The Next Generation G29!!!!

[Redline]

Thanks for the write up and comments. Somehow I missed it originally.

I’ve been forbidden from trying one so far, but, I have sat in am M40i. If fact I did so a week before they were launched

Agree with your comments. The driver’s seat is incredibly comfortable. While as large, the long bonnet doesn’t seem quite as intimidating as earlier Zeds.
The boot space is fantastic by comparison. Had never considered the fact that you’re moving an awful amount of weight backwards in the E89.
Styling - I was more impressed when I saw the car compared to photos too. It has some aggressive lines and angles rather than the nice curves that makes the E89 such an attractive car.

I’d love to know how you rated the 20i version. BMW expect that to be the most popular model.
I believe it’s the same unit as I’ve got in the 330e, but, I have an extra 85bhp on tap, but also a much heavier car. It’s on the ZF 8 speed box which is sublime. It’s much faster manual change on the paddles/stick compared to the E85 auto. I’d expect the new Z4 to the same. But, a manual it is not. Thoughts on power and delivery compared to your current E89 would be welcome.


I see that standard wheels are 18” so expect the crashing of the E89 is somewhat reigned in and it’s a more supple ride.
My first thought was this feels like a fabulous Grand Tourer not a slim and nimble responsive sports car. The angular lines seems to give it more bulk. But then, I haven’t turned a wheel in it yet.

Things like LED lights get comment on expense to replace.
LEDs have a life of 20,000 hours. They will degrade slightly over their life but it’s unlikely they’re going to need replacing except when damaged. They are much lighter than HIDs and as bright, but, the light pattern is not as sharp. There is far less heat generated so can be more compact. They are instant though. HIDs take about a second to reach full brightness.
The active LED technology is fantastic giving a reactive light pattern for the conditions and steering angle.

One thing that makes me think about are the cockpit controls. They seem to be closely grouped around the gear selector - I hope finding the right button is easier than it looks.

 

[EnthuZiaZT]

Thanks for the write up and comments. Somehow I missed it originally.

I’ve been forbidden from trying one so far, but, I have sat in am M40i. If fact I did so a week before they were launched

Agree with your comments. The driver’s seat is incredibly comfortable. While as large, the long bonnet doesn’t seem quite as intimidating as earlier Zeds.
The boot space is fantastic by comparison. Had never considered the fact that you’re moving an awful amount of weight backwards in the E89.
Styling - I was more impressed when I saw the car compared to photos too. It has some aggressive lines and angles rather than the nice curves that makes the E89 such an attractive car.

I’d love to know how you rated the 20i version. BMW expect that to be the most popular model.
I believe it’s the same unit as I’ve got in the 330e, but, I have an extra 85bhp on tap, but also a much heavier car. It’s on the ZF 8 speed box which is sublime. It’s much faster manual change on the paddles/stick compared to the E85 auto. I’d expect the new Z4 to the same. But, a manual it is not. Thoughts on power and delivery compared to your current E89 would be welcome.


I see that standard wheels are 18” so expect the crashing of the E89 is somewhat reigned in and it’s a more supple ride.
My first thought was this feels like a fabulous Grand Tourer not a slim and nimble responsive sports car. The angular lines seems to give it more bulk. But then, I haven’t turned a wheel in it yet.

Things like LED lights get comment on expense to replace.
LEDs have a life of 20,000 hours. They will degrade slightly over their life but it’s unlikely they’re going to need replacing except when damaged. They are much lighter than HIDs and as bright, but, the light pattern is not as sharp. There is far less heat generated so can be more compact. They are instant though. HIDs take about a second to reach full brightness.
The active LED technology is fantastic giving a reactive light pattern for the conditions and steering angle.

One thing that makes me think about are the cockpit controls. They seem to be closely grouped around the gear selector - I hope finding the right button is easier than it looks.

Well Ian, the 20i I drove seemed quite as powerful as my E89 28i in comfort mode with 184bhp on tap it's really no slouch coupled to that slick 8 speed auto box it's a dream to drive on the paddles. It is a twin turbo engine so it would be possible to map it well above 250bhp I would have thought. Personally I would go for the 30i, still a four pot but power is 255bhp, 0-60 in 5.2 seconds. It would certainly out pace you E85 3litre and would easily be a match for a Z3M. When you drive it, it does not feel as big a car as it looks. I did not like the black radiator grill and would opt for a chrome one if I bought one from new, possibly in silver. The major controls are well placed for the driver and easy to use, what I could not get used to was the speedo and rev counter which are electronically represented on the dash board. I guess I getting old but I still like to see analogue dials. The 18 inch wheels give a much better ride than the 19s I have on my E89. I feel more confident about them being able to handle the potholes. BMW have come in for a lot of stick on the 19 inch wheels on the E89 which seem to crack as soon as they see a pot hole. All in all a most impressive Car, everyone should drive one to see how good it is.

Mike

 

[Brian H]

Today was not only the launch of the new generation Z4, G29, but my first experience of the new model too. A keen young salesman gave us the speel, I had asked to drive the 30i, but the car they had ready was a sDrive20i Sport, which has 197 HP 0-60 in 6.6 seconds and claim fuel consumption of 37.2 - 38.2 MPG. The car has an enormous full width boot measuring 281 litres, as they have reverted back to the soft top, so no longer limited by the roof folding mechanism. Under the bonnet, the car boasted a 2litre twin turbo engine, the plastic cover obscured the view of the engine. The Salesman drove it out onto the forecourt and Sandy & I were away.

