Ride and handling
Just like most cars with a sporty character, the Z4’s suspension too is tuned on the stiffer side to aid agility and uncompromised handling. With space to seat only two and a very small trunk, the Z4 isn’t the most comfortable car you’d find to ferry yourself around. It is, however, a riot to drive and if you could excuse it for letting the omnipresent undulations and rough patches often percolate through the chassis into the cabin, and find yourself a smooth, twisty stretch of tar, you’d have reached pretty close to what’s termed as motoring nirvana for many.
The wide track of the car, along with the low center of gravity offers great driving involvement. The steering wheel, which is extremely well weighted, is incredibly precise and offers feedback by the truckloads. Grip from the 225-section front, and 255-section rear Bridgestone Potenza rubber wrapped around lightweight 18 inch alloys is more than adequate. Everything put together turns the Z4 into a phenomenally fun car to drive, especially around well laid out windy road sections. The Z4 feels amazingly light and nimble, showing terrific poise and balance even when made to slide.
While we are in awe of the nimbleness and fine balance exhibited by the Z4 around bends, making it an absolute riot to pilot around serpentine roads, it didn’t impress us as much as some of the other bigger BMWs as regards straight line poise at extreme speed. At the absolute upper extreme of its speed range, the Z4 feels slightly edgy, especially if the road surface is not immaculately laid out. While braking is razor sharp and packs a solid punch, you tend to hold on to the steering wheel tight and lift off the right foot owing to the slightly tense behavior of the car on the limit.
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