The BMW Z4 M40i commits the worst automotive sin

Imagine for a moment, that all the car enthusiasts in the world walked around with an odometer above their heads. But instead of showing how many miles you’ve driven in life, it displays how many miles you have left. If we knew such things, perhaps we’d be more inclined to take that special car out a bit more – cars like this BMW Z4 M40i.

The thing is, you might not want to.

2025 BMW Z4 M40i Quick Take

Get one:

Sexy looks. Topless driving is always fun. Better with a manual and suspension enhancements.

Don’t get one:

Same clunky shifter. B58 not as responsive without Toyota’s tune. Bad ride and heavy steering in Sport mode.

Soul Score: 8

When you build a sports car with sedan bits, you get a sports car that drives like a sedan.

The 2025 BMW Z4 M40i overview

BMW’s Z cars have always been an enigma. Most companies make sports cars, then have trouble carrying that DNA over to the more pedestrian offerings in their lineup. Not BMW – they make excellent, exciting SUVs and sedans. Ask me to take the keys to an M5 or a Panamera, and I’m not even thinking twice.

So it stands to reason that if the sedans are good, making a sports car should be easy for them. Yet from the original Z3, based off of an older 3 Series chassis, to the Z8 and the V-8 it took from the E39 M5, BMW’s Z cars have always been missing that special touch. Ask me to take the keys to a Z4 or a Boxster, and I’m not even thinking twice.

But now BMW has given birth to perhaps the last, and best, Z4 to date – the M40i with the Edition Handschalter Package! So fun when they keep the German names. It has a manual (yay), but also includes unique suspension tuning, stiffer roll bars, and an enhanced steering rack. There’s even a special color – Frozen Deep Green Metallic.

The shade is appropriate – everyone looks, tgreen with envy. But is the Z4 worthy of such emotion?

Performance Score: 8. Zupra?

I had high hopes. The Supra was superb, and it was my belief that with BMW altering the suspension and steering, the Z would be just as good.

But the problem stems a few letters before Z…letter X.

Engine

What is left to say about BMW’s B58? It’s an all-time great. Of course the Z4 would be better with an S58, but that’s like saying your dog would make a better pet if it could cook you dinner. Still a good dog, yea?

Instead, let’s talk about the B in relation to how BMW has tuned it. Left in Comfort mode, it certainly is. Quiet, refined, dignified. Press the Sport button, and the engine cackles a little louder, the throttle a bit more responsive. That Sport button is Hans in the passenger seat insisting that “Ja, now you are having the fun, yes?”.

Sadly for Hans, the Supra exists. That B58 has the same power but revs much more freely – it’s noticeable. It also sounds better. Remember that hint of 2JZ? It worked for me.

With the Z4, there’s also less redline than an M car. Perhaps if you’ve never driven a G8X with a manual, it will not bother you. But for those that have, the lower 6,500 RPM redline is an annoyance.

Come on, BMW – feels (and sounds) just like my old X3. We want a little rowdy in our sports cars.

Transmission

Again hoping for a miracle, all BMW had to do was take whatever the hell Toyota did and plop it in the car.

Instead, it feels like the M3’s unit – maybe a bit better. The clutch takeup is more direct, but the shifter is just as notchy. This should be a light and nimble car, but all the control inputs are so heavy, and the throws here are long. They say it’s identical to the Supra’s, but I’m not so sure – the Toyota’s shifter vibrated at idle. The BMW’s is as still as a 48-hour corpse.

I digress, because it is a more enjoyable driving experience with said transmission. Even though the ZF is an excellent choice, you’re not going to turn your Z4 into a drag racing destroyer of worlds. Might as well get the manual while you still can.

Chassis and Steering

More good news for picking the manual – it’s about 140 pounds lighter than the automatic. That makes it BMW’s lightest car available with said transmission.

The Handschalter Package is more than just the stick – you get retuned steering feel. It’s one of BMW’s best modern units, but it still isn’t as direct as the Supra’s, leaving you disappointed if you’ve tried both.

The chassis is also touched – stiffer adaptive dampers and anti-roll bar mounts, along with staggered 19 and 20-inch wheels. The problem isn’t performance – the Z can cling on for a full G of lateral grip, and the chassis feels precise and direct.

On back roads, the Z4 is fun – it’s really more performance than you need. But there’s a disconnect between it and you. Taking the steering out of Sport mode helps, but doesn’t make it any more enjoyable to turn. Perhaps crisp is the best word. Yes, a Porsche Boxster or Supra is crisp.

There’s no crisp here.

