Drive Test: ZED ain’t dead with new (2019) BMW Z4

The BMW Z4 has it easy. While it shares large helpings of the same architecture as the Toyota Supra, the weight of expectation on the new BMW Z4 is a lot lower. With the Z4 the internet is not erupting with vitriolic criticisms written by irate fans who have watched too many Fast and Furious movies.  The Z4 leads a far more sheltered existence amid the Supra’s malarkey, perhaps because it never reached peak iconic status in the first place.

That’s not to say the mortal BMW Z4 is going to walk its segment. Convertible sales are nosediving, which is why Audi axed the TT convertible. Now what’s left of the ilk is an apocalyptic landscape of the dull Mercedes SLC, the raucous Nissan 370Z and Porsche’s scalpel-sharp but downsized 718 Boxster.

BMW’s bringing two versions to market. The public will go for the 2.0-litre because it costs a lot less than a 718 Boxster and marries the price to encouraging performance – similar to a MINI Cooper S in punch and histrionics. The BMW Z4 M40i – which we didn’t drive on launch – uses the 3.0-litre straight six with 250kW and 500Nm. Think convertible Toyota Supra. It too is cheaper than the equivalent SLC 43 AMG which runs similar capacity but with cylinders in a V-shape.

The BMW Z4 M40i comes with a Nurburgring lap time but you would rather it be handsome, wouldn’t you? They’ve done well to contain the bulker tech it must carry or the improved safety it now needs but I would like the nose to be lower and the rear to have less of an early Ferrari California hump to it, especially since fabric roofs are meant to offer the perk of compactness. Don’t think for a second that fabric roofs are inferior to folding hard tops for insulation because if convertibles now match coupes for speed, even a soft top like this would match a coupe for seal and shut. And it will win the race between its two latch points with a time of 10 seconds. Far more relevant on the stopwatch than the Nurburgring.

The interior is largely plucked from a 3 Series which means BMW can’t do the whole driver-focussed angle that would work so well in a Z4. It’s a nice place to sit, but not very roadster. A bit too dense with sombre packaging whereas roadster vernacular usually includes fun elements such as toggle switches or little cutaways or punched aluminium struts that allow light to flow through the cabin while creating little nooks for storage. This one is designed to stop your cinnamon latte from toppling over.

A blustery Cape Town jabs at the sides of the Z4, pushing it hither and thither at speed, while the high-geared steering has been done to give the front end the sensation of sharpness, yet there’s not a lot of textured communication returned by the wheels. Hyper alert like a city car, but ADHD on these mountain passes where the ratio of lock doesn’t feel as sinuous as the road ahead.

Perhaps the new Z4’s only measurement is whether it could be the star in a James Bond film – like the Z8 and Z3. Button-mashing revealed no Stinger missiles lurking behind the headlights and there’s no hot-air-on-neck feature either, the latter being absurdly low-tech for the world’s most famous spy. But it does ride with far greater stability and reconciles the perks of coupes and convertibles with aplomb. Sophisticated like Bond, but not as charismatic.

• SPECIFICATION                                                 7
• 1998cc, 4cyl turbo petrol, RWD, 145kW, 320Nm
• 6.1l/100km, 139g/km CO2
• 0–100kph in 6.6secs, 240kph
• 1480kg
• Verdict: Form juxtaposed by function. There’s a purity that’s missing.