everywhere we went. Of course, the red paint job did help, but the sharp headlights, angular-cut bumper and creased bonnet were all certainly a big draw.
From the side, you realise that, while it’s still very much a roadster, the classic long bonnet and short rear stance are a little less pronounced, this time around. The soft top is very neat and fits nice and taut — but, of course, the Z4 looks best with it down. BMW says the soft roof saves weight and lowers the car’s centre of gravity for better handling. The angular surfacing carries on at the rear, with a very aggressively cut rear bumper and very slender, sporty-looking tail-light units.
The insides, too, have seen a huge change in design, and unlike the exteriors, not all of it is nice. Gone are the twin dials, and in their place is a screen that, sadly, does not offer a twin-dial display. What you see are angular, elliptical gauges with small needles. In Sport mode, the needles disappear, and the speedo and tacho display resemble some sort of elliptical battery gauge with two very small bars rising and falling to indicate change in pace. I know this may sound pedantic, but watching needles race skyward as you accelerate is all a part of the driving appeal for a car with sporty intentions.
The dashboard brings redemption, with the controls and displays nicely tilted towards the driver, leaving you feeling cocooned and ‘in control’. It’s a nice feeling from behind the wheel — recline the seat a bit and you’ll feel like Luke Skywalker in his X-Wing fighter, ready to take on the dark side. Come bad roads, however, and you’ll want to sit a bit higher and more upright to get a better view outside, as the seats are set low and the wind-shield is quite narrow. Seated this way, I found the top of my hair lightly ruffled in the wind; for reference, I’m 5ft 8in — which brings me to the cabin space. If you’re around my height and with a small frame, you’ll find space adequate. If you’re any bigger it will be a tight fit.
Boot space is 281 litres and deep enough to take in one large check-in suitcase. The soft top folds into its own little recess and so doesn’t eat into boot space; what will, however, is the space-saver spare.
The Z4’s cabin quality is great and typically BMW, and it has a lot of equipment, including a head-up display, twin-zone climate control and auto parking. Although, pay attention to the brochure, because a lot of the equipment is just optional. The fantastic iDrive system is standard though and comes with a 10.25-inch touchscreen, but for certain functions you’ll find it a lot less distracting using the rotary controller instead.
The new Z4 is available in two versions — the sDrive20i, which has a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine making 197hp; and the M40i, with a larger 3.0-litre, six-cylinder turbo-petrol engine that pumps out 340hp. Both cars have an 8-speed transmission and are rear-wheel driven. The M in the M40i means the car gets sporty bits like the M Sport differential, the M Sport brake and 19-inch alloys — but some of these are optional on the smaller-engined sDrive20i too.
We drove the 3.0-litre car and its sportier intentions became clear as soon as we fired it up. The engine comes alive with a growl and the exhaust lets out a nice, deep rumble. Throttle response is great and power comes in early, at around 1,700rpm, and then stays strong and linear. What’s impressive is that the engine feels really smooth, like it can rev hard all day. Importantly, it’s pretty quick too; we tested it at 4.8sec for the 0-100kph dash and at 2.77sec for the in-gear, 20-80kph run.
Of course, for a car with such sporty intent, this isn’t surprising; what is, though, is the ride. Yes, it’s lumpy over broken surfaces, but it never really feels harsh. There are drive modes on offer, but even in the sporty ones, the springs will crash through on only the sharp edges.
Though handling isn’t that strong, there’s plenty of grip; but the steering is neither all that feelsome, nor does it have a very uniform rate of turn. On the whole, the Z4 is not very nimble and comes across as more of a cruiser than a sportscar.
