BMW Z4 review

Interior

Dashboard & tech

The Z4’s interior is a brilliant blend of sporty design and high-end luxury. The build quality is superb, with premium materials and a driver-focused layout that makes you feel connected to the car. It’s packed with BMW’s latest technology, including a large digital driver’s display and a fantastic central touchscreen infotainment system.

The iDrive system is one of the best around, being easy to navigate using the touchscreen, a rotary controller, or voice commands. Satellite navigation, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto are all included, so you have everything you need for entertainment and directions right at your fingertips.

Comfort

For a two-seat sports car, the Z4 is surprisingly comfortable. The driving position is excellent, allowing you to sit low in the car for a sporty feel, and the supportive seats are great for long journeys. You can easily find a perfect position thanks to lots of adjustment in both the seat and steering wheel.

The ride is firm, which helps the car feel agile and responsive, but it’s not so harsh that it becomes tiring on a long drive. With the roof up, the fabric top does a good job of keeping wind and road noise out, making the Z4 a capable long-distance cruiser.

Quality

The interior of the Z4 feels every bit the premium product. The quality of the materials is top-notch, with soft-touch plastics, leather upholstery, and stylish metal-effect trim creating a genuinely upmarket atmosphere. Everything feels solid and well put together, giving you confidence that it’s built to last. It’s a cabin that feels special and is a lovely place to spend time, whether you’re on a short blast or a cross-country tour.

Practicality & boot space

Interior space

As a strict two-seater, the Z4 is all about fun for the driver and one lucky passenger. There’s plenty of head and legroom for two adults to get comfortable, even with the roof up. The cabin feels snug and sporty, but not cramped.

You’ll find a few useful storage spots for your odds and ends, including door pockets, a glovebox, and a pair of cupholders. It’s not a family car, but for a weekend getaway for two, it has all the space you’ll need.

Boot space

Practicality isn't the main reason you buy a sports car, but the Z4’s boot is surprisingly usable. It has 281 litres of space, which is impressive for a two-seat roadster. Crucially, the boot capacity remains the same whether the roof is up or down, which is a big advantage over cars with a folding metal hard-top.

There’s enough room for a couple of weekend bags or the weekly shop, making the Z4 a more practical daily proposition than you might imagine. The boot opening is a little narrow, but the space itself is a useful shape.

Versatility

The Z4 is designed for one thing: driving pleasure. Its versatility comes from its ability to be both an exciting sports car and a comfortable cruiser. The fabric roof is a key feature, as it can be opened or closed electrically in just 10 seconds, and at speeds of up to 31mph. This means you can quickly react to a sudden change in the weather without having to stop the car.

Driving

Driving experience

This is where the Z4 comes alive. It offers a classic rear-wheel-drive sports car experience that’s a huge amount of fun. The steering is sharp and direct, and the car feels agile and eager to change direction. It’s a joy to drive on a twisty road, with plenty of grip and a beautifully balanced feel.

While it’s not quite as razor-sharp as a Porsche 718 Boxster, the Z4 strikes a brilliant balance between sporty handling and everyday comfort. It’s a car that feels exciting when you want it to, but is also happy to cruise along in a relaxed and refined manner.

Performance

The Z4 comes with a choice of excellent petrol engines. The range starts with the 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine, available in two power outputs: the sDrive20i and the more powerful sDrive30i. Both offer brisk performance and a fun driving experience, with the 30i being particularly punchy.

For the ultimate Z4 experience, the M40i model is the one to go for. It features BMW’s superb 3.0-litre six-cylinder engine, which is incredibly smooth, sounds fantastic, and delivers breathtaking performance. All Z4 models come with a smooth and responsive automatic gearbox as standard.

Running costs

Fuel economy & CO2 emissions

For a high-performance sports car, the Z4’s running costs are quite reasonable. The 2.0-litre sDrive20i model is the most economical, capable of returning up to 39.8mpg in official tests. Even the powerful M40i, with its big six-cylinder engine, can achieve a respectable 35.8mpg.

Of course, if you make full use of the performance on offer, your fuel economy will drop. But for sensible cruising, the Z4 won't break the bank. Insurance costs will be higher than for a regular hatchback, which is to be expected for a car of this type.

Value for money

The BMW Z4 is a premium sports car with a price tag to match. However, it’s competitively priced against its key rivals and comes with a high level of standard equipment, including leather seats, LED headlights, and the excellent infotainment system.

Used models can represent good value, offering a huge amount of style and driving fun for the money. BMWs also tend to hold their value well, which is good news when it’s time to sell the car on.

Reliability & Warranty

BMW has a solid reputation for engineering and build quality, and the Z4 feels like a very robust and well-made car. It shares many of its mechanical parts with other popular BMW models, so it should prove to be reliable. From new, the Z4 comes with a three-year, unlimited mileage warranty, which is a great benefit.

Safety

Safety features

The Z4 is a very safe sports car. It was awarded the maximum five-star rating when tested by the safety experts at Euro NCAP, with particularly high scores for protecting adult occupants and for its safety assistance systems.

Standard safety equipment is generous and includes automatic emergency braking to help prevent a collision. You can also find models fitted with optional driver assistance packs that add features like adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assist, making long journeys safer and less tiring.

Trims & Engines

Trim levels

The Z4 is available in two main trim levels: Sport and M Sport. The entry-level Sport model is very well equipped, coming with 18-inch alloy wheels, heated leather sports seats, two-zone climate control, and the full infotainment setup with a digital driver’s display.

The M Sport trim gives the car a more aggressive look with a sportier body kit, different alloy wheel designs, and M-specific details inside, such as a sportier steering wheel. The top-of-the-range M40i gets its own unique specification, including adaptive M Sport suspension and uprated brakes to handle its extra performance.

Engines

There’s a simple choice of three excellent petrol engines. The range kicks off with the sDrive20i, a 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine producing 197bhp. Next up is the sDrive30i, which uses the same engine but tuned to produce a more powerful 258bhp.

At the top of the range is the thrilling M40i. This model uses a fantastic 3.0-litre six-cylinder engine that produces a hefty 340bhp, delivering incredible performance and a wonderful sound. All engines are paired with a smooth eight-speed automatic gearbox that sends power to the rear wheels.

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