If there has not yet said about the marketing men never come with a big driver of the car, it's time there. And the new BMW Z4 could be the perfect example. Flash back a few years and asked BMW to sell the customers what they wanted from a replacement of the Z4 Coupe and Roadster. A car that is more convenient with a more forgiving ride, this was the answer. Oh, and it must have a folding hardtop. Z4 buyers, it seems, were lost for the Mercedes-Benz SLK. And the Bavarians baulked at that.
Thus, the German company in its own words, the new Z4 was built as a "conquest" of car, its function is to capture customers from competitors such as Audi (TT), Porsche (Boxster and Cayman) and, of course Mercedes, the SLK darned.
You can imagine the discussions whispered in the corridors between the engineers in Munich on the commercialization of blood of men and their unreasonable demands and contradictory for a sports car that should not be too sporty.
Give them credit, they did their best to overcome that. They even developed a BMW acronym, DDC, or Dynamic Drive Control. With three settings (Normal, Sport and Sport +) you can "set" the response time, time to change speed and direction to your taste. Spend extra on Adaptive M suspension and ride quality, adjusts well.
You can argue that standard is too severe, while Sport + is too rigid, with a response time that too much for drivers who value smooth inputs. But at least you have options.
For Pöttering on Normal suits Z4. This model has increased in all directions outside the increase compared to its predecessor, and he feels like a car much more substantial. The real impact of this growth is evident when the trail turns twisty - conditions that you might imagine a sports car BMW relish.
The normal setting is too floppy in these more difficult circumstances, but choose to Sport + Z4 and take everything in his stride capacity. There is nothing wrong, but a Cayman or Boxster wondered your attention and reward you by typing a time a decade or two off the way you feel old.
While BMW does not break into sweat or feel out of his depth, nor does it take as long as drivers eager demand.
So it's a grand touring car more than a sport entirely focused - with the exception of wind noise in the front edge of the roof would be a little irritating on a highway trip. Too much tire noise would you turn to music at a level that would prevent non shouted conversation. And multiple storage compartments that are too small for anything other than an iPod would be on your wick over time.
The interior is very well built and the space is very appreciated, as well as improving visibility, up 14 percent. But the aluminum roof, is the scene thief, fold in half to disappear in the trunk in 20 seconds.
His lack of weight, you do not notice any difference in the dynamic capabilities Z4 when it is stowed. And it ticks in the area of creating an SLK-style coupé and roadster in one.
Raise the roof, however, the Z4 deprives one of his most attractive attributes. It takes too much off the tip of three-liter, twin-turbo engine noise.
Only when you drop the top you hear the all-aluminum-six law in all its glorious woofliness a growl specially inserted sport auto changes, a barking tone as it changes down.
This seven-speed gear shift, now available only on sDrive35i, which was the most impressive part of this car. As with other changes such as double clutch DSG system of the VW group, the wheels are exchanged faster than the blink of an eye. But it is attention to detail above, including a superb hill flawless start function, which distinguishes it from competition.
You've probably noticed that we have skirted around its appearance. It's not ugly in the way of the X3, and visually impaired deceive as the X6, but it is no less curious.
There are elements of the 7-series on its front end, there are a series of 6-singer-back and more than a hint of Z8 its overall shape.
It is easier on the eyes, with the roof and BMW has done well to disguise the compromises inherent in securing large rigid folding mechanisms.
Shame concessions on the driving experience have not been resolved satisfactorily. Bloody marketing men.
TECH SPEC
Price / availability: from £ 28.645. On sale in May
Engine / transmission: 2979 cc six-cylinder bi-turbo petrol, 306bhp at 5,800 rpm and 295lb ft of torque at 1,300-5,000 rpm. 2996 cc six-cylinder petrol, 258bhp at 6600 rpm and 228lb ft at 2750 rpm.
2497 cc six-cylinder petrol, 204bhp at 6200 rpm and 184lb ft at 2950 rpm.
Six-speed manual or six-speed automatic sDrive23i and the sDrive30i and seven-speed automatic to sDrive35i.
Performance: sDrive35i speed of 155 mph, 0-62 mph in 5.2sec (5.1sec motorsport), the European Union fuel consumption in urban 20.9mpg (auto 22.4mpg), CO2 emissions 210g/km .
sDrive30i: 155 mph, 5.8sec (auto 6.1sec), 22.8mpg (auto 23.7mpg), 195g/km.
sDrive23i: 150 mph, 6.6sec (auto 7.3sec), 22.8mpg (auto 23.9mpg), 192g/km.
We love: seven speeds, the engine sound, quality construction, intelligent Dynamic Drive Control Technology multipurpose folding rigid.
We do not like: Harsh ride + sports suspension, numb steering, the sacrifice of sportsmanship for practice.
Alternatives: Mercedes SLK, from £ 29.045. Porsche Cayman, from £ 36.101. Porsche Boxster, from £ 33.704. Audi TT, from £ 24.925.
