hi-mpg.org Ratings for
1996-1999 BMW Z3
| Price: | $14,000-16,000 (1.8L 4-cyl)
(in 2004) |
| Style: | 9 |
| Performance: | 7 |
| Luxury: | 8 |
| Utility: | 3 |
| Fun: | 8 |
| Value: | 7 |
| Overall: |
7.00 |
| | Ratings scale: 1-10; 10 = best |
It was an act of heresy, exclaimed James Bond fans at the time,
and yet, it looked so fitting. For the car that Q had prepared
in the 1995 movie Goldeneye was German,
not British as was the Aston Martin most associated with the
English spy.
Yet the car was sleek, muscular, and suave like his Bondness himself,
and soon the whimpers of disapproval were overwhelmed by the
exclamations of approval. The BMW Z3, with its long hood,
wide stance and bulging fenders was instantly a classic.
It's reasonable price tag yet legendary BMW prowess
made it the ultimate roadster. Its style was so becoming
that Neiman Marcus even came out with its own special edition
(in "Bond" Atlanta Metallic Blue, of course!)
To drive one is to drive a typical BMW, but without the roof.
Experience a smooth, torquey inline-4 (or inline-6 in the later
iterations, though only the earlier models with the 4's
meet hi-mpg.org's 30+ mpg criteria.) Steering is precise and
cornering flat, with just a hint of understeer. One
thing that a prospective owner of an early Z3 might want to do
is add on a sportier-sounding exhaust. The later inline-6's
had it. The earlier Z3's inline-4's did not.
Note: pictured above is a 2000 BMW Z3 roadster,
which featured resculpted rear quarters. But the look was
not radically different from the earliest Z3's, which are not
only classics but true hi-mpg.org Hot Green Machines.
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