BMW Z4 sDrive Car Review
By Martin Mutai
Roof up or roof down, the Z4 has always confirmed BMW's commitment to the enthusiast driver. But more to that, sporting a body kit developed at BMW's M division, the sDrive 35iS looks more aggressive than a standard Z4. And that is not enough to tell it all for the second generation Z4, having abandoned its predecessor's edgy but taut feel in a bid to find more mainstream appeal and also replacing the former hardtop with a more relaxed and folding one, bringing even more flair against its main rival, the SLK.
At the heart of every winner is determination and BMW has not relented in its heart as well - in fact it is more determined than ever. The engine behind this sports marque is a reworked version of BMW's twin turbo 3.0 litre 6-cylinder engine codenamed N54, which is a two-time winner of the International Engine of the Year Award. It delivers a significant performance over the standard Z4 without any increase in fuel consumption or CO2 emissions. The power delivered is 335 horsepower at 5900 rpm and 332 lb.- ft of torque at just 1500 rpm, with a new overboost function that increases it to 371 lb.- ft for short bursts of full-throttle acceleration. The reworked engine also is super responsive, with the sort of free-revving that makes it feel more like a naturally aspirated unit than a turbocharged one. The power-to-weight ratio is 220 horsepower per tonne, with power being sent from the rear wheels by the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. The paddle shifters are a bit fiddly and hesitant at low revs, but on the open road they become more decisive and faster especially if you are driving in sport mode. Stability and handling issues should never arise when we talk of BMWs, as they have been boasting of xDrive for decades now which is a technical modulation of the rear and front axles for enhanced stability. The engineers at BMW therefore left other automakers to try and catch up with this, while they shifted their attention to the Z4 sDrive 35iS' chassis where they developed it to achieve an inherent balance when steering that is eager to self-centre even at hard cornering. This complimented with the fact that the steering wheel is electro-mechanical with noticeably stiffer electronic dampers gives the sDrive 35iS a ride quality to die for. In fact it's almost as subtle as the X6 350d, which is among the top vehicles for on-road ride quality beside the Cayenne.
In Sport+ mode the dynamic stability control is entirely disengaged, but the i-Drive functionality which beats Mercedes' COMAND by far comes into place for enhanced control even when you get hard on the throttle. The steering is easy, quick to respond and remains strong up to very high cornering speeds, with profound comfort thanks to the MacPhaeton struts on the front and multi-link rear suspension with sufficient compliancy even on jagged surfaces. For added entertainment and a smoother transition when closing down on corners, the Z4's new gearbox introduces a hearty blip on the throttle and a user-friendly gear-shift lever that you will hardly want to take your hands off! There is shortage of boot space though, but I will not hold this against BMW - this car was not meant for coal haulers!
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