Ari Posted March 6, 2005 Report Share Posted March 6, 2005 Just wondered how you were all getting on with your cars, whether you were pleased with them etc. Couple of specific questions too if I may? How noisy are they with the top up at motorway speed? My Audi Cabrio is virtually saloon car quiet which is one of the things I love about it. There's obviously no cenre armrest option, but in the Boxster the centre console is high enough to rest your arm on. Is this the case with the Z4? I'm guessing the handling is good (BMW, rear wheel drive etc) but you seem to be sat a long way back in the car, almost over the rear axle. How does that affect the ride? Is it bouncy? How much wind turbulance do you get with the top down and is there a wind deflector option? I use my car roof down all year round, but with the side windows up and wind deflector in place there is very little turbulance in the cabin. I borrowed a TT Roaster for a day once and even with windows up and deflector up it was really windy in the cabin. Wouldn't have been much fun on a cold day... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted March 6, 2005 Report Share Posted March 6, 2005 [ QUOTE ] is there a wind deflector option? I use my car roof down all year round [/ QUOTE ] I know the answer to this. Yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ari Posted March 6, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2005 Excellent, thanks. One more question for owners. How do you find the interior trim quality and ambience? Audi are famously first class in this area, and the Z4 looks a little basic inside, although I've only seen photos, never sat in one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newbie123 Posted March 6, 2005 Report Share Posted March 6, 2005 Guess this ones aimed at me I've had mine now for just over 4 months and I have to say I'm absolutely delighted with it. It is quite noisy at motorway speeds, certainly no where near as quiet as the A4 cabriolet I had. But I think you have to expect that when you're that close to the gound and have 18" low profile tyres fitted. I've got the optional wind deflector fitted and it's superb, it's very similar to the A4cab one in that it's of a mesh design that can be removed when not required. It's very effective as it also comes with additional mesh grills which fit in the centre of the roll over hoops and thus ensure that very little if any wind enters the cabin. The handling of the car is absolutely fantastic and easily the best of any car I've owned. The ride can be a bit bouncy particularly if you have the 18" run flats and sports suspension fitted, but otherwise it's exactly how you'd expect a two seater rear wheel drive sportscar to handle . The interior is inferior to Audi, I like the styling it's certainly different and intersting, but the quality just isn't up to Audi standards. Some of the plastics feel quite cheap, but it is certainly still a nice driving environment having said that. I also think there's much more room inside compared to the TT roadster. Overall I'm very happy with mine and looking forward to the summer for some great roof down motoring. I'm actually a little disappointed that I've only got the car for 18 months as I think I might have finally found a car I could keep for 3-4 years. One word of warning though, I think the new 2.0 Z4 doesn't come with an electric roof. This is a shame as it's probably one of the best systems going. It takes about 10-12 seconds from pressing the button to being stored away, plus you can also lower the roof remotely using the key which is a great party trick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chav Posted March 6, 2005 Report Share Posted March 6, 2005 [ QUOTE ] It takes about 10-12 seconds from pressing the button to being stored away, plus you can also lower the roof remotely using the key which is a great party trick [/ QUOTE ] now thats cool!! 24 ish seconds on the audi cab makes roof-down-in-time calculations at traffic lights tricky sometimes. ...and a remote roof would be lovely. i know theres a gizmo for the a4 cab, but its not the same as having it from standard with no insurance probs etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ari Posted March 6, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2005 Cheers for that Newbie. Is the motorway noise mainly tyre noise (in which case its a simple matter of smaller wheels) or is it wind or engine noise would you say? [ QUOTE ] One word of warning though, I think the new 2.0 Z4 doesn't come with an electric roof. This is a shame as it's probably one of the best systems going. It takes about 10-12 seconds from pressing the button to being stored away, plus you can also lower the roof remotely using the key which is a great party trick [/ QUOTE ] Good advice. I did notice there is an SE version featuring "electric roof" amongst the add ons, which made me wonder if the power roof was optional on the non SE. From what you've said that is indeed the case. What about the centre armrest/centre console question? