12-21-2018, 01:05 PM | #69 |
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Looks really nice in daylight! Can't wait to see it in person!
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12-22-2018, 04:01 PM | #70 |
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I'd like to chime in a bit. I have a '97 Z3 (M44) and a '08 Z4 3.0si Coupe. I'm not even sure if we all have the same definition of a sports car, but I think the excepted general definition is a small car with 2 seats, light weight with good reflexes. I looked seriously at a '08 Cayman prior to ending up with the Z4. The Cayman was the 1st modern-era mid/rear engine Porsche I'd driven; it wasn't the orgasmic, driving-nirvana experience I was expecting. I chose the Z4 over it. The Cayman didn't fit me well in the shoulders, and I actually like looking at an engine in a sports car, especially one that has a potential shaft bearing issue to keep track of. I'm sure at 10/10ths and maybe 9/10ths the Cayman is the more engaging car, but for me those levels of driving get you jail time in my state.
I think Porsche can make the Cayman/Boxster and 911 focused sports cars because its parent company is Volkswagen, which is a huge car company (2nd or 3rd in the industry) that makes volumes of inexpensively-built cars off of one chassis architecture. BMW is the 13th largest manufacturer and has no financial ability to make a purpose-built sports car chassis; hell, it had to amortize the cost of the Z4 with Toyota for God's sake, that says enough.
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A manual transmission can be set to "comfort", "sport", and "track" modes simply by the technique and speed at which you shift it; it doesn't need "modes", modes are for manumatics that try to behave like a real 3-pedal manual transmission. If you can money-shift it, it's a manual transmission. "Yeah, but NO ONE puts an automatic trans shift knob on a manual transmission."
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12-31-2018, 12:56 AM | #72 | |
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01-25-2019, 09:29 AM | #73 |
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Car and Driver seems to like the G29 quite a bit. From https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews...r-performance/
The 2019 BMW Z4 Is Built for Go More Than for Show Better to drive than its predecessor, the new Z4 M40i is a more convincing sports car. By Mike Duff Nov 7, 2018 Some sports cars are bought to be driven, and—let's be honest here—some are bought to be flaunted. The outgoing BMW Z4 always felt more suited to catwalk duties, as it was compromised by the cumbersome retractable hard top that operated like a mechanized ballet but added mass and bulk in the wrong places for a sports car. As such, it struggled to make a convincing case to buyers asking the toughest question in this market: "Why shouldn't I buy a Porsche Boxster instead?" The new Z4 is far sharper to drive than its predecessor, and Boxster comparisons will certainly come. But the more pressing question is how it will differ from the new Toyota Supra. In an unlikely corporate hookup, both cars will be built by Magna Steyr in Austria, and they are as closely related as models with different exterior styling can be. The Supra is a coupe and the Z4 a convertible, but both use the same structure and share all underbody hardpoints, suspension design, and powertrains. But don't assume the Z4's fabric roof makes it the less athletic sibling. Indeed, after our first experience, we can report that the Supra is going to have to be very special to offer a driving experience that beats this BMW's. Good and Bad Angles The Z4 certainly has visual presence befitting a sports car, but it definitely also possesses both good and bad angles. Viewed dead on from the front or the rear, it's striking. The angular headlights feature stacked elements rather than BMW's long-established side-by-side layout. With its muscular haunches and interesting contours, the rear has a visual width that makes this Z4 look bigger and more grown up than its predecessors. Although it's 3.8 inches longer than the previous Z4 at 170.0 inches overall, the new car has a wheelbase that is 1.1 inches shorter. We're told that the jowly front overhang is the result of the need to meet pedestrian-impact standards while maintaining a low hoodline, and as such, it's probably the lesser of two evils. The new Z4's cabin features digital instruments in addition to a 10.2-inch touchscreen in the center of the dashboard. The interior is well finished and features BMW's latest-generation switchgear, but it's otherwise short on distractions. The seating position is low and the windshield header relatively high. Taller drivers have sufficient headroom with the top in place and are well protected from buffeting with it lowered. The fabric roof itself motors up or down in just 10 seconds, and it can be operated at speeds of up to 31 mph. Two engines are confirmed for the U.S. market. The base is a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four that—in accordance with BMW's confused badging methodology—will carry 30i branding, owing to its 255-hp output. Above it sits the six-cylinder M40i, which uses a juiced-up version of the twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter engine seen in the M240i. The car we drove was a Z4 M40i in European specification, which has an exhaust particulate filter that limits output to 335 horsepower. Cars in the United States don't need such a system, which means a mighty 382 ponies and an estimated 4.2-second zero-to-60-mph time. In both the 30i and the M40i, an eight-speed automatic gearbox directs torque to the rear axle. (A 197-hp Z4 20i will have the option of a manual 'box, but that model won't be coming to the States.) A Breadth of Talents Our first experience with the Z4 M40i came with a prototype version on the Estoril circuit near Lisbon, Portugal. The car was a hard-beaten test mule, but it showed every sign of enjoying life on the tight, twisty circuit. The combination of a brawny engine, a fast-acting electronically controlled limited-slip differential, and lenient stability control give an oversteer bias to the car's handling attitude, and in Sport mode it will slide to impressive angles before the system intervenes. Adaptive dampers, which are standard on the M40i, also kept the body under tight control. Driving a production Z4 on Portugal's twisty mountain roads demonstrated the breadth of the roadster's talents and the degree to which its character can be altered. Although already familiar from other BMWs, the muscular twin-turbo six is the range-topping Z4's starring feature and the most obvious point of difference when compared to the four-cylinder Porsche 718 Boxster S. Even in its lower European output, the M40i feels impressively brisk; the engine responds cleanly and without lag at lower revs and runs quickly to its redline. It sounds muscular under hard use, with the most aggressive Sport+ driving mode adding some of the pops and bangs with which automakers like to leaven the