“A cup of tea is nice,” goes the famous old Fiat Palio advert, and they have a point.

Also nice – the new Z4 roadster, which was launched by BMW this week.

Because I have zero interest in cars, I am happy that the Daily Maverick’s Deon Schoeman wrote a lengthy article taking a closer look at the new wheels.

That article also reviews another new BMW release from this week, the M850i Coupé, but we will leave that for another day.

Deon, take it away:

The Z4 fits the sports car bill more overtly than its more corpulent stablemate. It looks the fast and wieldy part, with more muscular haunches and wider tracks than its predecessor, endowing the two-seater with a poised and planted look.

That said, it’s also aesthetically more convincing than the rather heavyset car it replaces. Part of the reason is the lightweight canvas top, which ensures an authentic roadster character.

But there’s also a lot of visual aggression, thanks to the prominent kidney grilles, endowed here with an almost pixelated pattern, and parenthesised by the wide-eyed stare of the headlights.

A sharply etched shoulder line, scalloped flanks, hungry air intakes and a pronounced, scythe-like air vent behind each front wheel arch continue the fast and furious theme, while big alloys and fat rubber fill the wheel arches to the brim…

The interior oozes tailored quality and user-friendly tech. Bolstered bucket seats provide support and comfort, and there’s loads of leg and headroom, even with the soft top raised.

Wow, it sounds perfect for a midlife crisis.

Keen to take a Sunday drive, or have some free time on your hands because you lost custody of the kids in a vicious battle with your ex-wife? Head to Franschhoek:

Hammering the ‘small’ Z4 through Franschhoek Pass is a lot of fun. The approach from the Villiersdorp side starts with delightfully flowing sweeps, interrupted by the occasional tighter bend, just to keep you on your toes.

There’s enough space here to run the little Beemer through at least six of its eight gears in quick, full-revved succession, and while the result isn’t landscape-blurring rapid, it’s fast enough to narrow the tar’s unwinding ribbon, while the steering becomes almost surgically precise.

There’s also enough space to escape the fact that that you’re not quite where you thought you’d be when you turned 45, but only temporarily.

We joke, of course, and you can drive whatever car you want.

A BMW Z4 sDrive 20i will set you back R759 000, and a BMW Z4 M40i costs a cool R1,17 million.

For more on the Z4, and that M850i Coupé, read the rest of Deon’s article.

[source:dailymaverick]