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8 speed, Automatic w/OD
Intercooled Turbo Premium Unleaded I-4, Intercooled Turbo Premium Unleaded I-6
Rear Wheel Drive
Convertibles are a dying breed. Where the '80s and '90s saw dozens of affordable droptops on dealer lots, today, they're hard to find. The manual transmission is likewise not long for this world. Therefore, what you see here is a true rarity: a sporty, convertible roadster with an evocative design and a manual transmission.
Photo: Tim Stevens
But it, too, may not be long for this world. With rumors of a discontinuation looming, the BMW Z4 M40i you see here may be the last of its breed. And, for a starting price of $66,450, it's undoubtedly stickered like a future classic.
But is it worth the cost, and does the new stick shift really add to the experience?
For this review of the 2025 Z4, BMW provided a test vehicle equipped with M40i trim and the following options:
The test vehicle’s price was $77,470, including the $995 destination charge to ship the convertible from the BMW assembly plant in Graz, Austria, to your local dealership.
Photo: Tim Stevens
The BMW Z4 can trace its roots to a long lineage of lovely Bavarian roadsters, including the 507 from the late '50s and the Z1 from the late '80s. But its modern history begins with the Z3, which made a rather striking debut in the 1995 James Bond classic film GoldenEye.
The current Z4 debuted for the 2019 model year and hasn't evolved dramatically since then—something echoed in its somewhat dated technology offerings. However, it does offer the interesting distinction of being available as a Toyota. The current Supra shares a platform, engine, and plenty else with the Z4. Despite that, the Z4 has its own personality and style.
Photo: Tim Stevens
Despite being on the market for six years, today's Z4 looks fresh and modern. And that's especially so in the case of the Frozen Deep Green Metallic paint on the car I tested. BMW has elevated matte paint to an art. Though this is among the more subtle hues the manufacturer has produced, it works exceptionally well here to accentuate the Z4's many aggressive and sharp creases.
Though the profile may share some silhouette aspects with the Supra, the Z4 is much easier to enter. That's doubly true with the roof down, but even with the roof up, slipping down into the low cockpit doesn't require quite the same tuck as Toyota's sports machine.
Once you're inside, there's not a lot of room to stretch out, but headroom is generous enough, and the center tunnel, which runs by you at elbow height, gives a sense of integration within the car.
A pair of fantastic seats helps that feeling. The Cognac Vernasca leather looks fantastic on its own and pairs brilliantly with the Frozen Deep Green Metallic exterior color. Green over tan is perhaps the most iconic roadster color scheme, and the Z4 looks very good wearing it. The subtle blue, violet, and red highlights on the piping representing BMW's M division are a lovely touch.
Otherwise, interior detailing is sparse and predominantly dark, with dark vinyl and plastics. Still, they look and feel good, and the way the dashboard flows organically into the angular shapes of the displays, vents, and buttons is striking.
Controls are nicely laid out. Everything is subtly tilted toward or wrapped around the left seat to make it clear this is a driver-oriented car. The focal point, though, really is that shifter.
Photo: Tim Stevens
BMW perfectly positioned the Z4’s engine start/stop button next to the shifter. Press the clutch to the floor, fire up the engine with your finger, and your hand is ready to grab the first gear.
The drive-mode buttons are immediately aft, waiting for you to stab at the right one to suit your need of the moment. There are three main modes: Sport, Comfort, and Eco Pro. Sport has a further three sub-modes: Standard, Plus, and Individual.
Within Individual, you can choose how firm you'd like your suspension, how tight you'd like your steering, how responsive you'd like the engine, and whether you'd like the car to auto-rev-match.
BMW perfectly placed the Z4’s pedals for toe-heeling, and the throttle response is just right. Within a few miles, I was perfectly blipping the gas and slipping from one gear to the next. Gear Shift Assistant is also quite good, but part of the fun of driving a car with three pedals is the little jig you need to dance while braking hard and downshifting into a corner. The Z4 is sweetly set up for that.
That said, I don't love the feeling of the clutch. It has a surprisingly long throw and an engagement within the first five or ten percent of that travel. This isn't one of those clutches you can modulate with a flex of the ankle.
But it's the feeling of the shifter itself that leaves me feeling most disappointed. It's a six-speed in an “H” pattern with a traditional layout. The shifter's round shape fits my hand nicely, and its positioning is nearly perfect. Its throws are neither too short nor too long.
What's the problem, then? The movement of the shift lever itself has a rubbery notchiness to it. I prefer more of a mechanical and less of an organic feel to my shifters. It is pretty similar to the feeling of other recent M machines at least, so fans of the brand will know what they're in for.
