Car India – August 2019

TwinPower Turbo’d to produce 340 hp and 500 Nm — up 34 hpand 50 NmonthesDrive35i
we drove over five years ago. The new eight-speed automatictransmissiondrivestherearaxle
and the squat under acceleration makes that rather prominent.Itzoomedeffortlessfromzero
to 100 km/h in five seconds, and maintained steam closingintowardsitstopspeed.Therear,
once hooked in, is astoundingly reassuring and the beautifullyweightedsteeringcomplements
that just as well as it should. There isn’t a bulky planted feel,althoughits1,535kgisevident.
The suspension is stiffer in Sport, as compared to Comfortmodes,andthesteeringfeelisa
bit heavier with more turn-in response, but, here, when you’rebasicallyindrag,it letsitstail-
happy nature slip initially, but only enough for the tractioncontroltotightenitsholdonthe
leash. That capability is augmented by the progressive
brakes and adaptive damped suspension which makes
carving corners and attacking hair-pins confident fun.
The power deliveryisinstant,yetthemotor’srevsaren’t
used unnecessarily.Thegearboxdoesa finejobof
keeping the motor
response in anygea
While we’re atit
the power to justab
dulling the needto
the efficiency, with
registering in thete
traffic brings thenu
There is no short
the ones with them

alert, lane-departure alert,andcollisionwarning,inthatorder.Thelarger

head-updisplayisa hugebonusandinformsofeverythingfromaudio

track,phonecallerIDaswellasthenecessarynavigationinfo.Throughthe

(Left) Visibility

at the rearreally

not hampered

(Right) That’s

all the M weget

for now;

281-litre boot

enough; doors

auto unlock

when key-fobis

within two

metres distance

(Below right)

Black 19-inch

alloys looksharp

on theboilfora more-than-adequate

ar atanyspeedinanydrivemode.

,EcoProdoesafinejobby throttling

boveacceptablelevelsforitsnature,

rev,butalsodoinga stellarjobwith

ahighwayfigureofaround 12 km/l

ests.Abouthalfofthatiswhatcity

umberdownto.

tage ofdriveraids and, while intraffic,

mostengagement aretheblind-spot

courseoftheday,theZ4sawhighway,privateroads,cityroads,andbroken

B-roadswithabysmalsurfaceconditions.Onlythehighspeed-humpsneed

undividedattention,buttherestweretakeninstride.The capabilityofthe

Z4iscommendable andwhile it isindeedintendedtobe the ultimate

drivingmachineaimedatprovidingsheerdrivingpleasure,itdoeshavea

lotmoregoingforit andit shows.It’s moreliveable withthanwhatIfirst

imaginedit tobe and, while the excitementtoenticeteenagerswithfreshly

issueddrivinglicencesisundeniably present,itsappealtothoselookingfor

amorematurecarthatdoesn’t shyawayfromblisteringspeeds is

unequivocally communicated.

BMW Z4 M40i | Road Test

http://www.carindia.in August 2019 CAR INDIA 93