Roadster Adds Fun to Mom’s Alone Time

2009 BMW Z4 sDrive 35i

model as tested $63,470

Test Drove 8/6/09 – 8/12/09
reviewed by Sara Lacey

Oh, you know I said, “Yes!” when our Chief Mama Kristin Varela asked me if I’d like to drive the 2009 BMW Z4 for a stint (one of the days was my birthday).  All of my friends and neighbors were extremely jealous, and I loved every minute of driving this indulgent little creature from BMW.

This wasn’t my first time in the two-seater Z4. I test drove the 2007 Z4, but it wasn’t a convertible and I had a lot of problems with it.  I had to duck just right to get in the door, which was tricky with its ultra-bolstered seats. Once inside, the ’07 felt dark and reclusive, but the Z4 has been redesigned for 2009.  There’s more room now, and the convertible version remedied almost all my gripes. The grin on my face from driving the Z4 erased any other petty complaints I’d otherwise make.

Let’s be clear, the Z4 isn’t a family car. However, if you’ve already got a trusted family-hauler or two in the garage, it’ll work well as a fun-to-drive car that’s mostly for grownups. If your family consists of you and a child, you could make a case for trying to make the Z4 into a family-hauler, but it’s a tough sell since there’s not a lot of trunk space for that grocery store run with the kid in the passenger seat. Keep in mind that there isn’t a tiny backseat in this car for storing all of those bags. 

You know the Z4 is sexy-looking, but you didn’t know it’s sexy under the hood, too.  My test car had a twin-turbo inline-six-cylinder engine that got me everywhere in a big hurry. For the first time in who knows how long (ever), some dude tried to pick me up at a stoplight. I just laughed and left him in the dust.

The Z4 took off from stoplights like a banshee; it was awesome. I went into this test driving fully expecting to get a speeding ticket, and I was more than willing to make that sacrifice for this powerful car. The Z4 takes premium gas — no big surprise there — and gets an EPA-estimated 18/25 mpg city/highway.

The Z4 has a Dynamic Drive Control that allows the driver to adjust the car’s steering and accelerator settings to for their preferences. It can be adjusted to normal, Sport or Sport+. The Z4’s suspension was stiff — not unbearably so — but more people want that in this kind of car.

If looks are everything to you and performance, well, not so much, then you can go for a Z4 without the bigger engine and turbocharged deliciousness.  It eases up on the hit on your wallet and starts at just over $45,000.  My test car started at $51,650 and rapidly accelerated to $63,470 with some pretty hefty options.

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