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Road Test: 2009 BMW Z4 sDrive 3.5i car review, writing its own story

A 2009 BMW Z4 review would seem to be a story that would write itself. After all, it’s a BMW roadster, front engined with engine set well back in the chassis and the driver seat low and almost to the rear axle. There’s a choice of engines, and manual and automatic transmissions. Handling of course is superb, with a felicity that comes so easily to BMW. Yawn. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

 

Well, hold on, Mr. Daltry.* The 2009 BMW Z4—oddly designated an ’09 when, going on sale in late May, 2009, could easily be called a ’10—is about as new as a new model can be. Most noticeably, the ’09 BMW Z4 is the first BMW roadster (as opposed to the 3-Series convertible, with its back seat) that has a retractable hardtop rather than a fabric roof.

 

 

A hardtop on a roadster isn’t new. Mercedes-Benz introduced the concept with the original SLK, though that seemed less objectionable because the Merc when introduced was less hard core and more acceptable to break with convention. More hardtop roadsters have followed, but some, such as the recently introduced Nissan 370Z roadster, have stayed with cloth.

 

One might have expected BMW, with its tradition of maximizing performance, to have kept cloth as well, it has also been suggested that BMW traditionalists would consider a hardtop as effete. BMW counters that for the Z4’s price range, more comfort is demanded now, and that even hardcore sports car drivers will welcome comfort that doesn’t compromise performance.

 

BMW also did the unexpected by making the Z4 larger. Though a minimal increase was small, it’s a trend that usually says a model is going soft. However, BMW claims the added 5.8 inches in length and 0.4 inches in width allows 0.79 inches shoulder room and 1.69 inches in elbow room. It allows a modicum of storage behind the seats so not as much winds up in the passenger’s lap, and anyway, a longer rump was needed to stuff the hard top under the trunklid.

 

Another compromise with hardcore roadsterism is—gasp!—iDrive on models with the optional navigation system. BMW has massaged its much maligned glorified toggle used to operate the navigation and other systems on the large 8.8-inch high-resolution display. We didn’t have time to find out whether critics will still find stuff to complain about, but we did like the way the screen rotates up from the dash like old retractable headlamps.

 

As would be expected, BMW uses its two in-line sixes, one naturally aspirated and the other twin turbocharged, with the option of manual or automatic transmissions with either. The engines are familiar to Bimmeristas. The BMW Z4 sDrive 3.0i is powered, as its model designation suggests, by a 3-liter engine. It has a composite magnesium/aluminum crankcase and variable valve management that varies intake valve opening distance and timing of the intake and exhaust valves. The 3.0i engine is rated at 225 horsepower but just as important makes maximum torque beginning at a mere 2600 rpm. This engine is offered with either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic with full automatic mode, gear lever tip shifting, or steering wheel-mounted paddle shifting 

 

The BMW Z4 sDrive 350i is also powered by a 3-liter engine but is differentiated by two turbochargers, each feeding three cylinders, plus direct injection and an all-aluminum crankcase. It’s rated at 300 hp with 300 lb-ft of torque stretching from 1400 to 5000 rpm. Like the 3.0i, the 3.5i comes standard with the 6-speed manual transmission, however the sDrive 3.5i has the option of a 7-speed double-clutch automatic transmission that may left to shift to its own devices or shifted manually via paddles on the steering wheel.

 

The BMW Z4 has light-weight mostly aluminum “double-jointed” strut front suspension and multi-link rear.

Brakes are lightweight and the Z4 has an electrical parking brake operated by a mini-lever on the center console. BMW says it’s a first in class and we can’t think of a competitor with it.

 

Stability control is standard and includes brake drying (periodically “drags” the brake pads to sweep water from the brake discs when windshield wipers are used) and brake standby, which preloads the brakes when the driver lifts off the throttle pedal quickly, in anticipation of emergency braking.

