BMW Z4

The BMW Z4 is a small two-seat sports car, with a traditional roadster layout combining a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive configuration, a long good, and a low seating position just ahead of the rear wheels. Major competitors include the Audi TT, Mazda MX-5 Miata, Mercedes-Benz SLK, Nissan 350Z/370Z Convertible, and Porsche Boxster. It's always been a premium-priced model, but it's become increasingly pricey relative to other convertibles—and BMW's own 3-Series Convertible. The Z4 used to cost somewhat less than the 3-Series drop-top; now it costs slightly more.

Back in 1996 BMW introduced its first mass-produced roadster, aimed at the Mazda Miata; but with a coarse-sounding four-cylinder base engine and a cheerfully simple feel, the Z3 always felt a little out of place in BMW's U.S. showrooms—even when the automaker added larger six-cylinder engines.

The original BMW Z4, introduced for 2003, wasn't that much larger than the Z3 but it was much more refined and luxurious—and it made a tremendous leap, design-wise, graduating from British roadster disciple to something much more complex, inside and out. Originally the Z4 was sold in 2.5i and 3.0i variants, with 184 horsepower and 225 hp respectively, but a mid-cycle update in 2006 brought more powerful engines. Models from 2003 through 2005 could have an optional SMG gearbox, which was never well received and didn't function as well in the Z4 as it did in several of BMW's other cars at that same time. The rest of the 2003-2008 models were offered with excellent manual or Steptronic automatic transmissions. 2006-2008 models were available in a curvy, nicely proportioned coupe body style, but coupes weren't that much quieter inside than convertibles were with the top up. From that period, there's also the Z4 M, a model powered by the same 3.2-liter six that powered the M3, with output down slightly to 330 hp.

The second-generation BMW Z4 that made its debut late in the 2009 model year was a very different car in many ways. It traded its soft top for a more complex folding-hardtop arrangement, much like the one that had recently been introduced on the 2007 BMW 3-Series Convertible. The newest Z4 borrows much—both in terms of styling and technology—from the limited-run Z8 roadster that BMW sold earlier last decade, and it moved markedly upscale, to a higher price range, with more features and options. In 2012, BMW introduced a new turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine in the sDrive28i model, replacing the previous sDrive30i. Despite the smaller displacement, the new engine generates nearly as much power while returning much better fuel economy. In a full review of the latest 2012 Z4, TheCarConnection.com found that the Z4 is by no means an edgy sports car but loves the Z4's poise and performance, its velvety powertrains, cabin appointments, and tight-fitting top. None of the first-generation Z4s are very good choices for long-distance cruising, but the latest Z4 is a much better highway car.

With the second-generation Z4, BMW moved production from Spartanburg, South Carolina to Regensburg, Germany. Looking ahead to 2013 and 2014, a smaller Z2 roadster may join the BMW lineup to occupy that more affordable portion of the market that the Z3 and Z4 used to appeal to. A Z4 M remains a possibility, but it hasn't yet been confirmed.