People who think that BMW is ever going to make a car that drives badly are probably in a meeting of the Flat Earth Society, listening to evocative speeches about how the world would be a better place if we all adopted mice and forced our children to eat only vegetables.
Some BMWs are a little less than perfect, but they still have that inherent BMWiness. Weirdly enough, even the X3 has it. It’s just in their DNA somehow.
So if we’ve deduced that they make, on average, the best driving everyday cars, then you can well imagine what our expectations were of the sportiest non-M car till the i8 came along earlier this year. I am, of course, talking about the Z4. This is the first car I’ve ever heard of to be designed exclusively by a team of women.
‘Pah!’ I hear you say. ‘Women and car design? That’s like a man designing high heels’. After you’ve satisfactorily examined the work of Christian Louboutin and Jimmy Choo, take a good look at the Z4. Is it not a perfectly styled and perfectly proportioned sportscar? Do you still care what gender it was designed by? Didn’t think so. Let’s move on to the interior.
The seat is really low. I mean that in the literal sense and in relation to the height of the doors. This makes it feel even lower. Call me crazy but I sort of like that. It gave me that feeling of being discreet, but in something really attractive. To call the interior typically BMW would be both true and false. True, because it is unmistakably BMW in its design and layout, and false because it feels like no other BMW. Still, there are no real disappointments in terms of lack of appointments.
During the week that I had it on test, there were times when I actually forgot that it was a convertible. I just treated it like a hard-top sportscar and it worked perfectly fine as one. Goes to show, I suppose, that if you have to have a cabrio, get one with a folding metal roof.
And on a beautiful day, take the top off, put your shades on and enjoy 50 million miles of blue sky, a beautiful engine note that becomes even louder and a great driver’s car. But let’s face it, you know this just by looking at the ingredients. I mean, turbocharged 3-litre straight six putting out 306bhp and 400Nm of torque isn’t exactly a shrinking violet. Throw in a 0-100kph time of 5.1 seconds and a limited top speed of 250kph and this is the real deal — a proper sportscar with BMW’s dynamics and those looks.
I could end it here and you’d still be mighty impressed by this Rs 70 lakhs (Ex-Delhi) sportscar. But to do that would miss the point of this car. I’ll make no bones about it. You can use this every single day. If you’re SINK or DINK, this is all the car you’ll every need.
Apart from the attention you get from people around you, it feels like a normal car in the city. It’s easy to park, easy to drive, goes over bumps like a normal luxury saloon, and at about 8-9kpl if you’re careful, easy to live with as well. It’s not often we do buying advice here at Honk. But think long and hard if you really need a luxury saloon or SUV. Or would you rather something more… unique?
