USED BMW Z4 Open (03 - 09)

My car

Just a joy to drive. Modern in every way but with traditional sports-car values. The quirky flame surface styling works so well.

My car

I've just bought a seven-month-old Z4 2.2SE roadster with around 5500 miles on the clock.

Initial impressions are very favourable and the car looks especially good in the Sterling Grey colour with the uprated 17-inch Turbine alloy wheels.

Despite it being one of the lower-capacity engines offered in the range, it offers a suitably purposeful sound, ranging from a deep bass on start up and low revs to a wonderful six-pot howl as the revs increase - typical of many of the engines offered by BMW.

The ride quality is naturally firm, but not overly so. However, on poor road surfaces, it can get a little fussy. Handling, however, is excellent and the steering offers lots of feedback.

Inside, the quality is typically BMW, which is to say very good, and all of the switches and stalks work with a pleasing action. The interior is spartan, but pleasant and is in keeping with the tradition of many manufacturers who want to keep the experience of driving a roadster as simple and enjoyable as is possible for their customers.

Despite the temptation to use the power as often as possible, fuel economy has so far proved to be reasonable, averaging around 31mpg, through a wide range of driving environments.

Overall, I am extremely pleased with the car and predict that it will offer an extremely enjoyable driving experience for years to come.

My car

Great car, transformed by simply replacing run flat tyres with normal ones, giving better handling, steering and especially ride.

Practical, unusually for a Roadster the boot is big enough to allow two to go on a touring holiday for a week. Proven to be very reliable to date.

Cheap to run to date, Insurance £440 p.a. average 31.7 mpg (2.5 auto) first service at 15,500 miles cost £135.

My car

I have owned the 2.2 model for nearly a year and this is the first BMW six-cylinder I have owned after my previous 1.9 Z3.

The Z4 is a much more involving drive than the Z3, and I was surprised I noticed the difference not being a fast driver.

I have driven the 2.5 and the response is more urgent, and gave the impression that it would be tempting to drive faster than was wise, especially at my age (57).

I believe the 2.5 is higher geared, which explains the response in second and third gears, however the 2.2 is not far behind as the official figures confirm - especially without the extra weight of a passenger.

The six-cylinder engine is also very quiet and refined with a pleasing exhaust note. I am very pleased with the car and have grown to appreciate the subtle lines of the bodywork and unusual dash layout.

As mentioned by past testers, the Z4 is reliant on the colour and wheels to look its best. I have a red model with turbine wheels, which is a rare combination but works for me. It is a shame that BMW has now introduced a four-cylinder version, as I feel the six-cylinder models are rather special and suit the character of the Z4 styling, which as someone said looks like a Z3 on steroids.