New Car
08-16-2014, 09:59 PM
#1
New Car
As some of you know, I've been looking for a new sports car since I sold my beloved, pristine 2008 Grand Prix White (with red/black interior) S2000 late last summer. I loved the car but was ready for something a little more refined (roads here are horrible), powerful and probably fixed roof (allergies have also been bad). My initial preferences were a Porsche 911 Carrera S (997.2 - 2009+ model), Porsche Cayman S (981 - 2014+ model) or possibly a new Corvette (C7 Z51 - 2014+ model).
Finding a clean 997.2S proved to be quite difficult without paying $80K+ (was trying to stay under $70K), as did a 981S (very few of those for sale in Canada, especially with a 6MT). I couldn't even get a test drive in a C7 (Z51 or otherwise) as they were all pre-sold locally or else they weren't allowing test drives at all.
I kept an eye out online for interesting cars but was resigned to waiting until next year to buy a car when I saw a clean 2008 BMW Z4 M coupe at a local dealership. Low miles (17K), genuine CSL wheels, dark grey, clean and good history. The price was very good and so I mentioned it to my wife. She thought it was a neat car and said, "It's half what you were looking to spend. Just go drive it! If you like it, buy it. If you don't, you're no worse off." So I set up a test drive.
Initial impressions were strong. A big, meaty steering wheel attached to a hydraulic rack, a torquey straight-six engine and a big redline made it a car that had most of what I'd been looking for. The ride was better than the S2000 but grip and handling were very similar. Acceleration was clearly better and the sound from that straight six had a moderately beefy tone that developed into a sonorous howl at higher rpm. I was smitten. I had to have it!
Unfortunately, I couldn't come to a price agreement with the dealership. I knew what the market value was and wasn't willing to pay more, despite the option list (expensive CSL wheels, especially). I walked away, tired of their games ("We have a guy coming in tomorrow with his wife that will definitely buy it!") and decided to wait them out. Sure enough, they came back two days later saying they still had the car....but wouldn't budge on price.
I decided to look elsewhere online and found what appeared to be a clean 2008 model with standard Z4M wheels, slightly higher miles (just under 23K) but privately owned by an enthusiast. I made arrangements to test drive and inspect it. The online ad was fairly sparse on details and, in this case, I was pleasantly surprised by what was omitted from the ad.
The car had nearly 3 years of remaining bumper-to-bumper CPO warranty that the owner had extended when he bought the car a year prior! It also had a two years of wheel/tire warranty left and had already had some major work done (valve adjustment, new rear shocks, new lighting controls, new tires). The car was six years old and still had factory warranty - I was sold. We made a deal on the spot and the car was mine (as of a week ago).
Initial driving impressions were very strong. This car reminds me of a Corvette and an S2000 having a love child, with the best of both cars coming out in the baby. The car has an 8000 rpm redline, so you get a nice top-end pull. However, it also makes 90% of max torque at 2000 rpm so it is very flexible around town. The car is rated at 330 hp and 262 lb-ft of torque, so roughly 90 hp more than an S2000 but a full 100 lb-ft more torque (very low in the rev range, comparatively). With the stock ITBs and VANOS valve timing, the car has amazing throttle response and tractability, far superior than the VTEC system in the S2000. The car pulls hard throughout the rev range (especially from 3500 rpm onward) and does pull harder at the top but not nearly so obviously as the S2000.
Steering is hydraulic (vs electric in the base Z4s) and quite quick with a 14.7:1 ratio (vs 14.9:1 in the AP2 S2000s I owned). General feel is quite good and the steering gets better the faster you go. The steering wheel is very thick and nicely padded (with contrasting red, dark blue and light blue M stitching), providing great feel for the driver. Turn-in is not as quick as the S2000 (blame it on the weight) but far better than any Vette I've driven, including the C7. It's a nice compromise that leads to better long-distance driving relaxation.
The "weak point" of the car is definitely the transmission/clutch combination. When cold, the transmission is horrible - hard to shift, clunky and just a chore. Once warmed up, however, it's decent but still somewhat notchy and tough to shift well. Ironically, a buddy of mine bought a new C7 and I drove that today and its clutch and shifter were 100% better than the Z4M. The S2000 is far easier to shift and way smoother than either of them. The Z4M clutch, on the other hand, was a nightmare due to the intrusive clutch delay valve that comes with the car. It took me a solid week of driving before I felt I had generally mastered the clutch and now it's fairly unnoticeable. It is easy to remove and I may do that over the winter, when the car is in storage.
The brakes are amazingly powerful and fairly immediate. The pedal is firm and hits quickly, which takes some getting used to but is my preference (I don't like to have to bury my foot to get max braking power). Heel/toeing is excellent thanks to perfectly spaced pedals. That said, the throttle requires a very heavy foot to get the revs up when downshifting. Alternatively, you can hit the "SPORT" button and it gives much better response...usually with a penalty when shifting up. SPORT mode is otherwise useless, serving to make shifting jerky and unpredictable due to the throttle becoming hypersensitive.
