[1stKnight]

Originally Posted by Z4 Beemer

What a terrific colour combo - congrats. I too owned a 2.2i Z4 before the 325i coupe, and know exactly what you mean about being "small and sporty". I'm eagerly waiting to see what the new Z4 looks like - rumoured to be launched at the start of 2009 with a choice of soft or hard top - I think production of the existing Z4 has now actually stopped. With the 3.0i twin turbo in the new Z4 it will be a fantastic roadster.

Next year's Z4 is going to be awesome with the 3.0i TT engine! I'll be getting the new shape in about 2 - 3 years or so. I don't want to jump right in as BMW seem to only offer the M-Sport's 6 months or so from launch and I'd like to see how the new model fares.

[1stKnight]

Originally Posted by CD

hmm, i wish i had a garage (that i could get my car in )

It is nice - I've always parked my car on the street in previous homes but we're lucky enough to have the garage now and the cars sleep there all the time. The connecting door from the kitchen means that I can regularly look at my new car too - sad, I know; my wife is wondering just how much attention I can give this car! I find all sorts of excuses to go and see it.

It had a valet on Friday by the Dealer and I spent a couple of hours cleaning it again on Sunday already just for fun.

[1stKnight]

Well, having driven the car a few times now I can compare it more readily in terms of performance to my 335i...the Z4M is much more fun to drive and out-handles the stock 335i comfortably; it inspires much more confidence in the twisty stuff.

Acceleration from a standstill goes to the Z4M - purely because it grips and thrusts me forward where the 335i with no LSD simply struggled to grip and then launched. In terms of which is actually faster, I would guess the SSTT 335i is probably about the same on a good road - it would be very, very close and down to how well the driver launched I guess.

Midrange overtaking is far 'easier' in the 335i, even stock. I find in order to conserve fuel I'm always in a gear too high for the Z4M to launch quickly and I have to shift down one or two gears where the 335i would simply do the job in the gear it was in, high or otherwise. I guess this has something to do with the high rev range of the S54 engine and the greater torque of the 335i; the S54 needs to be worked hard to produce the goods. It's almost like comparing the 335i to the 335d in terms of how they deliver which gives the immediate edge to the car that doesn't need to be driven as hard when overtaking on motorways. Unless the 335i driver is aware, the 335d driver is gone, opening up a large gap. Similarly for the Z4M, you need to be playing with the gears all the time to get the performance desired.

I would like to have been able to afford to keep the 335i as my daily drive and use the Z4M for weekends - an ideal situation. Still, the Z4M has proven quite adept at commuting already by matching the fuel consumption of my 335i so far and not exceeding it which is a happy surprise; that with a short blast against a Porsche 911. It has also prompted me to opt for the shorter, albeit slightly longer in time, route to work that avoids the motorways and instead takes me on a nice twisty B-road drive; far more interesting. I would not have considered this in the 335i as it was a motorway stormer sooner than a B-road missile; albeit very capable in corners too, just not quite as much.

I've noticed distinct 'personality' differences between the cars too; the 335i was a bit of a muscle car, a bruiser on occasion that sounded like a gruff bear...the little Z4M is more like an angry bee running on Red Bull!