Z3...the worst made by BMW???

[topgeardreamin]

I've read in a magazine(i can get the quote if anyone likes) that BMW considers the Z3 to be there worst car! Due to the fact that they paid attention to what the consumers wanted(style, looks, pazaz and such) and didn't pay much atention to performance and other technicalities(if i remember correctly). If anyone here owns a Z3, what do you think? I for one am/was very fond of it till i read why they claimed it as their worst, personally never drivin in one...but how do you see it?

[redroadster]

I am the owner of an 01 2.5 and am very happy with it. Forbes Magazine rates the later Z3s as one of their 10 Best buys due to the fact that over time it was refined and given more power than the original offering. Putting the Dinan cold air induction, chip and free flow changed the character and I couldn't be happier. I also have a 330i to compare it to but choose not to try to equate one to the other. Both are splended to drive and while the Z4 is certainly a superior offering the styling will have to come to me a bit before I bite. Don't worry about what others say. Try one on and see if you like it. You might just be getting a bargain.

[topgeardreamin]

Originally Posted by redroadster

I am the owner of an 01 2.5 and am very happy with it. Forbes Magazine rates the later Z3s as one of their 10 Best buys due to the fact that over time it was refined and given more power than the original offering. Putting the Dinan cold air induction, chip and free flow changed the character and I couldn't be happier. I also have a 330i to compare it to but choose not to try to equate one to the other. Both are splended to drive and while the Z4 is certainly a superior offering the styling will have to come to me a bit before I bite. Don't worry about what others say. Try one on and see if you like it. You might just be getting a bargain.

Oh I don't have to try one to kno I like it! Im really (or i should say was) fond of the Z3.But I found the article I was refering to.I'll quote a few things from it that really made it sound not to appealing:

its a May 2000 edition of CAR magazine, and in this article they were comparing the Mercedes SLK to a Porsche Boxter and of course the Z3.

"BMW helpfully surveyed Z3 customers about their buying influences, and 67 percent put style as most important and only 12 percent opted for sporty dynamics...But the really big division between these cars is the ride and handling. And fighting relegation to the Conference is the Z3.Ride is in a word appalling.The car picks up bad heave and pitch on roads the other cars read as absoloutly smooth.Your near enough sat on the rear axle and the hard springs transmit nearly every bump to the base of your spine,turning your backside into a primary suspension component...Structural rigidity is also poor, with audible scuttle shake and a bad case of rear-view mirror tremble...One part of the verdict was easylacing the Z3 a distant third. Strengths are the niceness of the engine, relatively low price(in this company) and high practicality. But as a roadster, the Z3 is a pretender: under refined and not particularly pleasant to drive. Better off left on Boulevard duty."

Needless to say, but not very pleaseant reading!I don't remember when i put the Z3 out of mind, but it was knocked off my list of favorites after reading this article. I have back problems enough, no need to sit on the rear axle and make it worse.Do you pick that up when driving yours? Another thing I read was that the CD player wasn't very stable either...skipping tracks whenever a slight bump was hit. It really sounds like im bashing this beautiful car...but im not really, just not to happy with the outcome of the review!

[topgeardreamin]

i don't kno where that smiley face came from, but its supposed to say 'placing'

[enjoidvssk8er]

12% said sports dynamics? i'm hoping that the rest of the people didn't know wha sports dynamics means cause that's # 1 on my list (well tied to dependability)

[Zenoco]

Originally Posted by topgeardreamin

Your near enough sat on the rear axle and the hard springs transmit nearly every bump to the base of your spine,turning your backside into a primary suspension component...Structural rigidity is also poor, with audible scuttle shake and a bad case of rear-view mirror tremble...One part of the verdict was easylacing the Z3 a distant third. Strengths are the niceness of the engine, relatively low price(in this company) and high practicality. But as a roadster, the Z3 is a pretender: under refined and not particularly pleasant to drive. Better off left on Boulevard duty."

It all depends on what one expects from, and how one defines a roadster.
For example, the Z4 (which I recently took on a test drive) is probably a more luxurious and more comfortable car, it is also more powerful... But in my eyes, that does not make it a better roadster!
My Z3 lives up to what I expect of a roadster, i.e. not a racing car, but a sporty car which can be driven with the top down from spring through fall, and which by virtue of its design (position of the seats vs. the car body) ensures a better contact with the outside world than the Z4, with its comparatively high doors.
A matter of philosophy, I guess...

[Eljay451]

The Z4 is better than the Z3 in practically every category. Yet I love the Z3 more. Go figure. Now if I could only find a Z1 for sale...

[57JagXKSS]

The X3 is the worst.

[57JagXKSS]

The X3 isn't even made at a BMW factory. It is made in Spain and Austria.