The BMW Z4 Roadster is an open two-seater that replaces the Z3 Roadster. Compared to its predecessor, the Z4 has grown a bit in all directions. Like its predecessor, the BMW Z4 is manufactured in the USA at a factory in Spartanburg. The roadster went on sale in the USA in October 2002, and appeared in Europe only in March 2003. The BMW Z4 is a classic roadster with a sporting character. The design of the car shows shark features: toothy “jaws” of the false radiator grille, heavy gaze of the headlights, faceted long “face”. Convex and concave surfaces create a magnificent play of light and shadow. The BMW Z4 has a waist.
It is formed by "hollow" doors, behind which the body seems to expand. The notch on the door from the top is limited by a clear edge of the waist line, and from the bottom by a sharply outlined “stiffener” of a high threshold. The picture is completed with a slash, boldly drawn from the bottom upwards from the front wheel to the windshield frame. And in the middle of this sloping rib is the white and blue BMW logo, under which the orange turn signal repeater is hidden. Characteristic facing BMW radiator, surrounded by radiant chrome and dual xenon headlights (optional), with integrated fog lamps, gives the Z4 an elegant and energetic look.
As standard, the Z4 2.5i offers an elegant awning made of cloth with a mechanical drive. Awning electrically (optional for 2.5i and standard for 3.0i) opens in just 10 seconds. The main "forming surface" of the interior is the "curved-concave" front panel. All the necessary information is in front of your eyes thanks to instruments made in a chronographic style. The advanced navigation system with a 16x9 display - a non-glaring TFT monitor (optional) - slides out of the instrument panel by pressing a special button. The steering wheel is small, well-fitting, with a leather rim and incredibly stylish metallic knitting needles.
The design in the BMW Z4 is at a height; every detail is worked out - be it protective arcs behind the seats, the handbrake grip or the door panels “crossed out” with special “twisted” handles. Especially good is the interior of the sports version with a "metal" finish. "Sports" seats for the driver and passenger are standard on the Z4.
In the Comfort version, only warm wood inserts create some warmth, replacing silver plastic panels under aluminum. Otherwise, everything is extremely restrained, technologically and "sterile." Not a single superfluous, artsy detail, but each of the available is perfect in its completeness and functionality. The advantage of the new body is a relatively large trunk (up to 260 liters) with a convertible compartment for an awning, which is enough to carry two large bags.
Awning fabric folds Z-shaped and equipped with heated rear window. Additional options include a Hi-Fi audio system with a Carver low-frequency amplifier, as well as a special phone. The standard equipment of the new Z4 includes a leather sports-style steering wheel, a roll-over protection system and tires that allow you to get to tire repair yourself when piercing.
High-octane mixture of impeccable quality and the most modern technologies underlies the work of the six-cylinder engines BMW Z4, made from a special lightweight alloy. Thanks to the combination of the unique Double Vanos system, which makes it possible to regulate the operation of the valves in the optimal way, the special air intake module and the four-valve technology, BMW has achieved the highest torque and lightning reaction. With the activation of the Sport mode, the optional Driving Dynamic Control system of dynamic motion control allows you to bring the engine power to an even higher level.
Z4 models are equipped with the 3.0i engine (170 kW / 231 hp / maximum speed of 250 km / h) and Z4 2.5i (141 kW / 192 hp / 235 km / h). On the Z4 3. Thanks to the wide gauge, low center of gravity, the optimal weight distribution on the axes in the ratio of 50:50, as well as precise steering (Electric Power Steering system), the BMW Z4 provides good agility and controllability. In addition, wear-resistant high-performance brakes and Dynamic Stability Control (DSC III) with the ability to enable traction control mode guarantee maximum driving safety in all situations.
On the Z4 for the first time in the history of BMW cars, the usual power steering is replaced with an electric power steering. Such a scheme is much simpler. Electric power consumes energy only when you turn the steering wheel, its work is very easy to control in accordance with the speed or the level of lateral accelerations. But while BMW and ZF engineers, who traditionally supply Bavarians with steering gear, have decades of experience in setting up reactive power steering, then everything will have to be learned anew with electric motors. Z4 version of the Sport is extremely sensitive to the slightest turns of the steering wheel.
And pressing the "sport" button on the console to the left of the box lever changes not only the characteristics of the "electronic" gas pedal, but also the algorithm of the electric power steering. In the "sport" go better, but not much. The effort on the steering wheel is higher, but there is still no transparency. Reactions are instant, but not accurate - correct the trajectory in high-speed bends is fast impulse movements. But at the same time, the turns of the BMW Z4 are no slower than the Speedster. Firstly, the power unit here fully justifies this definition: it is really power.
