Road TestCar reviews - BMW - Z4 - 3.0 RoadsterBMW modelsOverviewBMW replaces the popular Z3 with the more serious, more expensive Z4 roadster23 Dec 2003 BMW’s Z4 is not a sports car to ignore. Those edgy and adventurous lines combine with long-bonnet, squat-tail, wide-track proportions to produce the meanest looking sports car since the 1960s Shelby Cobra. The inline six-cylinder engines are the same as used in other BMWs, but they come to life in this trim, lightweight two-seater, delivering exhilarating performance with an exhaust note to die for. The Z4, which comes from the same plant in Spartanburg, USA that builds the X5 BMW soft-roader, is bigger inside than the Z3, too, with a lower-set driving position and more spacious boot. But it’s best to think very carefully if the idea of a set of bigger, optional wheels appeals. Optioning-up the Z4 is likely to open a can of handling worms. Model release date: 1 July 2003 to 1 March 2006 All car reviewsAlfa Romeo Abarth Alpine Alpina Audi Aston Martin BMW Bentley Chevrolet Chery Citroen Chrysler Dodge Cupra Ferrari DS Ford Fiat FPV Foton GWM Great Wall Holden Haval HSV Honda Hyundai Hummer Isuzu Infiniti Jeep Jaguar Lamborghini Kia LDV Land Rover Lotus Lexus Maserati Mahindra McLaren Mazda Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-AMG Mini MG Nissan Mitsubishi Peugeot Opel Proton Porsche Renault Ram Rover Rolls-Royce Skoda Saab SsangYong Smart Suzuki Subaru Toyota Tesla Volvo Volkswagen Previous modelTHE original BMW Z3 roadster arrived Down Under in January, 1997, as a 103kW 1.9-litre four-cylinder, before adding a 141kW 2.8-litre version in April the same year. The 1.9 four was replaced by the 110kW 2.0-litre six in June, 1999, which itself was superseded by the 125kW 2.2-litre six in October, 2000. A month earlier, the Z3 2.8 was replaced by the 170kW 3.0-litre Z3 which, along with the 2.2, was discontinued in December 2002 before its Z4 successor lobbed six months later. |
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