1BMW2VWs
05-12-2003, 07:56 AM
I thought I'd share my Friday night events from my volunteer work for the "Ultimate Drive". As I'm sure you're aware, BMW has a travelling caravan of cars that are being used for raising money for the Susan Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Every $1 donated for every 1 mile driven.
My Del-Val BMWCCA chapter contacted us a few months ago requesting help in transporting the fleet from Wilmington, DE to Pleasantville, NJ, and asked us to select a car we'd prefer to drive. Well, I ended up with a Z4 3.0 with steptronic. I really wanted the 760, but was taken already. heh heh.
So the basics:
3.0, step, nav.
I got into the car and instantly started fiddling with the OBC. It took a shorter amount of time to figure it out, as it's much easier than the i-Drive in 745Li I test drove earlier. More of a stripper version... mmmm. stripper ;)
The interior is pretty sweet. Despite the Z4 being very similar in size to the Z3, the Z4 has a much less cramped feeling, but you do give up the "cockpit" feel of the Z3, which is ok. Fit and finish are top notch, the feel of the switches and controls are just right. It's a next step in refinement over the previous gen. I kinda like it.
On to the drive....
So we all took off in caravan style and we told to behave our selves :devillook. This engine has a more disconnected quality than I'm used to. Not that there's anything wrong with it, it's just that I personally prefer more engine noise, more feedback, etc... it appears that the BMW engineers have taken out alot of the harshness we know and love. It appears to be more targetted to the "middle-aged" group of folks.
Over bumps, this car feels about the same as my Coupe. Not too harsh, not too Cadillac. Steering? heavier, less quick, but still nice feedback and just as accuarate.
After some fiddling, I find that with the transmission in SPORT mode, makes the car really come alive. Throttle response goes from typical sluggish autotrans to somewhere close to what I'm used to in the Coupe. Hey! Not too shabby!
By this time, we're about halfway into the drive and I start playing with the sportshifter. (Note, this is the first time I've ever had the opportunity to play with one of these). I nudge it over to the left and nothing happens so I tap it up and it drops a gear and shows 3M up on the dash. heh heh. ok so that's how it works... I eventually get stopped at a light. :D
Drop it into 1M and wait for the Z4 in front of me to be a fair bit down the road... MASH. WAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!! *tap* 2M *tap* 3M *tap* 4M. :D:D:D.
cool!
Now, this thing ain't as fast as the Coupe, but it's still quite impressive. I could definately get used to this thing.
Would I trade it in? Nah, but if I was on the market for a top notch sporty convertible, this would be high on my list.
So, to reiterate, this car is the evolution of the Z3. more refinement, less sport, but a balanced tradeoff. If I wasn't so damn hooked on my Coupe, I would consider this Z4. I can only imagine that a 3.0 6sp would MAKE this car.
My Del-Val BMWCCA chapter contacted us a few months ago requesting help in transporting the fleet from Wilmington, DE to Pleasantville, NJ, and asked us to select a car we'd prefer to drive. Well, I ended up with a Z4 3.0 with steptronic. I really wanted the 760, but was taken already. heh heh.
So the basics:
3.0, step, nav.
I got into the car and instantly started fiddling with the OBC. It took a shorter amount of time to figure it out, as it's much easier than the i-Drive in 745Li I test drove earlier. More of a stripper version... mmmm. stripper ;)
The interior is pretty sweet. Despite the Z4 being very similar in size to the Z3, the Z4 has a much less cramped feeling, but you do give up the "cockpit" feel of the Z3, which is ok. Fit and finish are top notch, the feel of the switches and controls are just right. It's a next step in refinement over the previous gen. I kinda like it.
On to the drive....
So we all took off in caravan style and we told to behave our selves :devillook. This engine has a more disconnected quality than I'm used to. Not that there's anything wrong with it, it's just that I personally prefer more engine noise, more feedback, etc... it appears that the BMW engineers have taken out alot of the harshness we know and love. It appears to be more targetted to the "middle-aged" group of folks.
Over bumps, this car feels about the same as my Coupe. Not too harsh, not too Cadillac. Steering? heavier, less quick, but still nice feedback and just as accuarate.
After some fiddling, I find that with the transmission in SPORT mode, makes the car really come alive. Throttle response goes from typical sluggish autotrans to somewhere close to what I'm used to in the Coupe. Hey! Not too shabby!
By this time, we're about halfway into the drive and I start playing with the sportshifter. (Note, this is the first time I've ever had the opportunity to play with one of these). I nudge it over to the left and nothing happens so I tap it up and it drops a gear and shows 3M up on the dash. heh heh. ok so that's how it works... I eventually get stopped at a light. :D
Drop it into 1M and wait for the Z4 in front of me to be a fair bit down the road... MASH. WAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!! *tap* 2M *tap* 3M *tap* 4M. :D:D:D.
cool!
Now, this thing ain't as fast as the Coupe, but it's still quite impressive. I could definately get used to this thing.
Would I trade it in? Nah, but if I was on the market for a top notch sporty convertible, this would be high on my list.
So, to reiterate, this car is the evolution of the Z3. more refinement, less sport, but a balanced tradeoff. If I wasn't so damn hooked on my Coupe, I would consider this Z4. I can only imagine that a 3.0 6sp would MAKE this car.