2009 BMW Z4: Grand Touring Retractable Hard Top!

Summary

The 2009 Z4 sports a retractable hard top, a departure from any previous two-seat BMW. The retractable hard top replaces the roadster and coupe versions of previous-generation (pre-2009) Z4 models with one car. The hard top retracts for the same open-air driving of a convertible, but closes with the press of a button to provide the advantages of better security, rigidity, rearward visibility, quiet and weather control of a coupe.

Full Review 2009

As with other cars getting bigger and laden with more luxury and features, the higher-optioned Z4s tend to feel more like Grand Touring machines than sports cars. In terms of pure sports car, we liked the sDrive30i with sport package. The 2009 Z4 is offered in two models, the sDrive30i and sDrive35i. In current BMW nomenclature, sDrive refers to rear-wheel drive.

Trims and Model Lineup 2009

The Z4 sDrive30i ($45,750) comes with a 255-hp 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder engine and six-speed manual transmission; a six-speed sport automatic with shift paddles is optional ($1,325). It's delivered with faux leather leatherette upholstery, manual climate control, power retractable hardtop, heated power mirrors and rear window, six-way manual bucket seats, tilt/telescoping steering wheel, rain-sensing wipers, power windows and locks, trip computer and adaptive bi-Xenon headlamps. The Z4 sDrive35i ($51,650) uses a 300-hp 3.0-liter inline six, though it is a different engine than the 30i and employs twin turbochargers; a six-speed manual gearbox is standard and a seven-speed dual-clutch automated manual optional ($1,525). Other mechanical upgrades include larger brakes and wider rear tires and wheels. Cabin upgrades include standard leather upholstery, brushed aluminum trim or ash wood, and automatic dual-zone climate control. Kansas leather upholstery on the dash, visors, door sills ($1,350) is optional, along with a 19-inch wheel upgrade to the Sport package ($1,200).

Options for both Z4 models include navigation ($2,100); Comfort Access ($500); Park Distance Control ($750); HD radio; satellite radio w/1-year sub ($595); smartphone integration ($150); anti-theft alarm ($400); metallic paint ($550). The Cold Weather package ($1,000) includes heated steering wheel and seats, storage pack, through-loading system, headlight washers. The Premium package includes auto-dimming mirrors, gate opener, power seats with lumbar and driver memory, ambient light package, BMW assist, leather on 30i. Premium Sound ($2,000) adds six-disc DVD changer, hi-fi sound system, iPod/USB adapter. Sport adds 18-inch alloy wheels and run-flat performance tires, Adaptive M suspension, sport seats; 19-inch wheels are also available. Exclusive Ivory white Nappay leather is available, along with anthracite wood trim.

Standard safety features include frontal airbags, head/thorax side airbags in the seats, active knee protection, roll hoops, and electronic stability, traction and braking controls, tire pressure monitors. Classic roadster proportions give the Z4 a long hood and short decklid, shoulders over the wheel arches and tapers in three axes. A variety of wheel sizes and finishes are offered, and while the Z4 is light and well-suspended enough that even 19-inch wheels can deliver decent ride quality they might not work well with poor infrastructure (rough roads), and some wheel styles will require more cleaning effort.

Adaptive brake lights deliver more red light when you hit the brake pedal hard than when merely slowing mildly. Although front-end shaping is the same, with BMW's trademark corona (programmable) daytime running lights for instant identification, trim varies by model. In BMW fashion, many systems on the Z4 have been proven in other recent BMW models, including the higher-output engine, transmissions, and suspension design.

Standard manual seats and tilt/telescoping steering column provide enough adjustment to suit many driver sizes; slender types will appreciate the side bolsters on the seats and larger bodies will be framed as much by the door and console. While they may not look like thick armchairs the seats offer excellent support over multi-hour drives; the sport seats are a bit more confining for wide girth and superb for a spirited drive. Digital displays in the center handle outside temperature, mileage, trip data, and on automatics, gear indication.

The three-quarter view right behind the seats is much better because the folding top added two small windows. Climate control is manual on 30i and automatic dual-zone on 35i with an automatic recirculation mode that senses air contaminants. With the heated seats and steering wheel option the close-the-top temperature goes down 10 degrees or more. On navigation cars much audio control is done through iDrive but common requests can be handled by steering wheel buttons as well. On cars with iDrive there is an 80GB hard-drive that has 15GB allotted to music storage, and it will contain CD contents for you.

Automatics with paddle shifters won't have this problem, nor manual non-navigation cars.

First Drive 2009

While the retractable top and added features have nudged it a bit closer to grand touring car than sports car it is still clearly aimed at those who enjoy driving.

With a manual, EPA numbers are 18/25 and with the dual-clutch seven-speed 17/24. Mercedes SLK300 gets 228 hp and 221 lb-ft from its V6 with six-speed manual or seven-speed auto, but the SLK350 with 300 hp is automatic only. Shift action is light, short and semi-notchy, rather like there's a rubber-edged metal gate hiding under the shift boot. The 35i also has wider rear wheels and tires to cope with the added weight and power. 

A $57,000 35i with sport package, dual-clutch gearbox and 19-inch wheels arguably makes the best track car in terms of outright performance, but we found the 30i ($49,000 with sport package) the sweeter ride on a winding road where the lighter weight is felt, reactions and response seem more linear, and the whole effect is more pure sports car than race car.

Unlike many sports cars that feel heavy steering is a requirement this is light around town, weights up nicely with cornering force and reminds us somewhat of the Honda S2000. Like the Mazda RX-8 (a lighter two-door, four-seat, front-engine, rear-drive coupe), the Z4 is not only nicely balanced and goes where you point it, it does so with little drama and it's relatively easy to find where its limits are. 

Putting the top down doesn't change the behavior at all because it's the lightest such assembly in the industry (aluminum panels) and changes front/rear balance by 0.3 percent and it puts that weight closer to the ground. It's a sensation the more driver-forward Boxster and TT don't offer, and it's much more muted in the softer SLK.

Among the competitors, the SLK also offers a folding hardtop, while the Audi TT and Porsche Boxster use folding cloth tops; they're perhaps not as quiet and sealed as a hardtop, and not as easy to see out of, but trunk space doesn't suffer as much when motoring top-down. The Mercedes offers many similar amenities but is less a driver's car and more a small version of the SL luxury convertible. We think it's the best sports car in this class short of the Porsche Boxster, and it can't switch between top-down roadster and hard top coupe the way the Z4 can.

2009 Conclusions

The all-new 2009 BMW Z4 picks up right where the last generation left off, or as a more intimate, involving 6 Series cabrio. That it is a bit bigger and more luxurious doesn't indicate any loss of soul or enjoyment, and the folding hardtop offers the best of coupe and roadster forms with fewer of the drawbacks of either. A reviewer for Road and Track writes: "To my eye, it looks less consciously sculpted and more natural, while still accentuating the classic front-engine/rear-drive roadster look, with the driver sitting back near the rear axle. It looks muscular, alert and ready to leap. Which it is." "The outgoing BMW Z4, like the Z3 before it, was widely considered to be merely an expensive 'sporty' car -- a Miata for well-off college coeds. But a full redesign for the 2009 BMW Z4 moves the car into the rarefied realm of true luxury/performance roadsters. The new Z4 is significantly more refined, there's a little more room inside and it now boasts a power-folding hardtop." says Edmunds We think it's the best sports car in this class short of the Porsche Boxster, and it can't switch between top-down roadster and hard top coupe the way the Z4 can.