Regardless, that did little to spoil the fun. As soon as I got in the Z4, I dropped the fabric top—a fully automatic process that takes less than 10 seconds—and headed out to one of my favorite roads. With the sun streaming down and the 382-horsepower, turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six at full song, the Z4 M40i is a delight.
The seats are neither aggressively bolstered nor littered with painful carbon fiber inserts. They offer just enough adjustment and an ideal amount of support to keep you where you need to be when testing the limits of the 19-inch front and 20-inch rear Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires.
The Z4 isn't particularly brutal on turn-in; even in Sport Plus mode, there's a bit of roll and give to the suspension. But it does have a tenacious grip and, more importantly, enough compliance to handle big, mid-corner bumps without getting upset.
But the car does move around beneath you. Pushed hard, flying over off-camber corners or loose surfaces, the Z4 has a playful nature that makes it feel far more engaging than its 3,514-pound curb weight would imply (that's 29 pounds lighter than the automatic). Don't get me wrong, it's no Miata, but this is a car you can enjoy at legal speeds on the right roads.
Also, unlike a Miata, this thing has 382 hp and 369 pound-feet of torque. Power delivery from that inline-six is strong but somewhat relaxed. It takes a moment for the twin-scroll turbocharger to spin up, but once on boost, there's strong acceleration and a satisfying sound.
When you lift off the gas between corners, a little fanfare of burbles and pops will bring a smile to your face regardless of how many meetings or delayed flights you survived that day.
Photo: Tim Stevens
So, the Z4 is fun to drive with aggression, but that isn't what this car is exclusively about. In daily use, it's comfortable and surprisingly practical. Those seats I loved in the corners didn't punish me on the highway. Likewise, the adaptive suspension provides excellent compliance on unhappy roads.
Even road noise is admirably low with the top up. With it down, a petite wind dam behind the seats keeps buffeting to a minimum. You can have a conversation at a relaxed volume without issue, even at speed.
There's a limited suite of safety systems here, including:
One big missing piece? Adaptive cruise control. Its absence in a modern BMW is a shame. You can get it if it's an absolute must, but at a dear cost: You'll have to give up the manual and return to the base car's eight-speed automatic.
The infotainment experience is provided by a somewhat dated flavor of BMW's iDrive system, lacking a lot of the modern flash of the company's newer cars but still providing everything you need, including navigation. And, if you want a more contemporary look and feel, that's easy to obtain thanks to wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.
Everything plays through a Harman Kardon sound system with good but not overwhelming sound. Nevertheless, it fills the small cabin nicely.
All that conspires to make this a machine that you might want to consider driving every day and taking for an extended getaway, too.
Photo: Tim Stevens
With 9.9 cubic feet of cargo space—available with the top up or down—the Z4 offers more cargo room than most convertibles. That's made all the more practical with the pass-through for a set of skis.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the 2025 Z4 gets 22 mpg in combined driving. In my mixed testing, I saw 25.2 mpg. A 13.7-gallon tank equates to an estimated 342.5 miles of range on a single tank.
At the time of writing, neither the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) nor the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has provided crash-test information for the 2025 BMW Z4.
Buyers can purchase the 2025 BMW Z4 for as little as $54,050 with the 2.0-liter in the sDrive30i. The M40i you see here has a starting manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $66,450. A $995 destination charge covers delivery from its Graz, Austria, manufacturing facility to your local dealer.
In the JD Power 2024 Initial Quality Study (IQS), the Lexus LC ranks highest in the Premium Sporty Car segment. The Porsche 911 and the Chevrolet Corvette are the next highest-ranked models.
In the JD Power 2024 Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study, the Lexus LC ranks highest in the Premium Sporty Car segment. The Porsche 911 is the next highest-ranked model.
Other 2025 Z4 competitors include the Porsche 718 Boxster and Cayman, Jaguar F-Type, and Toyota Supra.
Photo: Tim Stevens
Behind the wheel of the 2025 BMW Z4 M40i, I was constantly thinking of places I wanted to drive and trips I would love to enjoy with it. That is a sign of a good car. No, I don't love the feel of its hallmark feature: the six-speed manual. And its overall dynamic performance is a bit soft for those looking for a hardcore sports car.
But that doesn't make it any less good. It's engaging enough that I looked forward to my time behind the wheel on fun roads, yet comfortable and practical enough that I didn't dread the more boring bits in between.
Tim Stevens is a veteran automotive and technology journalist with over 25 years of experience covering everything from smartphones to supercars. In addition to JDPower.com, his expert perspectives have appeared in numerous national and international outlets, including print, online, and broadcast television.