The thrust “on the bottoms” is powerful, and after 3000 rpm, pressing the gas pedal instantly causes a jet push in any gear! Chassis here, whatever you say, excellent. Tires cling to the asphalt with a grip, the geometry of the suspension allows the roadster to easily follow the wheel and willingly dive into high-speed turns. Gradually, you get used to the reactions of the car, and the only thing that annoys you is the need for a left turn to rest your knee on the door handle. But at the same time, the turns of the BMW Z4 are no slower than the Speedster. Firstly, the power unit here fully justifies this definition: it is really power.
The thrust “on the bottoms” is powerful, and after 3000 rpm, pressing the gas pedal instantly causes a jet push in any gear! Chassis here, whatever you say, excellent. Tires cling to the asphalt with a grip, the geometry of the suspension allows the roadster to easily follow the wheel and willingly dive into high-speed turns. Gradually, you get used to the reactions of the car, and the only thing that annoys you is the need for a left turn to rest your knee on the door handle. But at the same time, the turns of the BMW Z4 are no slower than the Speedster. Firstly, the power unit here fully justifies this definition: it is really power.
The thrust “on the bottoms” is powerful, and after 3000 rpm, pressing the gas pedal instantly causes a jet push in any gear! Chassis here, whatever you say, excellent. Tires cling to the asphalt with a grip, the geometry of the suspension allows the roadster to easily follow the wheel and willingly dive into high-speed turns. Gradually, you get used to the reactions of the car, and the only thing that annoys you is the need for a left turn to rest your knee on the door handle.
and after 3000 rpm, pressing the gas pedal instantly causes a jet push in any gear! Chassis here, whatever you say, excellent. Tires cling to the asphalt with a grip, the geometry of the suspension allows the roadster to easily follow the wheel and willingly dive into high-speed turns. Gradually, you get used to the reactions of the car, and the only thing that annoys you is the need for a left turn to rest your knee on the door handle. and after 3000 rpm, pressing the gas pedal instantly causes a jet push in any gear! Chassis here, whatever you say, excellent.
Tires cling to the asphalt with a grip, the geometry of the suspension allows the roadster to easily follow the wheel and willingly dive into high-speed turns. Gradually, you get used to the reactions of the car, and the only thing that annoys you is the need for a left turn to rest your knee on the door handle. The brakes are great.
The force on the pedals and its course are chosen so that they allow you to easily brake just on the verge of blocking - that is, you squeeze the maximum deceleration out of the car without turning on the ABS! And how the driver's electronics are set up ... The DSC stabilization system prevents slippage unobtrusively, but with authority and confidence. Contrary to all the autosport canons, on the BMW Z4, you can safely press on the gas or slow down in a turn - the computer instantly removes excess traction or recalculates the necessary balance of braking forces at each wheel.
In this case, a single press of the DSC button does not disable the stabilization system, as usual, but involves DTC - Dynamic Traction Control. As the Bavarians say, this is a kind of compensation for the lack of a self-locking differential on the Z4 - DTC activation allows for some “controlled” slip of the drive wheels. But with the development of a drift, the electronics immediately “wake up” and straighten the driver. The “asphalt” roadster is not designed for rally driving!
The Sport version has a very stiff suspension. The bass sound of the row "six" fills the interior - even open, with a folded roof. If the voice of the engine was a little louder, you could call it annoying ... A trip in the “comfortable” version evokes more pleasant emotions. On 16-inch wheels instead of 17-inch wheels, without the sport button. The roadster reacts calmer to turns of the steering wheel, the exhaust sound is not so aggressive, the suspension is noticeably softer than “swallowing” irregularities. This car is more predictable and understandable! Perhaps the flaws in the habits of the "sports" roadster are largely due to the other wheels.
For example, on the longitudinal waves of asphalt, the steering wheel of a car with a “sports” suspension begins to move in the direction of inclination - this happens when the so-called steering wheel is changed due to the installation of wheels with a different offset. A "comfortable" roadster on the same slope quietly goes straight, without reacting to the profile of the road. A BMW Z4 3.0i Comfort is hardly slower than the "sports" version. By the way, despite the “fast” rack and pinion steering gear with a very low gear ratio (14.2), the steering wheel on the Z4 makes more than three turns from one stop to another.
Due to this, the front wheels are rotated at a very large angle.
