Wow! Test drive done - and the Z4 M was everything we hoped for :) It felt exactly like a BMW roadster should feel.

It's fast!! and it sticks to the road like glue, but will happily whack its tail when you ask it to. Also having hydraulic steering and a manual gearbox really gives charm to this car. Its driving at its most basic and most fun. It's also unforgiving. Don't step too hard off a stop unless you mean it, cause it will spin its tires with no problems what so ever. Push it too hard arround a corner ... and you get a close encounter with the nearest tree (or at least get spun arround a bit). This is not a car for 16 year olds :)

There are not that many gadgets to tinker with, but seeing how involved you have to be in the driving that is a good thing. The softtop (on the premium package) worked really well. I particularly liked the way the roof looked from the inside - there was no gaps or exposed "ugly" bits at all. Just looked really professionally made, which makes it a little weird that it looks haphazardly when its folded.

Our main worry before driving it was that the comfort level of the car would be too "sporty" for us, but surprisingly the suspension is a bit smoother than our X5 with sportspackage, but a lot more comunicative.

As perfect and fun as the Z4 M is to us (can you tell we are pretty much decided?) the dealership experience was a mixed bag of potatoes. The salesperson had very little knowledge about the Z4 - he kept getting the normal Z4 and the M mixed up - he even brought us a normal Z4 brochure to show us the color choices, after he insisted that Bronze wasnt a choice for the M. He also kept trying to push a cheap 06 they had in the showroom - which got a bit annoying - he actually said "Most people no longer want cruise control for their cars" since there was no premium package on it. If we go through with getting it we are not talking with that guy again :) In the end we got an estimate price of $57.000 for what we want (including a $1000 gas guzzler tax), though i am sure we can beat that by shopping arround.

Our X5 had an oilchange while we were doing the Z4, and that experience went pretty well - though it seemed pointless that we reserved a time, since it just got thrown at the back of the line of walk-ins.

I guess any lesson to be had from reading all of this is to go try a Z4 M - it will entertain you .. or kill you :)

Top Gear review : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAphQpbm4JA

If it's just for a fun car/weekender I can't recommend the Lotus. Too impractical and uncomfortable in general, but great track car.

Is there a reason you're not considering the Boxter/S? A little less value, but a great drive.

We just dont like the looks of it - sure its a great car to drive, but also sure that the Z4 is more fun :)