Size-wise, the car is an inch shorter and roughly an inch wider than an S2000 but weighs nearly 450 lbs more, at just around 3300 lbs. It has perfect 50/50 weight distribution as well. However, you sit quite far back, leading to a feeling that you're following the car, rather than pivoting with the car. It was an easy transition to me, since the S2000 also has a fairly long nose, but it's definitely more obvious in the Z4M. The car has a ton of interior room with oodles of adjustment for the seats (fore/aft and up/down), on both sides. Leg room is great, both in length and width. I did a few hours on the highway and found it to be very comfortable. The seats aren't as aggressive as the S2000 but are more suited for daily driving. Damping is quite good (slightly overdamped, I think) but the shocks are set nicely and the car corners quite flat.
In terms of build quality and features, the car is all that I could ever really need. Electrically adjustable memory heated seats, bluetooth, big stereo (I'm no audiophile - I know it's better than the S2000 and that's about it), power folding mirrors, TWO cup holders on either side of the car and self-leveling HID headlights (low and high beam!) make it much more luxurious than the S2000. The car is very solidly built - the doors give a solid "thunk" and the interior is finished very well. While somewhat spartan, I like the analog feel to the interior - basic gauges in front of you (tach and speedometer) with a stereo with basic hand controls and a comprehensive but simple HVAC system. It's simple but functional. My car has the carbon trim package, rather than wood or aluminum, and that's fine by me. Somewhat austere but easy to keep clean as well! Leather is in great shape and shows no cracking or even minor wear, despite 23K miles on the odometer. It still smells new as well.
What about the looks? Honestly, it's not the prettiest car in the world but it's different and it's growing on me. Everyone that sees it asks what it is and really likes it, so it seems to resonate with most people. It's not as pretty as a new Cayman or even the S2000, in my opinion, but the long hood and short rear are classic sports car traits. I don't know that I'll ever love the looks but I definitely appreciate the details. My wife loves it - after we drove the first one she said, "We see Porsches all the time - we never see these. Just get this one." Apparently there are around 3300 Z4 M coupes in existence, so they're relatively rare.
As mentioned earlier, I drove a friend's C7 today and really loved most of it. His is a base model convertible with 7MT and sport exhaust. The car is easy to shift, the clutch is very light for such a powerful car and it accelerates as fast as most of us could ever want. It's light on its feet and absorbs bumps quite well. Steering is far improved over the C6 but still a bit too light for my taste. The base suspension, while comfortable and capable, is a little too isolated for my taste. Interior build quality was great and the overall look of the car continues to grow on me. It sounds amazing and definitely offers huge bang for the buck. I can definitely see myself getting one in the near future but for now, I think I'll keep the BMW for a couple of years, sell it for what I paid (with a year of warranty still left) and then move on to one of the cars I initially wanted.
I took a few shots of the car yesterday and today, which I uploaded below.
Profile view
Z4MCoupe_FirstWeek-1 by Jo_Da_Cu, on Flickr
Engine bay
Z4MCoupe_FirstWeek-13 by Jo_Da_Cu, on Flickr
Kick plates in the front door sills
Z4MCoupe_FirstWeek-12 by Jo_Da_Cu, on Flickr
Interior shot
Z4MCoupe_FirstWeek-15 by Jo_Da_Cu, on Flickr
Front wheel/brake details
Z4MCoupe_FirstWeek-5 by Jo_Da_Cu, on Flickr
Rear 3/4 view
Z4MCoupe_FirstWeek-8 by Jo_Da_Cu, on Flickr
Big hood shot
Z4MCoupe_FirstWeek-9 by Jo_Da_Cu, on Flickr
Arguably the best view of the car, in my opinion
Z4MCoupe_FirstWeek-4 by Jo_Da_Cu, on Flickr
"Artsy" B&W side shot
Z4MCoupe_FirstWeek-2 by Jo_Da_Cu, on Flickr
Finding a clean 997.2S proved to be quite difficult without paying $80K+ (was trying to stay under $70K), as did a 981S (very few of those for sale in Canada, especially with a 6MT). I couldn't even get a test drive in a C7 (Z51 or otherwise) as they were all pre-sold locally or else they weren't allowing test drives at all.
I kept an eye out online for interesting cars but was resigned to waiting until next year to buy a car when I saw a clean 2008 BMW Z4 M coupe at a local dealership. Low miles (17K), genuine CSL wheels, dark grey, clean and good history. The price was very good and so I mentioned it to my wife. She thought it was a neat car and said, "It's half what you were looking to spend. Just go drive it! If you like it, buy it. If you don't, you're no worse off." So I set up a test drive.
