FloridaBoy

A low end bimmer?
I hear what you're saying, it's a good question to which I would counter with...
Is there such a thing as a high-end Nissan?
Sorry, but on this point the BMW clearly has the ZR beat with a stick. The very fact that the Z4 is as you say, the "low end" of some VERY high-end siblings is one feature of the Z4 that I find very attractive... no matter how good the ZR is, it will always be associated with the company that makes the Sentra (Starting MSRP $13,200) and the Quest Minivan... let's not go there.

The way I see it, if I choose the ZR, it will be because of: Looks, Reliability, Performance. Not because its heritage leads back to a 1970 "Datsun."
I guess I don't feel I would be "settling" for either car. To me, they are both very desirable autos.

tractng

iTrader: (9)

FloridaBoy,

Just go out and buy the car you like and enjoy.


Tony

zugbug

... that it's humid in Florida? LOL. Looked at the BMW, Honda, Porsche before buying the Z. From the standpoint of reliability, economy (purchase cost), ongoing maintenance cost, insurance and modability- the Z wins hands down. Don't get me wrong, they are all fine cars. But try getting a golf bag into a BMW, Honda or Porsche. Or pack for an extended weekend (ya need a cooler, right?). Or bring back something from Home Depot. Another consideration: for the money expended PER maintenance on the Porsche or BMW; the savings right there is enough to get me another 1000 miles down the road and still have money for the fine bourbon at the end of it.

Swiffer

iTrader: (8)

So, people associate the C6 Z06 with the Chevy Cobalt?? By the way you are talking, it sounds like the Z4 is the right car for you. Have fun.

jtang03

go 4 the z4

FloridaBoy

Hmmm, sorry I don't follow you at all... the trunk volume on the BMW Z4 is 9.2 CF. The Porsche Boxster trunk is 9.9 CF. The volume of the Nissan is less than half of those at 4.1 CF.

charlie_rdstr_Z

iTrader: (2)

I think he meant it would be more painful to scratch up something very expensive rather then a cheapy japanesey.

stonecrd

It sounds to me that you are looking more for reasons NOT to buy the Z4. If you like it just spend the extra cash and go that route. I could afford any of the cars listed but I don't like the look of the Z4 and for the price the Boxsters performance wasn't that much better than the Z. I went with the ZR and it is fun to drive and I don't regret my decision at all. I have had 0 problems with my ZR and I have 16k miles on it and drive it every day.

jdg345

Yah ... I didn't quite get this either, unless the Coupe has more volume. I can tell you that the ZR will work for a weekend getaway (+1). Any longer than that and make sure you have access to a Laundry and can deal with wearing the same washed clothes over and over.

btw, could you post a link to that Z4 thread? I'm curious.

FloridaBoy

Sure, I think I started both threads with the exact same post.
Here you go...
http://www.z4um.com/viewtopic.php?t=...er=asc&start=0

jdg345

Thanks!

FloridaBoy

Test drove both cars today. In fact, we drove the BMW Z4 3.0 over to the Nissan dealer and parked it next to the 350Z. (that stirred things up at the Nissan dealer). We were able to really compare the cars this way, styling, exterior, interior, etc. We finally had the cars side by side. And no, I didn't buy either of the cars... yet.

I will now attempt to give my feeble, unlearned opinion on the strengths and weaknesses of both vehicles. I will focus on the areas which were most important to me; for a more complete review I suggest Edmunds or Consumer Reports, as I am neither an expert or qualified for this. We also threw in a wild card, (which happened to be on the BMW lot)---a test drive in a 2003 Lexus SC430. I will refer to the Lexus from time to time here, but only a little since I am probably not going to buy the Lexus. I think the silky smooth SC430 is better made by far than either of the others, as its reliability record shows, but it just seems too feminine to me. Note to Lexus; find some manly rims for this car.

