BMW Z4 3.0si 2006 Review

7-day Test

Ok, I'm going to come right out and say it. I quite like what Chris Bangle is doing at BMW. Not all of it. But at least he's giving BMW a point of difference. If you're in any doubt just look how anonymous earlier Beemers appear on the road compared to the latest line-up.

But before you drive past my house and hurl a brick through my window let me say that the Z4 is by far Bangle's best effort. It's more coherent than his other designs and it lacks the 'difficult' rear treatment of the 6 and 7 Series.

The intricate 'flame surface' lines of the Z4 to my eye make perfect sense and one day will go down as one of the great sports car designs of this century. Many will disagree so let's let shake hands and move on to one area where there's absolutely no doubt.

BMW's 3.0-litre straight-six is one of the greatest engines on the road today. The Bavarian lump pumps out 195kW and a grunty 315Nm of torque, which in a package weighing only 1310kg is guaranteed to deliver performance -- and that's before you even hop in the thing.

Find a nice straight road, blip the loud pedal and you will hit 100km/h in 5.7secs. As always BM has limited the top speed to 250km/h but it's the usable power within the legal speed limit that's the important bit. And in that range the Z4 shines.

Our test car was fitted with the six-speed auto. It's a good unit but is no match for a straight manual. It can be used in three modes: stick it in Drive and forget about it; slip the lever to the left and flick up and down to actuate shifts; or use the wheel-mounted paddle/button combo for F1-style shifting.

There's plenty of choice but we would prefer the thumb buttons -- also used on the MX-5 -- be deleted. What's wrong with two paddles -- left and right -- for up and down shifting? Simple to use and completely logical.

Our petrol consumption for the week was 10.9l/100km overall which was confined mainly to highway driving. Not bad, but not great either for a small car.

The chassis is stiff -- so much so that city commuting can sometimes be a pain in the -- err -- rear, especially when you consider that you virtually sit over the rear axle. But as far as a handling spin off is concerned it's fabulous. The brakes too are more than up to the job. The 325mm (front) and 294mm (rear) discs do a sterling job pulling up the little roadster from speed.

The cabin is also a well thought out piece of kit. The seats are grippy and most of the trim is tasteful. OK there's not much room for maps and so forth but the boot is reasonable for a car of its type -- aided by the lack of a spare wheel mind you. There is a small parcel shelf behind the seats for your jacket and not much more but hey, if you want space buy a bus.

Overshadowed only by its fire-breathing 'M' brother the Z4 is a fabulous drive that should go down as one of the greats.

Watch out for CarPoint's Z4 M Roadster road test soon.