1998 BMW Z3 Walkaround Review at Automotive.com
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BMW
Z3
1998

1998 BMW Z3 Review: Exterior

Below is a full, detailed 1998 BMW Z3 review and road test from New Car Test Drive. A full evaluation of price, equipment, the driving experience, and specs are all here in a structured, easy-to-navigate format from journalists with limitless experie ...     read more
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1998 BMW Z3 Review

The Z3, from mild to wild.
Walkaround
Although the Z3 is basically unchanged for 1998, the aggressive tires and widened rear track that go with the M version lend an even more purposeful look to this car's classic good looks.

The M Roadster has a serious footprint to handle the extra thrust of its potent engine. That footprint also adds up to substantially higher cornering capabilities than the standard Z3, or even the Z3 2.8.

The essential difference between the 1.9-liter and 2.8-liter Z3 roadesters lies under that long, sculpted hood. The 2.8-liter engine is the same aluminum inline-6 used in the 328i coupe and sedan--twin overhead cams and four valves per cylinder. An inline-6 is still the best configuration for quelling primary vibrations--which is why BMW sticks with this design in an age of compact V6s. Both the 2.8- and 3.2-liter 6-cylinder engines are ultra-smooth at all operating speeds.

The 3.2-liter engine in the M Roadster generates great gobs of torque. Torque is really more important than horsepower, because torque is the low-down grunt that most of us use most of the time, whether we're making a stoplight launch or a fifth-gear pass on a two-lane highway. As you'd expect, the M Roadster is very good at sudden squirts of acceleration. Rowing up and down with the excellent 5-speed transmission--Getrag in regular Z3s, ZF in the M model--is part of the driving fun, but the engine's torque band is so broad that fourth and fifth gear can cover a wide range of urban and suburban driving.

A $975 four-speed automatic is available for the 1.9 and 2.8 engines, but the M version is manual only. The automatic operates in three modes--normal, sport, which raises shift points for better acceleration, and winter, which starts the car off in second gear to complement the traction control system (standard) in slippery going.

BMW did a good job of stuffing the extra pair of cylinders under the hood without making a significant change in weight distribution. Balanced at 52 percent front/48 percent rear, good weight distribution is a key element in the Z3's exceptional handling response.

On the downside, more engine means more mass--143 pounds for the 2.8, 361 pounds for the M Roadster. More engine also impacts fuel economy. The 1.9 is rated 23/31 mpg city/highway, the 2.8 is 19/27, the M version, for all its power, scores 20/27. More mass and more power require more stopping power, which the M Roadster supplies with big vented disc brakes all around. Next Page


1998 BMW Z3