Interior impressions...
The first thing I noticed about the Z4, which was a 2003 with 14K miles on it, was the view over the hood was not as bad as I had previously remembered. In fact, I had a pretty good view of both the road and the stop lights. Not as good a view as the Nissan, but better than I remembered. The road view out the front of the Lexus was excellent, but for my height the windshield frame blocked the street lights a bit. The Z4 imposed on my right leg more; the interior wall juts out a bit there and the gas pedal is very close to the center console which was noticeable but not a big problem. The Nissan gave me more leg room in this gas pedal area.
The higher side sills of the Nissan kept me from resting my elbow atop the open window as easily. In this respect the Z4 fit me better. I have heard a lot about the rearward views and blind spots... but to me the view out of the back of both cars was fine.

To me, the overall interior appearance of the Nissan is better than the Z4. It just seems like a more modern vehicle to me. The Z4 is not bad, but I get the feeling I'm sitting in an older Euro model for some reason, the surface material used on the dash seems old to me, it catches the light in a bad way, creating a bit of a glare, (which is strange since it's black) and the micro-bumped texture makes the dash almost look cracked and weathered. The aluminum dash insert is very cool, but we could already see some scratches here and there which is a bit of a concern and reminded me why auto makers got away from metal interiors in the first place. To me this is kind of like stainless steel refrigerators... stylish but not smart. The dealer also had a 2.5 Z4 with what he called a genuine wood dash, which was a very nice upgrade.

Both sound systems sounded great, with the slight edge going to the Z4's Harmon Kardon. The 350Z had a 6 CD changer, the Z4 had a single disc player... but with my ipod Nano wired into the glove box, who needs CDs? Wait, the 350Z didn't have a glove box. The Lexus/Mark Levinson sound system was not as good as either of the other cars to my ears; it had a muffled high end akin to some of the soft dome tweeter home systems I have tested over the years.

About those tops...
The soft tops of both cars were examined carefully. The Nissan has had problems with its soft top getting holes and seams coming apart, so we took our time on this. Inside, the 2006 350Z had some glue showing in the back corner seam, and we noticed the seam is very close to the support bar which creates a lot of tension. This may not seem like a big deal unless you have read the many posts about the seams coming apart or the bar wearing holes in the top. Over the windows, we noticed the gears or metal mechanism of the Nissan are exposed inside the cabin; very tacky on a car in this price range. Note to Nissan; take a tip from BMW and add a liner inside your questionable soft tops. The BMW top seems to be about 3/8 inch thick, with two layers that feel like they are sandwiched around a foam interior layer. Don't take this (or any of this post) as science, it's only my impression, but the BMW Z4 gets the clear nod from me on soft top quality.

Both tops opened quickly, the 350Z was slower but looked a lot better when fully opened due to its hard cover and ultra clean, sealed up look, completely hiding all traces of the top. When opened, the Z4's top shows large gaps on the sides with exposed mechanism for all the world to see. This really bugs me for some reason, as I have said before. Note to BMW; Nissan has a much cleaner solution at a lower cost, and we shouldn't have to buy little covers to hide ugly parts of your car. We also noticed the Z4 top did not completely lock at first, there was a 1/2 inch gap just like the one we see folks complaining about on the Z4 forums. With a little push, the Z4's top latched down in the back eventually, but at 70 mph we wondered about it. At the other end of the car, the Z4 top does latch in the front automatically, and that's nice (the Nissan requires a bit of manual labor with a latch). I would have to give the nod to the Nissan for the overall top mechanism and cleaner look when down. The Lexus folding hard top is very nice, but when it's up, the car looks so homely to me I can't stand the thought of owning it, and the top almost completely fills the trunk when it's down.

