The Bavarian cruiser
The Z4 has already been launched in India and since we still have not had the opportunity to drive it in India, we decided to drive it in the US of A
The Z4 is a totally reworked car in terms of both exterior looks as well as the interiors as it has already been nearly four years that the previous generation car was discontinued. In the meantime a lot has changed at BMW and in the automotive world. The look of BMWs has changed and the one thing that the 3rd gen car is true to is the expressive styling with a lot of interplays of concave and convex surfaces. Is it overdone? Well, you might think so until you see its sibling. The grille is now modern as are the headlamps and the tail lamps. The car still retains its 2 door 2 seat configuration even though it is now based on the CLAR modular platform and also missing is the hard roof – it’s a roadster now with a fabric roof that can be put away and put on is under 10 seconds at the touch of a button whether or not the car is in motion but always only till 50kmph.
The interiors are now new gen – with the digital instrument panels that are common across all contemporary BMWs. The cockpit is sporty though quite similar to many of the other BMWs with the same central console. The engine is the same inline-6 that BMW has been using for better part of a century but now with M Performance tuning, direct injection and TwinPower turbo tech from BMW featuring a twin scroll turbocharger.
The car is super smooth and relaxed to drive. The engine has linear power delivery and even in sport mode, does not have rough edges at the upper end of the rev range. It is eager without being too sharp and its languid ease carries on to its suspension as well. It has better ride quality than one would expect and it takes corners and twisties with ease, without stepping out of line or ruffling any feathers. The controls are very ergonomic and the cockpit is slightly
turned towards the driver. What the car seems to be good for is relaxed cruising with a bit of excitement thrown in. Everything works well and there is absolutely nothing to complain about, including the specially tuned sound which can be turned up with the press of a button, as on most of the Mbadged cars. In India it is also available without the M badging, the engine tuned to 200bhp and with the S-moniker attached and a price that is nearly Rs 20 lakh cheaper.