Brakes

I won’t even guess at how many BMWs I’ve driven, but none of them have a brake pedal like this Z. Might as well be made of wood, and nothing happens until you’re at two-thirds of pedal travel.

They do work though. No cross-drilling here, just larger M Performance calipers painted red.

I want to love the Z4. I was rooting for it. But truth be told, I’d rather be in something like an F-TYPE. More emotion, less perfection.

Lifestyle Score: 8. It’s nice to fit

If you’re tall like me, you can commiserate about how the world is simply not built for you and I. From clothes to cars, nothing ever fits right.

But I must tell you that one reason I enjoy BMWs so much is because they do fit me. Usually just right. And so it is with the Z. This two-seater is typical G-chassis inside, and I believe it’s BMW’s best cockpit layout to date.

Sit low and settle into the sport bucket seats with tall backs. These have adjustable thigh support, unlike in a Supra. Nothing squeezes you, the car plenty wide. It’s like getting into a 3 Series, so score one for sharing a platform.

The trunk itself is a good size for this sort of car, but I found that I had to sometimes open it twice – the power lock wouldn’t unlatch all the way because the boot lid is heavy.

Fuel Economy: Our brains cannot compete

Well, we can’t. Not like an automatic transmission would. With it, a Z4 M40i gets 23 MPG in the city, and 31 on the highway.

You and I, neanderthals that we are, must make do with 19, 26, and an overall rating of 22 in the manual. Whatever – the only thing you might notice in this car is its smaller fuel tank size (13.7 gallons) compared to others in the BMW lineup, so you’ll need to fill up faster.

I just put this information here because someone might care.

Oh, you do? Here’s a link to Consumer Reports…

Features and Comfort: 9. Dated darling

One thing that’s always been weird with BMWs is: updates. Specifically, which models receive what. The M8, the Z4 – they rely on iDrive 7 and older dual screen layouts, while cars like the 3 Series get frequent updates.

But that’s no bad thing.

Twinning

I get the logic – the Z4 isn’t really worth the update with a single screen. I think it’s still a helluva layout, with real HVAC controls and everything where you expect. It’s always nice when there’s no learning curve.

But, yea – you’d hope for something a little more special in the Z. I hate repeating myself, but from the SensaTec on the dashboard to the Piano Black Trim, I’m sitting in my old X3 M40i. This doesn’t give Z8 vibes, which was at least unique in the showroom.

Our fully loaded example here had all the goodies, from a Harmon Kardon stereo to Apple CarPlay and wireless charging. And I’ll be damned – two useful cup holes, unlike in the manual M3.

Kudos to BMW for making the drop top such a pleasant experience. You can easily drive down the highway at 80 and still hear your passenger talk. Maybe neck warmers, like in the M4, wouldn’t be so bad on chilly nights.

Shifting should keep you warm.

I’m Green da ba de

Actually, you don’t have to be – the Z4 Edition Handschalter Package can be had in any Z4 color, but the Frozen Deep Green shade you see here is exclusive to the manual. Combine it with the aforementioned package and you have a $6,000 paint job.

They also ding you for selecting a Moonlight Black soft top, and because the stick is the only Z4 with staggered tires, you must have the 800M style 19/20-inch wheels.

I’ll go ahead and say it – I like the Supra’s styling much better, though the Z is no ugly duckling. Previous Zs have been so distinct – the Z3, with its clown shoe shape, or the last gen Z4 that looked like a Nike swoosh with wheels. This one is more proportions and less style.

The 2025 BMW Z4 M40i, and the perfect night

It’s mid-fall season here in New Jersey, one of the few times a year that the weather is perfect, and I was lucky to get the Z4 for this particular week of warmth and color.

So Mrs. Machines donned her fancy dress. We’d drop the top and head down to the Jersey shore for a nice dinner date on a Saturday night. Sixty five degrees, a colorful sunset, a beautiful woman, and a six-speed manual BMW Z4. Sounds perfect, right? If I was going to fall in love with the car, it would be on a drive like this.

Instead, nothing. Oh sure, the Z4 was nice to drive – comfy and speedy. But I couldn’t shake that sense of ennui. Felt like I was driving a 3 Series. That’s a terrific feeling for an sedan. But a sports car?

You know that scene in Back To The Future, where Marty kisses his teenage mom? “I dunno, but it felt like I was kissing…my brother.” That’s this car. The Z4 can’t get points because it can go topless, or offers a manual – these aren’t Z-specific things. Every sports car is more fun with the roof off and a row-your-own option.

So be mindful of that odometer counting down – you never know when your last drive could be. When it happens, try to take it in something more engaging than a sedan posing as a sports car.