Creak… groan…. wheeze… You hear that? That’s the sound of BMW’s E89 Z4, which despite almost constant attention from the brand has fallen seriously behind the competition. Well, perhaps competition isn’t the right word as the E89 has never really been able to go toe to toe with cars like Porsche’s Boxster on competence, nor Mazda’s MX5 on price or s’cuteness factor. And now it seems, we won’t have the Z4 to kick around anymore.
BMW has announced that Z4 production at their Regensburg factory will cease in August. Perhaps admitting that they have missed the mark in this segment after three attempts, no replacement is yet in the queue. A new car, internally noted as G29, is promised down the road. That one is being developed in partnership with Toyota, but may not see the headlight of day until the decade is done.
There are still quite a few Z4s out there, so if you’ve been jonesing for one, don’t worry there still should be some low-mileage examples on the pre-owned market for a few years to come. The question is, would you really want one? The cars have a number of frustration-inducing flaws including steering that’s as lifeless as a wet dishrag, ergonomics that may make you think the car was designed by the Italians, and drivetrain choices that were kind of ‘meh.’
The Z4’s predecessor, the Z3 never made much of an impact when new, and it’s been kind of a turkey on the used car market as well. That’s somewhat surprising as it’s a BMW, and a Roadster (plus the odd looking clownshoe coupe). If that car ever becomes a classic in the steps of the E30 or E24 coupes it will be a surprise. Despite its flaws, the E89 Z4 is a vastly more competent car than the Z3, but it too has been unloved during its production run. Do you think it will ever overcome that and find a place among the pantheon of great and desirable BMW models?
Image: BMW USA