Anything Else Would be Uncivilized: BMW Z4 sDrive20i M Sport | Car Review

Back in the 1960s, there was this television commercial where this blonde bombshell with a sultry look on her face goes, “take it off, take it all off!” Those words in that thick Scandinavian accent, along with the chorus of David Rose’s “The Stripper” echoed in my head as I sat inside the lavishly supple cocoon of a high-performance German roadster.

With all the bravado in the world, I reached out to let the top down and click–I engaged the parking brake. Figures since the electronic parking brake was conveniently placed next to the roof release. But that’s okay, because the fact is I was nowhere near the French Riviera. 

I was parked in my rain-soaked driveway in Manila. And in the passenger seat wasn’t Gunilla Knutsson, nor was I NFL quarterback Joe Namath. The car, however, the BMW Z4 sDrive20i M Sport, wasn’t just a dream.

In fact, it has been a reality for quite some time. The G29 BMW Z4 has been around for about eight years now. The sixth vehicle (seven if you count concept cars) to bear the Zukunft designation and the third iteration of the Z4, it’s the more sophisticated cousin of the Toyota GR Supra.

That being said, give or take a few details here and there, there aren’t very many traces, visually or viscerally, of the two ever sharing a bier or bedroom in the factory in Austria.

For starters, the Z4 sDrive20i M Sport is seemingly in a class of its own here in the Philippines.

In the week I spent driving the car, I found myself constantly comparing it to a certain Japanese roadster, but always stopped short when I remembered that the Z4 is a lumbering 1,525kg, with a length of 4,324mm, and a wheelbase of 2,470mm.

No other car with the exact same features in its price point comes close to it.

That being said, rolling out of RSA Motors in Greenhills and into the hellhole that is EDSA took a little getting used to.

There is this blind spot on the right rear quarter panel due to it being a soft top that made it difficult to judge the lane and the traffic on that side, and the sitting position while it is the ideal position on track, might be a bit awkward at first.

Those initial impressions notwithstanding, the car does wrap around you like a glove once you’ve settled in.

But what truly surprised me during that trip was that with a ground clearance of 114mm, it made short work of most ramps and inclines. Even the largest of humps in BMW’s natural habitat of Alabang was no match.

I spent the better part of my time with the Z4 trying to put it to its paces while I lamented the fact that the quality time I was afforded driving a convertible was stymied by torrential rain. 

But it was then that I discovered the gentle side of the Z4, which made it the civilized roadster it really is. 

Keeping the top up really made me well-acquainted with the finer accoutrements that make up the Z4 sDrive20i’s interior.

Of course, its seats and several other surfaces were lined with only the richest Vernasca leather, just as any BMW should be. The particular unit I drove had a Magma Red interior, a styling decision that may seem a tad too gaudy to some, but let’s face it, you’re not exactly going to be driving a Z4 to blend in, right? 

What seemingly blends in quite nicely, though, is the amount of storage space the vehicle has inside. Behind and in the middle is a compartment–complete with a ski hatch, by the way–where I managed to stow a decently sized laptop bag while still having enough space for the car’s wind deflector.

In the middle was a little storage console complete with cup holders for you and yours, and in front was a space for change and keys, but that area is not a wireless charger in our specification.

And speaking of juice, there’s something about high-performance cars that get herky-jerky when you want to ease up on the throttle to just kick back and cruise, but not the Z4 sDrive20i.

The B48B20 2.0-liter, TwinPower turbo, straight-four engine mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission, despite packing 197 horsepower and 320 Nm of torque, feels right at home even at low speeds.

It is worth noting, though, that the same could not be said about the four-piston M Sport brakes that stick like glue with just the lightest of touch; then again, what do you expect?

With numbers like I just listed down, you’re gonna need all the braking you can get, especially on the weekends down on the track.

“But have you tried ‘Sport Plus’ mode yet?” our Associate Editor, Sam, asked me. I scoffed at the suggestion, thinking it was just one of those gimmicky things that do nothing but change the accent lighting of the interior, but then I glanced at the center console to check for one, and it wasn’t even there.

A thorough rummage through the car’s 10.25-inch infotainment system revealed that there was, in fact, a Sport+ mode buried within it.

This was a turning point in my relationship with the Z4. Because there was a marked difference in the car’s performance and handling, its adaptive M suspension stiffened up, the revs stayed higher for longer, and even the exhaust sounded different, replete with all the snaps, crackles, and pops. I felt like Nigel Tufnel in Spinal Tap, going to eleven.

And despite the “spirited” driving that ensued afterwards, I was still able to come away with fairly decent gas mileage for a sports car. I was able to manage 10.3 km/L for city and highway in the five days I had the Z4.

That figure would have been significantly higher had the inclement weather not caused significant traffic on my route. BMW claims the vehicle to be capable of achieving 16km/L (6 L/100km), but I doubt anyone has that much self-control.

The Z4 sDrive20i M Sport starts at Php 4,990,000, a lofty but somewhat justifiable price point, but by no means beyond the realm of possibility for the typical BMW buyer.

While its more powerful brother, the inline-six cylinder, 387 horsepower bigger brother, the Z4 M40i, is also listed by BMW “on request,” for all intents and purposes, the sDrive20i is more than enough roadster to satiate one’s need for speed.

There’s a 14th-century English proverb, erroneously credited to Colin Firth in Kingsman, that goes, “manners maketh man.” Never has it been truer than with the BMW Z4 sDrive20i M Sport sDrive.

Because deep inside of it, at the heart of the suave, cosmopolitan, downright charming roadster lives a ferocious beast that’s as legendary as it is real.

^{Photos by Wowie Go}