Initial impressions were strong. A big, meaty steering wheel attached to a hydraulic rack, a torquey straight-six engine and a big redline made it a car that had most of what I'd been looking for. The ride was better than the S2000 but grip and handling were very similar. Acceleration was clearly better and the sound from that straight six had a moderately beefy tone that developed into a sonorous howl at higher rpm. I was smitten. I had to have it!
Unfortunately, I couldn't come to a price agreement with the dealership. I knew what the market value was and wasn't willing to pay more, despite the option list (expensive CSL wheels, especially). I walked away, tired of their games ("We have a guy coming in tomorrow with his wife that will definitely buy it!") and decided to wait them out. Sure enough, they came back two days later saying they still had the car....but wouldn't budge on price.
I decided to look elsewhere online and found what appeared to be a clean 2008 model with standard Z4M wheels, slightly higher miles (just under 23K) but privately owned by an enthusiast. I made arrangements to test drive and inspect it. The online ad was fairly sparse on details and, in this case, I was pleasantly surprised by what was omitted from the ad.
The car had nearly 3 years of remaining bumper-to-bumper CPO warranty that the owner had extended when he bought the car a year prior! It also had a two years of wheel/tire warranty left and had already had some major work done (valve adjustment, new rear shocks, new lighting controls, new tires). The car was six years old and still had factory warranty - I was sold. We made a deal on the spot and the car was mine (as of a week ago).
Initial driving impressions were very strong. This car reminds me of a Corvette and an S2000 having a love child, with the best of both cars coming out in the baby. The car has an 8000 rpm redline, so you get a nice top-end pull. However, it also makes 90% of max torque at 2000 rpm so it is very flexible around town. The car is rated at 330 hp and 262 lb-ft of torque, so roughly 90 hp more than an S2000 but a full 100 lb-ft more torque (very low in the rev range, comparatively). With the stock ITBs and VANOS valve timing, the car has amazing throttle response and tractability, far superior than the VTEC system in the S2000. The car pulls hard throughout the rev range (especially from 3500 rpm onward) and does pull harder at the top but not nearly so obviously as the S2000.
Steering is hydraulic (vs electric in the base Z4s) and quite quick with a 14.7:1 ratio (vs 14.9:1 in the AP2 S2000s I owned). General feel is quite good and the steering gets better the faster you go. The steering wheel is very thick and nicely padded (with contrasting red, dark blue and light blue M stitching), providing great feel for the driver. Turn-in is not as quick as the S2000 (blame it on the weight) but far better than any Vette I've driven, including the C7. It's a nice compromise that leads to better long-distance driving relaxation.
The "weak point" of the car is definitely the transmission/clutch combination. When cold, the transmission is horrible - hard to shift, clunky and just a chore. Once warmed up, however, it's decent but still somewhat notchy and tough to shift well. Ironically, a buddy of mine bought a new C7 and I drove that today and its clutch and shifter were 100% better than the Z4M. The S2000 is far easier to shift and way smoother than either of them. The Z4M clutch, on the other hand, was a nightmare due to the intrusive clutch delay valve that comes with the car. It took me a solid week of driving before I felt I had generally mastered the clutch and now it's fairly unnoticeable. It is easy to remove and I may do that over the winter, when the car is in storage.
The brakes are amazingly powerful and fairly immediate. The pedal is firm and hits quickly, which takes some getting used to but is my preference (I don't like to have to bury my foot to get max braking power). Heel/toeing is excellent thanks to perfectly spaced pedals. That said, the throttle requires a very heavy foot to get the revs up when downshifting. Alternatively, you can hit the "SPORT" button and it gives much better response...usually with a penalty when shifting up. SPORT mode is otherwise useless, serving to make shifting jerky and unpredictable due to the throttle becoming hypersensitive.
Size-wise, the car is an inch shorter and roughly an inch wider than an S2000 but weighs nearly 450 lbs more, at just around 3300 lbs. It has perfect 50/50 weight distribution as well. However, you sit quite far back, leading to a feeling that you're following the car, rather than pivoting with the car. It was an easy transition to me, since the S2000 also has a fairly long nose, but it's definitely more obvious in the Z4M. The car has a ton of interior room with oodles of adjustment for the seats (fore/aft and up/down), on both sides. Leg room is great, both in length and width. I did a few hours on the highway and found it to be very comfortable. The seats aren't as aggressive as the S2000 but are more suited for daily driving. Damping is quite good (slightly overdamped, I think) but the shocks are set nicely and the car corners quite flat.
