Reviews of the 2012 Z4 sDrive28i featuring the new turbo 4-cylinder N20 motor have generally been positive overall. However,
Automobile's recent assessment is the strongest endorsement we've seen yet for the new Z4, which represents the return of 4-cylinder BMW engines to the US.
Here are some of the great things the magazine had to say about the sDriv28i's engine, exhaust, and performance:
Quote:
While the N20 warms up, the Z4's exhaust note is loud, deep, and angry; exactly as a sports car's should be. The drama wanes a few seconds later as the engine management transitions to a smooth and quiet idle. The usual six-cylinder symphony has been replaced with a little four-banger anger -- not in a bad way, mind you, but it's a noticeable change. Under load especially, the N20 takes on a deep and purposeful note that's neither as refined as Volkswagen's benchmark 2.0T four-cylinder's nor quite as angry as a V-8's. The N20 is happiest, acoustically, in the mid range of the tach scale.
And this Z4 is seriously fast.... With the eight-speed automatic flinging gears down the driveshaft faster than you can ask "what turbo lag?," the N20 squeezes out enough juice for a 5.6-second run to 60 mph, according to BMW. That's almost a half second quicker than the old six-cylinder and six-speed automatic.
The N20 is powerful right off idle, thanks to its high compression ratio -- and boost comes on smoothly and almost unnoticeably before the needle hits 2000 rpm.
Whereas some other turbocharged BMW engines are too shy to let turbo sounds out, the Z4 broadcasts them clearly. There's no WRC-inspired blow-off valve chirp, just a pleasant overlay of wooshing and swooshing as you build and release boost pressure. The N20 is redlined at 7000 rpm, but power peaks at 5000 and thrust starts to fall off noticeably after 6000.
The exhaust tuning is perhaps the best part about the Z4 sDrive28i's new engine. This is especially true at low engine speeds with the top lowered.
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Catch the rest of Automobile's Z4 review at
http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews...ive/index.html