Supposed to take delivery of my manual Z4 M40i in a few weeks - toying with getting a Z instead

[Apex_Z]

Not at all what I said, and I also don't believe there is a product that sucks without context. The Z sucks at $55k and is actually pretty decent at $45k and is amazing at $40k. Market agrees and that's why they are selling for $10k under. Simple as that.

edit: another example, I had a 718 Spyder at some point which I got with an MSRP of ~$110k, great deal in my opinion and great car AT THAT PRICE. You will hear me shitting all over the Spyder RS at rennlist. Will anyone be able to say the Spyder RS is a bad car? Of-course not. But at almost double the price of the original Spyder - yeah, it sucks.

If you had something that you really liked that you paid 50 or 60 grand for and I told you that it was not worth that and was actually terrible for that price, would you take that as a compliment? What if I the only discernible reason I came in your house was to tell you that negative opinion of your prized possession?

 

[yellowz6mt]

We all have different preferences and tastes, hence there are more than one auto makers and models! beauty and value of an object is in the eye of the beholder! Post some pics of new Z4 and have fun!

 

[villian]

I own a 2019 BMW Z4 s drive 30(m sport) and 2024 Nissan Z in sport tirm. The Z4 is my daily. General driving dynamics is much better out of the box with the Z4, the Z required some coils and chassis parts to make it bit better. I like the driving position of the Z4, Z4 is more toss able around corners. The Z is faster and much quieter, with out DP and exhaust. I find myself driving my Z4 more than my Z.

I was thinking about upgrading the Z4 to M40i manual if I could find a better price.

Z4 has the same wind noise as the supra with the windows down/ top up.

Tech in BMW is far better than my Z, it is a sport no I didn't get the wireless car play and android auto. For a car that is 5 years older it does feel newer.

Trunk is much better on the Z4, the Z's trunk is a bit shallow.

Seats are much better on the Z4. It's far more adjustable.

Simple tune on the BMW will net you more power and sound without too much modification.

 

[CPerdomo]

I don't feel insulted at all nor did I call you any names or generalize fans of a specific car like you are. You came here asking for honest takes and literally everyone who responded said the Z will be less refined.

Then when you drove one you talked about how less refined and "embarrassingly bad" it is. Your words, not mine.

Nobody would disagree that a car that costs so much less would be less refined but you are on a forum made for enthusiasts of the Z and proceeded to talk about how terrible you think it is compared to even other manufacturers.

Just makes one wonder why you think the Z would be so different than it is.

Glad you got to drive one and got your answers. I don't see anyone here acting like kids or upset with your experience with both cars. You do you and most people here are telling you what you found out.

The BMW is going to be a more refined car.

But the question is... did he already make a decision?

 

[CPerdomo]

But I guess the market has spoken, and there's a reason the Z is being sold for $10k under and the manual Supra is being sold for $10k over.

And probably that is the reason the Z is outselling the Supra...

 

[Meg_Z]

Imagine being surprised that a car that costs multiple tens of thousands of dollars less feels less refined.

Not sure how OP did not see that coming. Strange thread eh?

For some unknown reason the $3.00 a bottle Ripple didn’t taste as good or refined as the $300.00 a bottle Dom Perignon! Who the heck would have thought?

 

[Meg_Z]

If you had something that you really liked that you paid 50 or 60 grand for and I told you that it was not worth that and was actually terrible for that price, would you take that as a compliment? What if I the only discernible reason I came in your house was to tell you that negative opinion of your prized possession?

To be honest at my age and where I am in life I don’t really care what people think when I’m spending my money. If you don’t like whatever it is (in this case Z) don’t buy it. Like I stated in a few other discussions I was a BMW man owned 5 of them. Unfortunately they lost their way in my opinion. I looked at a M2 and in the end ruled it out, but to each their own.

 

[Deleted member 4577]

I don't feel insulted at all nor did I call you any names or generalize fans of a specific car like you are. You came here asking for honest takes and literally everyone who responded said the Z will be less refined.

Then when you drove one you talked about how less refined and "embarrassingly bad" it is. Your words, not mine.

Nobody would disagree that a car that costs so much less would be less refined but you are on a forum made for enthusiasts of the Z and proceeded to talk about how terrible you think it is compared to even other manufacturers.

Just makes one wonder why you think the Z would be so different than it is.

Glad you got to drive one and got your answers. I don't see anyone here acting like kids or upset with your experience with both cars. You do you and most people here are telling you what you found out.

The BMW is going to be a more refined car.

Because it is embarrassingly bad for a $56k sticker. It is fine for a $40-45k car (which is what it actually being sold for). I came here thinking it is a $56k car that the market just didn't appreciate and will be an insane deal at $45k. Sadly, that doesn't seem to be the case.

 

[Apex_Z]

Because it is embarrassingly bad for a $56k sticker blah blah blah

 

[alienpoker]

I own a Z4 (no, not the M) which I bought for my wife. Convertible, Zippy with plenty of speed. Beautiful car mechanically. It’s not even her daily so I can drive it a lot. Yet I turned around and bought the 2025 Nismo Z around 6mo ago when they dropped in price.

I kicked the tires during Covid, but dealer markup on the RZ34 were mental. Mine has just had the first (early) oil change yesterday, so now I can ‘give it the beanz’ and say what I really think. I’ve never done a launch, never redlined it- but it has plenty of poke 5-6K RPM anyway. So far- I love it.

Nissan has done a lot with the platform in 15yrs or so. But tbh It’s taken too much time to get some simple things right.

My opinion is the Z has a ‘je ne sais quoi’ that I can’t explain which makes it ‘more fun’. It’s not about having to find perfectly balanced handling or raw performance. It has a cool personality, interesting styling and I don’t care what anyone else thinks. Hate my car if you feel a need to… it’s fine. I’ve liked Zs since the early 70s. I owned a ‘73 240Z with dealer air that cost $4200 in Scottsdale AZ. All analogue. How times change.

Here are my suggestions to Nissan:

• The cars need to be 10K less MSRP, offering a 3K incentive isn’t enough. That I would get on board with.
• The little Qtr window is now useless. On the 240Z and even the 370Z you could actually look out of it when checking a blind spot. Now the plastic trim inside the Z has shrunk it to nothing.
• The stereo could be better & the menus could be less messy. Do better Bose / Nissan. But the electronics & displays are way better than the 370Z era. I use Carplay and the Nav apps I like (just you could on the 370Z by changing the head unit). I rarely use the built-in Nav system on the Z. I get that BMW and thus the Z4 are way ahead of the pack in Nav & Infotainment systems. You paid for it.
• I agree the Zs trunk/hatch could have been deeper. The sub could go in front (or just below) the rear strut. I can fit an entire ‘space saver’ spare wheel under the sub (and I did) along with the packing bits around it from a 370Z Nismo. That space should have been better allocated if the flat repair kit was a pump and green goo.
• Over time I think we will realize that the engine is ‘packed in’, runs too hot & needs better cooling and a different intercooler. Heat-soak is a real issue. But that’s all upgradable at a price.
  
  I’ll stop there. That’s my .02 - thanks for reading if you got this far.

 

[bhamvett]

Had a brand new Supra 3.0. GREAT car. Only complaint was the cramped interior. Purchasing a Performance Z next week. Sat in it today. Much better interior room. Not so claustrophobic. And I did not hit my head getting in the Z. Hit my head almost every time in the Supra.