 

All good stuff, but as they say in Munich, the proof is in the strudel. (Or maybe they don’t say it but they should). For us that means driving. We had the opportunity to sample three 2009 BMW Z4 combinations, the Z4 sDrive 3.0i with the 6-speed conventional automatic transmission, the Z4 sDrive 3.5i with the 7-speed double-clutch automatic and the Z4 sDrive 3.5i with the manual 6-speed gearbox, spending the most time with the last.

 

We found the 3.0i to be entertaining and with a 0-60 time of 6.0 seconds, it’s hardly a slouch. The automatic connected solidly when in gear, with no torque converter slop, but when shifted manually, the command seemed to be texted in (i.e., faster than phoning it but still not quite instantaneous).

 

The run with the sDrive 3.5i with the 7-speed trans showed of that engine’s greater torque and ability to pull across whatever gear. The double-clutch transmission was fun. The exhaust crackled in the moment the transmission took to change gears, enough so that we did it just for the fun of it, like having another bowl of Rice Crispy cereal just to hear it snap, crackle and pop.

 

It was in the canyon roads on the way to Ojai, California, where we flogged the BMW Z4 sDrive 3.5i 6-speed manual most unmercifully and the car responded with masochistic glee. Recognizing we were on public roads with speed limits (rolling eyes), bicyclists (looking concerned) and oncoming trucks that have only a tenuous understanding of the concept of a centerline (eyes widen), we were still able to test the power and handling.

 

The corners were sufficiently tight and closely spaced that we could stay in second gear, the Z4 bighting into corners under braking, rotating and pulling from the curve with the rear end stepping out ever so slightly as the orange traction/stability control triangle flashed on the dash the only evidence that the electronic grubbins down below were keeping an eye on us. 

 

The engine is remarkably smooth, willing to stay near redline without complaint where the next corner was close enough that a shift to third would have wasted time. When shifts were called for, the shifter was firm but not hard metallic and easily served up the next gear. Double-clutching the downshifts, it was easy to cover both brake and throttle to match revs.

 

The chassis was so rigid that we didn’t think about it until we noticed later that we hadn’t noticed it while we were driving. Broken pavement could be felt and it reduced grip but didn’t upset the Z4’s composure.

 

But the top… When the temperature climbs into the 90s, top-down driving tends to lose its glamour for all but the hardest of cores. Which is us, of course, but in the name of science and journalistic integrity, we put the top up to evaluate the air conditioning and overall comfort. Result: On the highway, the Z4 wasn’t as quiet as a Mercedes SLK, itself no tomb on wheels.

Wind noise wasn’t the problem and the top blocked the rumble and road of trucks in the next lane, but pavement noise from the sport tires coming up through the chassis. Live with it. It’s a roadster, not a BMW 7-Series.

 

Incidentally, the Z4’s onboard computer said despite our best efforts otherwise, the 3.5i twin-turbo engine still managed to record a fuel mileage in the low twenties. Either the computer was broken or outrageously optimistic or the engine is far more fuel efficient than it has any right to be.

 

Readers can have their own opinions, but we think this is the best looking BMW Z model yet, better than the overly traditional Z3 or the Bangled Z4 with “flame” styling that we were supposed to grow to love but never even got to infatuation. It bears a strong resemblance to the expensive and limited production Z8 with a strong Coke-bottle shape but with delightful cues such as the “straps” running across the fenders and down the hood, the center stop light fared into the trunklid and the softened rear ducktail spoiler.

 

Responding to wishes by customers who wanted a more upscale interior in this price class of car, BMW raised the quality of materials while giving the new Z4 styling that centered controls on the driver while giving a look of greater spaciousness for the passenger. BMW still has that third cupholder that clings to the passenger side of the drive tunnel, digging into the passenger’s left shin even when not in use. C’mon, BMW, a little German engineering to make it collapsible or retractable. Hey, we have a few ideas.

 

We really didn’t need to have too many ideas how to write this article, however. It didn’t write itself, but it was easy to find superlatives and one thing that’s very easy to say is, yes, I’d take one home.

 

* Obscure reference to The Who’s Roger Daltry, who sang the "new boss/old boss" lyrics in the group’s Won’t Be Fooled Again.