The sleekest, sexiest car in Australia is about to get better. Coming soon: the very hot BMW Z4 sDrive 30i.

The old, familiar styling of this hot sports convertible is similar to the older Z4 models – after all, why mess with a winning formula? With the hard top up or down, the styling has got a lot of promise. And what it promises is a lot of fun for the driver and one lucky passenger, and a lot of on-road performance. And this car ought to be issued with a warning: do not drive the BMW Z4 sDrive 30i unless you seriously want to turn heads as you go along the road.

But can the BMW Z4 sDrive 30i deliver on what the styling promises? Yes, it can. Simply press the stop/start button (one of several innovations by BMW as part a push towards greater fuel efficiency for all vehicles, and appearing in the BMW Z4 sDrive 30i in snappy-looking chrome) and the six-cylinder in-line three-litre engine is ready to roar into life. Enhanced by double VANOS technology, this surprisingly economical powerplant (8.5 l/100 km combined for the six-speed manual; 8.3 l/100 km for the automatic) is ready to deliver a maximum punch of 190 kW at 6600 rpm, and the torque curve maxes out at the 2600 rpm mark with 310 Nm on offer. Add in the superb grip of the Dynamic Stability Control package and the very responsive servotronic power steering, and the BMW Z4 sDrive 30i becomes one very sexy roadster that more than delivers on its promises.

And in case you were wondering what exactly is in the BMW Z4 sDrive 30i’s Dynamic Stability Control package, this includes all of the best active safety features, such as ABS braking, automatic stability control, cornering brake control, dynamic brake control, dynamic traction control and EBD. Other features of the brakes in the BMW Z4 sDrive 30i are the brake energy regeneration function (another efficiency measure introduced by BMW) and the Brake Assist Function.

One innovative passive safety feature of the BMW Z4 sDrive 30i is the crumple zones. Oh yes, all cars worth their NCAP ratings have crumple zones, but the ones on the BMW Z4 s-Drive 30i are designed to go back to their original shape if they are bent or deformed in a collision of up to 4 km/hr, as can easily happen in a parking lot or bumper-to-bumper traffic – or if a large and overenthusiastic dog slams full tilt into the car while chasing a ball (it happens!). Other passive safety features in the BMW Z4 sDrive 30i are the impact-dependent front and side airbags for both driver and passenger, and the pyrotechnically pretensioned seatbelts with load limiters.

However, the safety features aren’t likely to affect your fun often, and fun is what the BMW Z4 sDrive 30i is all about. What’s the latest Z-4 got to offer in the way of comfort and entertainment? Well, let’s start with the entertainment. While we can’t be 100% certain at this stage as to what exactly will be on offer in Australian models of the BMW Z4 s-Drive 30i, it’s likely that the new Z4 30i will have a CD/MP3/radio player with fantastic speakers and an auxiliary input jack. On the comfort front, we should be able to benefit from automatic dual-zone air conditioning (or you can just put the top down), a microfilter to keep nasties out of the cabin air, a centre arm rest, electric windows front and rear (yes, there is a rear seat in this two-door cabriolet, but it’s not particularly practical), and an auto-dimming rear view mirror. The seats are upholstered with Kansas leather, and the leather look is repeated on the gear change knob and the multifunction sports steering wheel. All this leather comes complemented with Satin Silver matt trim, which highlights key details on the dashboard beautifully.

Yes, the BMW Z4 sDrive 30i is a beautiful, fun drive all right. Stop drooling – you’ll ruin your computer’s keyboard.

The current model series includes the:

• BMW Z4 sDrive 30i

For any more information on the BMW Z4 sDrive 30i, or for that matter any other new car, contact one of our friendly consultants on 1300 303 181. If you’d like some fleet discount pricing (yes even for private buyers!), we can submit vehicle quote requests out to our national network of BMW dealers and come back with pricing within 24 hours. Private Fleet – car buying made easy!

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