Out on the road...
Both of my target cars---even with automatic transmissions---sounded great and handled great to me. We pushed them both through some serious curves on two lane back roads, identical route for both cars, within 30 minutes, back to back. If you have never driven these cars back to back, it's a treat; they are both a LOT of fun. The Z4 felt a bit less stable, seemed slightly more jittery/bouncy in the curves, but I felt confident pushing both cars, and the acceleration was too close to call. It should be noted, the Z4 was a 2003 car, the Nissan was a brand new 2006. According to the Fields dealership, there are no 2006 Z4's available here in Orlando at this time, and this was one of only two 3.0's we could test drive at this time. In this way, our comparison favored the Nissan and was flawed from the start. If pure performance of either vehicle was paramount to this decision we would be using a 2003 Nissan. However FWIW, the Z4 only had 14K miles on it, and it did not seem to be bothered by them at all. For my unscientific review of design, looks, feel, etc. the comparison of these cars was valid. And, in my case, the higher cost of the BMW means I would likely be getting a preowned one anyway. If I get the Nissan I will likely buy it new thanks to its great price point. Again, these two vehicles were a good comparison for my situation. At any rate, for handling and performance, both cars would be fine for me. Our test track had a nasty old railroad track on it, and both cars leaped over it easily at 50 mph with no jarring bumps felt by the passengers. This was a bit of a surprise; I expected more of a jolt with the Z4's run flats.

By the way, we did test a 2005 BMW 2.5 a little later in the day and noticed that car seemed to lack the immediate burst of speed found in the more powerful 3.0. No surprise there. As for the wild card, The Lexus 300 hp V-8 was so quiet it was amazing. And a bit boring, if you're looking for the growl of a roadster.

Note to parents; according to Consumer Reports, if you have a child under 12 years of age to drop off at school, be advised; the Nissan manual for the 350Z clearly says you should never allow them to ride in the car due to lack of an air bag cutoff switch, something that BMW provides in the Z4.

The one thing about the BMW that bothered us; the doors emitted a nasty "clank" when closing them. Both doors, exact same sound. Close inspection showed the windows were rattling loosely inside the doors, and although we never heard it on the road, this left a terrible impression of the build quality of the Z4. The sales rep said this Z4 had just arrived and had not gone in for its 152 point inspection prior to becoming a certified preowned car. He assured us the windows would be fixed and silent after this process. Whatever, I was still surprised that a BMW could sound this cheap or even require this fix at 14K miles. On the other hand, what will the Nissan sound like at 14K miles? I have certainly heard more than one 350Z owner complain about squeaks and rattles, so who knows.

At the end of the day, over some cool beverages, we had to agree; both great cars, both beautiful designs, both with a few flaws. Perhaps this lengthy post will help someone, somewhere. What else can I say? I'll think about it and let you know later... it's getting late.

jdg345

Good post ... I have a solution for ya:

Buy both, and send one to me.

zrex

I like the post. What you did sounds like a heck of a lot of fun. Made me think- my friend has a brand new Z06. I bet with that as our starting point they would let us into some pretty sick vehicles. Hmmmmm- might be time for me to write up a Z06/911 Turbo/Aston Martin comparison. . .

FloridaBoy

Thanks for your comments... I think this review was as much for sorting out my own feelings as anything else. There aren't a whole lot of detailed comparisons on the Web for these two great vehicles, maybe it will help someone else down the road.

FloridaBoy

Here's a lengthy comparison article of these cars, (circa 2004)
along with the Audi TT and Porsche Boxter, perhaps someone can use this in the future:
http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...onv/index.html

gotbolZ

hey dude did u buy a car already man damn what a dilema jeez!

NismoSER

hey what are the size bf goodrich g-force tires do u have on ur car??

charlie_rdstr_Z

iTrader: (2)

The ***tard is gone for a while. I think those are Chaindog's old wheels from the other site but he's also gone. Ask the Colorado people.

ShadesofBlonde

i have owned my zr here for coming up to three years not one problem with the top and i pwned a bmw z4 and all my electrical on it screwed up within the the 3 months i bought it and if i were you i would go with the zr because the z4 sucks