Exterior styling aside for the time being, the car we were driving had the comfort, the driving assist and the technology package, I found the instrument cluster a bit confusing at first, being used to the analogue dials, tacho and speedo of my E89. Leaving it in auto and selecting sport mode, the car seemed quite lively on the accelerator, accompanied by the lovely raspy exhaust note with the twin tail outlets, one either side of the car.

Heading out East on the A47, we were initially challenged by the number of speed limits as we went through the various built up areas, the head up display makes driving in these confined areas simple, I did notice that if I went 5 miles an hour over the speed limit, the speed limit indicator flashed at me angrily and the indicated speed colour turned from white to red. When at last we got out on to the open road, I found suspension wise the car was well set up, given that our Norfolk Roads are extremely undulating, the suspension soaked up the bumps which were unnoticeable in the cabin. As we got in to heavy traffic, we turned off the A47 towards Sandringham in a nice little section of twisting and turning country roads, I switched the auto box to manual control and used the paddle shifters to select the gears, pushing the car a little on the corners, it was very satisfying to accelerate hard and change up a gear and down a gear as you come into the next corner.

The gear box has 8 forward gears, which means there is enough gears in there to play with on all the numerous bends. Although the engine speed wasn't immediately apparent to me on the tacho, I reverted to instinct, the engine seemed to pull best between 3000 and 5000 revs. There was no roll on the suspension as I thought there might be initially and the car felt quite at home on the corners.

We headed to Sandringham for a quick photoshoot and then back to Listers BMW garage in Kings Lynn, all in all, we had the car for 50 minutes of sheer driving pleasure, even the photographer was impressed and her usual shouts of 'Slow down' 'Mind that pedestrian' and 'You're approaching a 30 mile an hour limit' were forgotten as she soaked up the luxury of the extremely comfortable and supportive leather seats.

In conclusion, do I want one, yes, can I afford one, Ummmmm!!! Now where did I put that lottery ticket!!!!

Mike & Sandy

It's a bit picture heavy, hope you enjoy them.
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A great write up Mike.

 

[EnthuZiaZT]

Thanks Brian, I was pleased with the test drive, it proved to be a positive experience!

 

[Redline]

Just waiting for the 330e to be fettled so went and had another look.
Doesn’t seem quite as big on a second look.

The seats though are quite a bit higher than previous zeds.

Think you’re right Mike. The 30i would be the one to go for. Already up for £5-6k below list price.

 

[Brian4]

Just been playing with the build on the BMW site and can get a M40i for £51K did put one or two useful options on it though but not impressed with colour choices.

 

[Redline]

Just been playing with the build on the BMW site and can get a M40i for £51K did put one or two useful options on it though but not impressed with colour choices.

Got to agree - I find the colours available a little underwhelming.

 

[Brian4]

yes 6 colours for the Sport and 4 for the Msport

 

[Redline]

Just wondering if there are any more recent views on the new Z4.

With the possibility of the E89 being written off we may now have to make an investment decision. Simple one foe one replacement, or another late model E89 or a new 20i or even 30i. There are quite a few pre-registered and demo samples out there.

Don’t really want to get a 5 year old car unless it’s right on the money. There’s precious few of them around, especially with the same equipment levels. Got to go up to the 6 pots and up to an extra £10k for a low mileage example.

I’m finding the new model is growing on me. The grey colour looks good but I’m not sure about the satin finish. The black grill tones the aggressive front down a bit. The side view still has some nice curves. It’s the air scoops front and rear on top of the extra length that take the car firmly into the GT class. BMW have clearly decided to step away from the true sports car sector and leave that to the Boxter and other more agricultural sports car marques (i.e. without all the Technology).

Watched some reviews of both the M40i and 30i by a German reviewer. He rated the 30i as good as if not better than the M40i for use on our restricted roads and as a good handling sports tourer overall. The new Z4 seems to have much better handling than the E89.

 

[EnthuZiaZT]

Hi Ian, there seems to be some very good deals on the BMW Approved website at the moment. I've seen a 20i for as little as £30k but I did not look at the spec, it went quickly. One thing I have noticed is that the engine specs are wrong on this site, if you look you will see that both the 20i and the 30i are rated at 231bhp? No they're not, the 20i I believe is a single turbo unit rated at 184BHP and the 30i is a twin turbo unit rated at 257BHP. not sure which autobox they have though, 7 speed or 8 speed. I think the 30i is quite capable of keeping up or outpacing the 40i on good English twisty turny roads. The 40i will of course outpace a 30i on straight roads. Tyres on the new cars are by Michelin and are a big improvement on the standard runflats on the E89. Hope this helps

Mike

 

[Stevo7682]

@Redline Ian I was just reading this again I just thought I would comment on what you have said about the colours available.
I would assume as with other BMW models there will be a way to expand the colour options that would be to get the car specced through BMW Individual and go for a more bespoke personalised vehicle.

 

[Redline]

@Redline Ian I was just reading this again I just thought I would comment on what you have said about the colours available.
I would assume as with other BMW models there will be a way to expand the colour options that would be to get the car specced through BMW Individual and go for a more bespoke personalised vehicle.

Not inclined to pay full list price though Steve. There’s lots of pre-registered examples with good discounts up for sale. Only standard colours available though. If I win the lottery I’ll think again