[Nav55]

Just sold my TT 2016 and am in a market for a new gen Z4. Test drove one and was very happy.

Question for current owners.

How is their 20i holding up? Is there any merit to getting an 30i? (is it that much faster)

In terms of budget my logic is that going with 20i I can get a better specked car. Rather than bigger engine with less equipment.

Traffic is really stop and go these days, dont see that I might miss the 50 additional HP of the 30i or the 6cyl of the 40m.

Im speaking about the automatic transmission in all cases.
Am I wrong?

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by Nav55

In terms of budget my logic is that going with 20i I can get a better specked car. Rather than bigger engine with less equipment.

If I had budgetary limitations I would go for the car that is more fully equipped as opposed to sacrificing all of those options for a larger engine. You may also wish to consider looking at a used 30i or M40i with low mileage that is still has a warranty. This would help to offset the price difference of buying a new car with a larger engine.

Originally Posted by Nav55

Traffic is really stop and go these days, dont see that I might miss the 50 additional HP of the 30i or the 6cyl of the 40m.

On the flip side, when you are accelerating from a dead stop or on an open highway driving at really high speeds like you can do in Germany there is nothing like the thrill of having added HP and torque. I test drove the 30i and most likely it would have met all of my needs but the M40i just blew me away!

[BMWGirlFL]

Originally Posted by Westside Guy

If I had budgetary limitations I would go for the car that is more fully equipped as opposed to sacrificing all of those options for a larger engine. You may also wish to consider looking at a used 30i or M40i with low mileage that is still has a warranty. This would help to offset the price difference of buying a new car with a larger engine.

On the flip side, when you are accelerating from a dead stop or on an open highway driving at really high speeds like you can do in Germany there is nothing like the thrill of having added HP and torque. I test drove the 30i and most likely it would have met all of my needs but the M40i just blew me away!

I concur. My budget pick would be new 20i or new to me M40i.

[Horseman]

I'm the kind of person where my budget could not fit in the M40i. I did get the 30i and I do enjoy it quite a bit. It puts a smile on my face every single time I drive it around.

However.... I'm also the kind of guy that when I really love something, I want ALL of it. SOOOOOOOOOOO I'd been looking for ways to trade up.... finally found it and now it's a matter of time. Not because of power ... but because of the sound, and the personal ego trip to getting the best of what the model has to offer.

[Nav55]

Hi guys, thanks for quick reactions and tips.

Just to clear up, I am looking for 2nd hand z4 in any case. New ones are criminally expensive and a BMW approved 2nd hand is fine with me.
Gonna be my daily.

I had a TT 2016 with 230hp quattro dsg that did 0-60 in 5.2 seconds. Was a nice car, but in the last 3 years, I cant for the life of me remember the last time I drove it "fast" or "spirited". Especially driving in town centres. I dont have B roads.

For me, what drove me to z4 are the following:
Nice design
Beautiful interior
Its a roadster (never had a convertible in my life).
Non DCT transmission. (Dont get me wrong, DSG is very quick. But they are a nightmare for stop and go traffic. Jerk quite hard at low speeds).

After driving something that is as fast as 30i, I dont feel like driving fast anymore.

I would stil like some mid range torgue for those overtakes. But id much rather get one with harmakardon speakers, adaptive suspension and maybe M performance package (just for the steering wheel alone). Than go for stronger engine.

Did anyone drive 20i? Is it quick enough for daily drive?
Sound wise they all pump playstation engine sound via speakers. So unless its 6 cyl no point in chasing the engine note. Hahah

[SpeedyATL]

No disrespect, but it sounds like you have already made your decision to get the 20i. And, it seems like it will fit your needs very well.

We don't have that option here in the states, just 30i and M40.

Although not completely correlated, I look at buying a car like buying a PC. I put the most upfront money into things that are the most costly to add/upgrade later. With a PC, that's the CPU. With a car, it's likely the motor.

So, as my priorities are different than yours, I went with an M40. If budget were my primary concern, I'd put the money in the motor rather than the options. You can always upgrade the stereo/wheels/etc after the fact, but upgrading the motor could be very costly, especially if you want a 6 cyl but bought a 4 cyl.

Now going from a 20i to a 30i may be as simple as a reflash of the ecu. If I were in your shoes, I'd look to see if that's all it is. Then if its an easy upgrade later, put the $ in options you want with the understanding that you can add a fair amount of power later pretty easily should you find it necessary.

Whatever you decide, I hope you love it. I've had mine for about 6 weeks now and look forward to driving it everyday....sometimes I actually wish my work commute were a little longer so I could enjoy it more....

[Flying Clog]

Hi there.

I was in a similar dilemma.
At the time I didn't have the extra money for an M40i so test drove both the 2.0i and 3.0i.

The real life difference between the two 4 cyl engines was really hard to feel. At highway speeds the 3.0i had slightly more torque but again the difference was hardly noticable.
However I went for the 3.0i as the spec of the car I was looking at was perfect and exactly what I wanted.

I kept that car for 2 years and loved it - but always wanted a little bit more, and so last December traded it for an 18 month old M40i and am loving this too - even more.

[stlcdr]

The 20 is probably on par as a replacement for the TT (engine wise). If it's stop and go, I'd say the 20 would work.

Indeed, even in the US (where we don't have the 20) it'll get up to 'highway speed' in plenty of time with plenty to spare. But where is the fun in that? I'm a bit of a light-to-light racer, even though I'm not a child. The thrill of raw acceleration - when you can apply it - is hard to beat.

[Westside Guy]

Confession, another reason why I went with the M40i is because my generation grew up with muscle cars. All of my friends had GTO's, 442's, Corvettes, etc and all I had was an Olds Cutlass. I always wanted a beast to drive and the M40i gave me the best of both worlds, "Beauty and the Beast" all in one car!!!