In terms of build quality and features, the car is all that I could ever really need. Electrically adjustable memory heated seats, bluetooth, big stereo (I'm no audiophile - I know it's better than the S2000 and that's about it), power folding mirrors, TWO cup holders on either side of the car and self-leveling HID headlights (low and high beam!) make it much more luxurious than the S2000. The car is very solidly built - the doors give a solid "thunk" and the interior is finished very well. While somewhat spartan, I like the analog feel to the interior - basic gauges in front of you (tach and speedometer) with a stereo with basic hand controls and a comprehensive but simple HVAC system. It's simple but functional. My car has the carbon trim package, rather than wood or aluminum, and that's fine by me. Somewhat austere but easy to keep clean as well! Leather is in great shape and shows no cracking or even minor wear, despite 23K miles on the odometer. It still smells new as well.
What about the looks? Honestly, it's not the prettiest car in the world but it's different and it's growing on me. Everyone that sees it asks what it is and really likes it, so it seems to resonate with most people. It's not as pretty as a new Cayman or even the S2000, in my opinion, but the long hood and short rear are classic sports car traits. I don't know that I'll ever love the looks but I definitely appreciate the details. My wife loves it - after we drove the first one she said, "We see Porsches all the time - we never see these. Just get this one." Apparently there are around 3300 Z4 M coupes in existence, so they're relatively rare.
As mentioned earlier, I drove a friend's C7 today and really loved most of it. His is a base model convertible with 7MT and sport exhaust. The car is easy to shift, the clutch is very light for such a powerful car and it accelerates as fast as most of us could ever want. It's light on its feet and absorbs bumps quite well. Steering is far improved over the C6 but still a bit too light for my taste. The base suspension, while comfortable and capable, is a little too isolated for my taste. Interior build quality was great and the overall look of the car continues to grow on me. It sounds amazing and definitely offers huge bang for the buck. I can definitely see myself getting one in the near future but for now, I think I'll keep the BMW for a couple of years, sell it for what I paid (with a year of warranty still left) and then move on to one of the cars I initially wanted.
I took a few shots of the car yesterday and today, which I uploaded below.
Profile view
Z4MCoupe_FirstWeek-1 by Jo_Da_Cu, on FlickrEngine bay
Z4MCoupe_FirstWeek-13 by Jo_Da_Cu, on FlickrKick plates in the front door sills
Z4MCoupe_FirstWeek-12 by Jo_Da_Cu, on FlickrInterior shot
Z4MCoupe_FirstWeek-15 by Jo_Da_Cu, on FlickrFront wheel/brake details
Z4MCoupe_FirstWeek-5 by Jo_Da_Cu, on FlickrRear 3/4 view
Z4MCoupe_FirstWeek-8 by Jo_Da_Cu, on FlickrBig hood shot
Z4MCoupe_FirstWeek-9 by Jo_Da_Cu, on FlickrArguably the best view of the car, in my opinion
Z4MCoupe_FirstWeek-4 by Jo_Da_Cu, on Flickr"Artsy" B&W side shot
Z4MCoupe_FirstWeek-2 by Jo_Da_Cu, on Flickr
08-17-2014, 12:46 AM
#4
I approve! 
Only other bmw car I would rather have is an e36 based z3 m-coupe with the s54 motor (sans the vanos/oiling problems of course).
Only other bmw car I would rather have is an e36 based z3 m-coupe with the s54 motor (sans the vanos/oiling problems of course).
08-17-2014, 03:35 AM
#6
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08-17-2014, 06:04 AM
#8
Honestly, I didn't think I'd like the car that much since the S2000 really is a "finesse" car (you have to know how to drive to get the most out of it) and I've always appreciated the polish and solid engineering of the Porsches. This car is still refined but it has a bit of a beast nature to it that just makes you want to pin the throttle every chance you get. It's a ton of fun (so far).
My wife is definitely very supportive. She doesn't love the idea of always spending money on cars but she knows it's my biggest personal hobby/passion and so she accepts that every guy needs "something" to spend time/money/energy on.
My wife is definitely very supportive. She doesn't love the idea of always spending money on cars but she knows it's my biggest personal hobby/passion and so she accepts that every guy needs "something" to spend time/money/energy on.
08-17-2014, 10:03 AM
#9
Don't sell it short! That's a badass car you just bought! Don't think of it as a middle car between something you really want. This is a very competent car and I think you'll grow to really love it. I'm a little biased as I have kind of lusted after these for awhile. That engine is amazing, the lay out is perfect classic proper sports car and the looks are very different, but still beautiful. Awesome grab, have fun with it!
08-17-2014, 10:30 AM
#10
Congrats man, simply put I love those cars. Dont be a spud and ruin it for me.
Honestly though you landed in a good spot. Sure the porsches and vettes may be better at this or that but I find that car to be more interesting.
Honestly though you landed in a good spot. Sure the porsches and vettes may be better at this or that but I find that car to be more interesting.