Some things go together like bagels and cream cheese — and sports cars and manual transmissions. As a rule, sports cars used to come standard with manuals and often didn't even offer automatic transmissions.
BMW's Z4 roadster now comes only with an automatic.
Does it still qualify as a sports car?
What It Is
The Z4 is a two-seat roadster in the same mold as a Mazda Miata — only nicer and a lot more powerful. Also more expensive.
And automatic only.
The base price is $49,700 for the Sdrive30i version — which translates as rear-wheel drive with a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission.
The Sdrive M40i — which stickers for $63,700 — is also rear-wheel drive and also comes with an eight-speed automatic, but it's paired with a 3.0-liter straight six, turbocharged to almost 400 horsepower.
Which is something that isn't available in a Miata.
BMW, of course, directs the comparison to Porsche's 718 Boxster — which is also a two-seat roadster. But the Porsche is midengined and comes standard with a manual transmission. It also comes standard with a base price of $61,600 — escalating to almost six figures for a Spyder.
It's a lot to pay to shift for yourself.
What's New
The M40 version of the Z4 — with its more powerful, six-cylinder engine — joins the lineup for 2020.
What's Good
It has the handling — and the speed.
It has almost twice the trunk as a Miata.
It has the curb appeal of being something you don't see parked everywhere.
What's Not So Good
It hasn't got a manual transmission, even optionally.
The turbocharged four is torquey but not roadster revvy.
You could almost buy two Miatas for the price of one Z4.
Under the Hood
One of the Z4's appeals is it's available with either a four- or a six-cylinder engine. Both are turbocharged engines, which makes them more powerful than the engine (singular) in lower-priced roadsters like the Miata.
The standard 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine develops 254 horsepower as well as 294 foot-pounds of torque at just 1,500 revolutions per minute — an engine speed just above idle speed.
The Miata also has a 2.0-liter four, but it hasn't got a turbo and only develops 181 horsepower — and just 151 foot-pounds of torque at 4,000 rpm — considerably above idle speed.
If 254 horsepower isn't enough, you can upgrade to the 3.0-liter six, which is an inline six, not a V-6. Inline sixes are esteemed for their naturally balanced smoothness. In addition to that, there's also 382 horsepower and 368 foot-pounds of torque at 1,850 rpm.
Either way, the Z4 has the power to complement its sports-car handling.
With the four, it can get to 60 mph in about five seconds flat; with the six, that number winnows to 3.8 seconds.
Few are quicker — regardless of price.
Or transmission.
On the Road
Sports cars aren't muscle cars, but the Z4 — with the new six — is quicker than almost all of them. And — because it is a sports car — it outhandles them when the road ahead bends.
With the top down, it's almost as elemental as riding a motorcycle — with the advantage of being able to put the top up if it rains.
The main detraction here isn't objective.
And it may not even be a detraction, precisely because it's subjective.
It is the standard eight-speed automatic transmission — the only one available. It cannot be functionally faulted. It shifts with a precision few humans can match and with a verve few humans could fault. It lets the engine spin to its operatic 7,000-plus rpm redline and maybe a little more before delivering a raceworthy upshift to the next gear. And it holds gears when that's important — midcorner or on a downhill stretch.
It is doubtful a human could do better — which is BMW's inarguable argument.
But there is something intangibly desirable about shifting for yourself, even if the automatic does it better and faster.
At the Curb
The Z4 has the look of a traditional roadster: long hood and small doors and what looks like a small trunk. But it's actually pretty large — just shy of 10 cubic feet of cargo capacity. For reference, a Miata's trunk is holds only 4.6 cubic feet.
That's small.
The Z4 is also a BMW, of course — and so it comes with SensaTec leather seats, a stitched steering wheel, automatic climate control and a 10.25-inch LCD touch screen.
The Rest
The Z4 is also a high-performance car — and can be ordered with high-performance brakes, a limited-slip rear axle and an adaptive suspension system with multiple driver-selectable modes.
The Bottom Line
A Miata is fun — but the Z4 is fast.
If you don't mind the car shifting for itself.
Eric's new book, "Don't Get Taken for a Ride!" is available now. To find out more about Eric and read his past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.
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