[BMWGirlFL]

Originally Posted by Westside Guy

Confession, another reason why I went with the M40i is because my generation grew up with muscle cars. All of my friends had GTO's, 442's, Corvettes, etc and all I had was an Olds Cutlass. I always wanted a beast to drive and the M40i gave me the best of both worlds, "Beauty and the Beast" all in one car!!!

My mom's Cutlass had a bigger V8 than my Camaro. LOL

[ZZZ4 G29]

No shame in getting a 20i. Better than a Miata.

[Skinbc]

I have the 30i all options. For me it was best of both worlds. Great performance and specs minus the 6 cylinder. Very happy, I’ve yet to be in a situation where the 6 would be needed. Granted I’m not doing any launch control from stops at red lights, just windy roads in pa.

[BEAR-AvHistory]

Originally Posted by Westside Guy

Confession, another reason why I went with the M40i is because my generation grew up with muscle cars. All of my friends had GTO's, 442's, Corvettes, etc and all I had was an Olds Cutlass. I always wanted a beast to drive and the M40i gave me the best of both worlds, "Beauty and the Beast" all in one car!!!

Lived life in the fast lane during the 1960/1970 era. If I still had my cars from that period it would be a collection to kill for.

Dropped out to raise a family's, 3 girls, with stations wagons etc. & because of the crappy cars of the new post gas crash era built a number of my own when I jumped back in. Nothing exciting from the manufactures over that period. Strongest cars were two company Jaguar 4.0L V8's when I lived in England.

First factory performance car in the states after we returned was a 2004 BMW 330Ci ZHP 4MT convertible. Outside of the home built COBRA, 911 Carrera4S, Boxster-S, all my performance cars have been BMW.

Thinking about it as this thread grew there are some non-performance item I would give up to get the best power package if I was strapped for cash. That said there are some I don't want anyway.

[StanDiego]

Originally Posted by Nav55

Hi guys, thanks for quick reactions and tips.

Just to clear up, I am looking for 2nd hand z4 in any case. New ones are criminally expensive and a BMW approved 2nd hand is fine with me.
Gonna be my daily.

I had a TT 2016 with 230hp quattro dsg that did 0-60 in 5.2 seconds. Was a nice car, but in the last 3 years, I cant for the life of me remember the last time I drove it "fast" or "spirited". Especially driving in town centres. I dont have B roads.

For me, what drove me to z4 are the following:
Nice design
Beautiful interior
Its a roadster (never had a convertible in my life).
Non DCT transmission. (Dont get me wrong, DSG is very quick. But they are a nightmare for stop and go traffic. Jerk quite hard at low speeds).

After driving something that is as fast as 30i, I dont feel like driving fast anymore.

I would stil like some mid range torgue for those overtakes. But id much rather get one with harmakardon speakers, adaptive suspension and maybe M performance package (just for the steering wheel alone). Than go for stronger engine.

Did anyone drive 20i? Is it quick enough for daily drive?
Sound wise they all pump playstation engine sound via speakers. So unless its 6 cyl no point in chasing the engine note. Hahah

I believe the 20i has the same B48 engine as the 30i only detuned. Before my Z4 s30i, I owned two ('16 and '19) MINI Cooper S convertibles with the same B48 engine running around 189 HP. It was more than quick enough for daily driving.

[Nav55]

For me the time when I felt like burning rubber is gone. Killed by LA size traffic (the best comparison I can give to you americans hahah)

I was just wondering if 20i is too slow to daily drive and use. Since my old TT was on par with 30i.

Im gonna window shop around. If I find a good 30i then cool, I doubt I will see a 40m in my budget sadly.
So its 20i for me it seems

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by Nav55

For me the time when I felt like burning rubber is gone. Killed by LA size traffic (the best comparison I can give to you americans hahah)

I was just wondering if 20i is too slow to daily drive and use. Since my old TT was on par with 30i.

Im gonna window shop around. If I find a good 30i then cool, I doubt I will see a 40m in my budget sadly.
So its 20i for me it seems

You might get lucky and find a low mileage 30i, just keep your fingers crossed. If you buy one privately and not from a dealer you will save a little on the added markup the dealer would include in the price.

If a dealer has a few used Z4's in their inventory they might be more flexible on the price.

[JustChris]

I had the 20i in the U.K. for a full days test drive at launch.

It was excellent and for me I could enjoy it in sport and sport+ a lot.

The car I have ordered is the M40i as with a great discount and standard kit tbe delta is less than you might think.

Then I factored in this for me was to be a fun and weekend car … YOLO kicked in.

No shame in the 20i at all IMHO. Great package in these.

[Bimmerfun82]

I had the b48 higher output in the 430i, and it is a terrific engine. The only time I missed the extra output was at higher speeds. But plenty of torque. I haven't driven the 20i but if the places you're driving have lower speed limits it should be great fun, lighter weight than the M40i for sure. I have a need for speed, so an extra $10k was a no-brainer especially since I was coming from a higher price point M3 trade-in (ad v. taxes already paid).

[SpeedyATL]

I hate to state the obvious, but I tend to be good at it, so....

Just because the M40 might be $XX,000 more than the 30i, doesn't mean it costs you that much more. And, the same can be said for the 30i over the 20i.

In the end, the car with the higher trim/engine spec/MSRP will almost certainly have a higher resale value, which will obviously reduce some of the overall cost delta.

Car's (typically) aren't an investment as they depreciate, but they are a store of value which can be realized when sold. And in fact, cars are one of the most liquid hard assets available so if you need to sell one, you can generally do it on very short notice.

[Bimmerfun82]

Oh, by the way, I took my 430i up to tail of the dragon.... it was about as fast as the modified Miatas out of corners but required more braking before apex