exhaust notes of their punchier offerings. It often feels as if modern cars rely too much on selectable driving modes, but the Z4 M40i's different settings make a transformative difference to its character without going too far. In Comfort mode, the Z4 is pliant and refined—with its powertrain working to deliver rapid but unobtrusive progress using the meat of the engine's torque band—yet still responsive and keen. Sport mode shuffles from the other end of the deck, sharpening the throttle response and working the engine harder before upshifts; the active dampers grow firmer, but the car still handles rougher surfaces without harshness or any hint of scuttle shake. (BMW says this Z4 is the most torsionally rigid open-topped road car it has made.) Sport mode also tightens the leash on the differential, allowing for faster corner exits. The Z4's steering is worthy of particular praise. It feels crisper and more natural than the gloopy electronic assistance of the 5-series. We're told that the new 3-series will use pretty much the exact same system, which is a good omen. The gearbox also copes well; we'd like to see a manual option, but the ZF eight-speed automatic shifts intelligently and cleanly when left to its own devices yet manages a good impression of a quick-shifting dual-clutch gearbox under manual control. Even our relatively brief experience proves the Z4 to be a true sports car in a way that its predecessor just wasn't. Our drive route took us on the N379 between Casais da Serra and Setúbal. It's tight and lightly trafficked, combining sinuous sections with some impressively long straights, and runs mostly along a ridgeline that follows the coast and offers frequent glimpses of the Atlantic Ocean several hundred feet below. The drops are vertiginous and often protected by nothing more than flimsy crash barriers seemingly installed by the lowest bidder's second cousin—in short, the sort of road where confidence is critical to going quickly, especially given the pleasant alternative of cruising gently and taking in the view. It's also one that the Z4 M40i dispatched with as much assurance as pretty much anything else we could have nominated, holding faithfully to the chosen line, unfazed by bumps, and with an indefatigable engine and brakes. Arrival and Pricing The Z4 30i will arrive first, in March of next year. The M40i will be a couple of months behind, by BMW's reckoning. We don't have final pricing yet, but the four-cylinder looks set to be in the low-$50K neighborhood and the M40i in the mid-$60,000s, overlapping the Porsche 718 Boxster with the promise of much more standard equipment. We won't prejudge that contest, but we can confidently predict it is going to be closer than ever before.
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BMW Z4 3.0si Roadster. Montego Blue Metallic. Premium and Sport Package. |
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stevenvillatoro734.50 Jim S385.00 |
01-29-2019, 08:27 AM | #74 |
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That’s a really good review you posted Huz-Z
I happen to like the new Z4 a lot, so much so that I have ordered an M40i in Misano Blue for delivery at the end of March |
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01-29-2019, 01:02 PM | #75 | |
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I'm glad you liked the review. My wife's company has its head office in Aberdeen - if she has to go there any time soon I may tag along and show up at your door for a look at your car! (Don't worry - I won't ask to drive it for fear of ending up in a ditch owing to the fact that I've been driving on the right all my life over here!).
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01-30-2019, 11:33 AM | #77 | |
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01-30-2019, 11:38 AM | #78 |
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01-31-2019, 02:12 PM | #79 |
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Ordered one just like this
I have an M40i on order very similar to the one you show in the video. Looking forward to March when I take delivery.
Last edited by Jim S; 01-31-2019 at 02:47 PM.. |
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02-08-2019, 01:57 PM | #81 |
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Has anyone seen a review of the 4-cyl yet? Also, wondering how it'll sound.
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02-16-2019, 05:23 PM | #82 | |
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Review and they describe the sound also (spoiler: they like it). |
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02-23-2019, 07:07 PM | #83 | |
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03-06-2019, 11:10 PM | #84 |
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Its not a sports car
I agree with most.Its not a sports car. I own 2 Z4s and still have one.I could care less about performance. I love the hard top. I love the comfort. Love this for a summer cruiser. I hate the new one for different reasons. The looks are bad. That front is horrible and that Rag Top sucks. The rear looks awesome with that wide track.I saw a red one at the dealer today and just wasn't that impressed. Those Z3 fanboys should have just moved on to Porsche. Let the adults have a good looking roadster. Unfortunately neither of us got what we wanted. I might change my mind when prices drop and the M40i in Frozen Orange comes out.
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03-08-2019, 01:04 PM | #85 | |
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I need a sporty weekend car; and not sure Porsche would suit that need. You start reading Porsche forums and it seems completely wrong and forbidden to get in a Porsche and take a short drive because the engine needs to run long? |
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03-10-2019, 08:58 AM | #87 |
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Thanks for sharing. I really liked how silent the cabin becomes once he closes the roof!
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03-10-2019, 12:59 PM | #88 |
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Go with Z4
[QUOTE=Bimmer North;24488380]I agree 100%. I'm in the market for a summer/sporty car. I'm not hardcore on sports performance. So i'm still considering between Porsche Cayman and the E89 Z4.
I need a sporty weekend car; and not sure Porsche would suit that need. You start reading Porsche forums and it seems completely wrong and forbidden to get in a Porsche and take a short drive because the engine needs to run long? Always rent exotic car when i go to california for a month. Rented cayman s last year. What a perfomer, a car anyone can drive fast.Mulholland drive at sunrise, was a thrill. But i prefer my quiet hardtop Z4. The looks of the e89 are great, and it drives so easy and quiet. I love that about the Z4. Had a 2014 c7 corvette, but when i saw the 2014 z4 lci refresh in valencia orange at the car show it was love at first sight. I'm on my 2nd one now in same color (2016)
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