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newbie123 Posted March 6, 2005 Report Share Posted March 6, 2005 I would say the majority of the noise is the tyres, I did have 16" alloys on originally and it was quiter but still not saloon car standards. The central console is quite high already and you can rest your elbow on it. But I think there is an option of a sort of padded armrest which is basically just a padded section which fits over the central console behind the handbrake, but I could be wrong. A good place for info on the Z4 is here Ari .... www.z4um.com and it's worth a look at the forum on there. Anymore questions just fire away Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loddrik Posted March 6, 2005 Report Share Posted March 6, 2005 I found the Z4 to be a cracking drive, much more fun than I expected (although not a patch on the S ) Go for the 3.0 though, and the steptronic is superb and IMO suits the Z4 down to a tee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ari Posted March 8, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 Thanks chaps. Lodders, can't afford a 3.0! Not going to be changing for quite a while anyway, I just like to kick ideas around so when I do I know which way I'm going... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 [ QUOTE ] Not going to be changing for quite a while anyway, I just like to kick ideas around so when I do I know which way I'm going... [/ QUOTE ] ...safe in the knowledge that just when you think you're ready to change and that you've made your mind up what you're going to be buying....something else comes along and have to start the process all over again. Does it ever NOT happen? :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ari Posted March 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2005 Yeah, you're probably right. New TT on the horizon, I think that could be an interesting car. Must admit though, ghosting quietly along on my car this morning with the top down and thought, do I really want or need anything other than this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loddrik Posted March 10, 2005 Report Share Posted March 10, 2005 Do you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ari Posted March 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2005 95% of the time, no. But 5% of the time a bit more performance and chuckability would be nice, the Audi Cab is a big heavy car. The Z4 would give me that without costing any more, indeed probably slightly less, but I'd lose the 4 seat practicality, the big boot, the quality interior, the quietness at high speed, etc. Its all compromises... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ragdude Posted March 11, 2005 Report Share Posted March 11, 2005 Ari, I sold mine a month ago. I took a massive hit on depreciation on my 3.0 model, £9.5k in 18 months - ouch. If I'd sold it to a dealer I'd have lost a further £2k. If you want to buy one go used instead of new and let some other sucker like me take the hit. My car had only done 3,600 miles and was as new. As far as the rest goes the ride is ridiculously harsh on the 3.0 with 18" alloys over badly surfaced B roads which, lets face it, is where you want to drive a car like this to have fun in it. I think the 2.5 on 17" wheels is a better bet as it doesn't have the M sport suspension and has a much better ride quality as a result. You are also not losing a huge amount of power in normal driving. It doesn't have the cabin engine noise induction system but that will make it quieter on motorway journeys too. I found the 3.0 as quiet on the motorway as my A4 cab I have to say at around 85 as far as wind noise goes. There are patchy quality materials but I found that the dream red leather I had with the grey interior looked really good - much better than the black interior which shows up the dubious plastics more. There are lots of these cars around with very low mileages and high specs. £25k should be enough to secure a 3.0 with everything including sat nav and the Carver hi-fi with less than 10k miles on it. I'm glad to be out of it and would certainly buy a Porsche Boxster in preference to a Z4 if I was looking at buying a roadster again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ari Posted March 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2005 Thats all god advice, thanks. Especially interested to hear about the motorway noise, thats good news. I take your point about residuals, thats pretty disappointing for a premium soft top. Seems maybe the Z4 hasn't hit the spot. Considering just how popular the Z3 was (premiums on the 1.9 for a long time after launch!), and that the Z4 is a far superior car, this seems odd. I think they've positioned it too high, putting it up against cars like the Porsche Boxster etc, whereas the Z3 was much more affordable, more upmarket MX5 territory. I suspect thats whats behind the launch of the 2.2 and now the 2.0 varients... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorburn Posted March 16, 2005 Report Share Posted March 16, 2005 The only thing I find disappointing in the interior is the door handles, they look aluminium but are made of a rather lightweight feeling plastic, not very tactile at all. Apart from that I can't really see much to criticise, no creaks or rattles although since its my mums car it gets a fairly easy life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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