Dateline 1st August

[Z_Victor1]

Well, it's arrived. Three days ago on Saturday 1st August.

Chapter 1.

Time from ordering to delivery took 6 weeks, which is excellent. No pictures yet – but not necessary as the colour is as per launch vehicle….no surprises there.

Vehicle is S-Drive35i with Deep SB + Canberra Beige Kansas with Standard 17” (style 292) wheels.

Extras are DCT, M-Adaptive suspension, Extended storage, heated standard seats, Thru-load system, PDC front & rear, Pro Nav setup, top Pro Hi-Fi setup with 6 disc DVD, USB Audio Interface, Ash Grain wood trim and Cruise Control. And of course TRACKER.

Car was presented by dealer with excellent handover and is immaculate and I cannot find any faults yet! But having read posts where guys have had issues, I am very happy indeed.

Driving is a revelation. A feeling of extremely high build quality and of comfort and security. The car feels very nimble and is into licence-losing territory in a flash. High comfort levels roof up or down.

Transmission. I have previously owned an Audi A3 3.2 with their own version of DCT and I can assure you this BMW system is far, far superior. Responsive - yet smooth. Down-changes are beautifully executed with just the right amount of what I would call ‘throttle-blipping’ The Audi was great if you wanted to rob a bank…tearing about with instantaneous gear-changes. But for general driving including heavy traffic, it was a PITA…very clunky indeed. Lurching and clanking along at slow speed. And useless on an incline. Not nice.

M-Adaptive Suspension. No helpful comments here as I'm still treating the car gently. But given it's write up, I cannot see why anyone would NOT want this almost essential piece of the jigsaw!

The exhaust note is beeeeautiful, with a Ferrari-esque rasp as the revs rise – I don’t know what it’s like further up the rev range as I’m following the advice in the handbook and not researching the edge of the envelope just yet.

As far as road-holding and general driving go thus far…..it’s accurate and responsive which in turn is very confidence inspiring….it goes where you point it. Whilst not quite as "slot-car" like as the Cayman S, it is still outstanding. Say, for road-holding, give the Cayman 100% and the Z4 comes in around 95%...but, as I say, I’ve not driven anywhere near the car’s full potential yet………

Ergonomics are superb….everything works as advertised….I’ve not seen any comments here regarding the way the car can be set up for each key-holder…..seat position, stereo, lights, preferences etc., Confusing at first, but fine once mastered and VERY useful if ownership is shared with one’s sweetheart. Very very clever stuff.

Equipment is very good….LCDs used but not for everything…for example sidelights and front indicators are still incandescent. Marks on roof interior are possible where it settles in the boot (trunk) so I must investigate that area. The Xenon lights are pretty…but given the hype and not having driven with these before I was expecting something mind-boggling. But they ARE better than incandescent.

WHEELS….I had no need for larger wheels….had 18” on the Audi and the ride was DIABOLICAL. Completely ruined what could have been an acceptable car. As for what the wheels look like…..nope, no bells rung for me there…I can’t see them when I’m driving and as for people going “WOW”…..hmmmm, not my aisle……!

GEARBOX….DCT is outstanding, but a personal choice and see above. Further, I’ve had enough of playing ‘signalman’ in my life. Again, a very personal choice.

PROF Hi-Fi & Nav….my logic was it’s no good thinking after the event “I wish I’d had that….” Life’s too short.
Loading music into the car’s hard-drive is a doddle from the USB slot in glove-box. About 12GB of storage is available. I-pod connection works as advertised so far. Not had much time to explore that function.

COLOUR….now that is a dilemma. Initially I had specified Space Grey with Red Interior. Do you know, I STILL can’t make up my mind as that also would have been beautiful. But the DSB is a deceptive colour…..changing considerably in hue with different light levels.

Is there anything I miss and wish I’d specified? Not just at the moment. I am most pleased with the set-up.

Chapter 2 in a couple of months.

[richard in NC]

Congrats and enjoy! Nice write-up. It's interesting how the U.S. limits our choices. The only way we get the M adaptive suspension is in a sport package with sport seats and 18 inch wheels. We also have more limited wheel choices.

I agree life is too short to say "I wish I would have gotten that". Therefore, I went for a loaded car on the dealer's lot instead of ordering a car to save a buck. Plus I got a better deal as they wanted to move the car on the lot.

I agree about the DCT. Best transmission I've ever driven.

With the M adaptive suspension, I find even the 19's give an acceptable ride. Although, big pot holes can cause suspension crashes and are best avoided to not risk wheel and tire damage anyways.

I've not tried loading music into the hard drive. How does that compare to just using the iPod. Can the iPod plug in to the glovebox USB to load songs directly from it, or do I need to load a USB memory stick with songs?

[Z_Victor1]

Thanks Richard.

Clearly this M-Adaptive suspension is better than I thought at controlling the ride (!)

Not sure about i-pod and downloading....
My understanding is that using the i-pod with the connecting lead under the armrest is for listening only...and an excellent job it does of it.

Slotting a memory stick into glove-box and downloading music directly into car is most straightforward....but given the time it can take, best do it on a drive of more than 20 mins for about 8Gb. Sound quality is also excellent here. Perhaps not quite up to the audiophile level from the CD player?

Cheers.

[HK bimmer]

Originally Posted by Z_Victor1

The Audi was great if you wanted to rob a bank….

I love this sentence.

[BlueZ4AZ]

Good post and comments. However, I did not feel the need for the M Suspension. It's not a necessity here in AZ, where we are pothole free with all newer roads and highways. The biggest obstacle is a manhole cover.

[Z_Victor1]

Just returned after a week's stay in the Biltmore, Phoenix. Fabulous.

Truly a fabulous state. And we only saw a minute fraction, travelling north to the Canyon, savouring Sedona & Flagstaff on the way. Our south and east travels took us to the Pima Air Base, Titan Missile site & Tombstone.

Had to leave my sweetheart in Scottsdale for shopping though!!!

The roads are amazing and M-Adaptive would never be needed.

I'd say to anyone...go to Arizona before you die.......as Al Pacino would have said....HOOARRR!!