Driving Impressions
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For all its handling precision and quick response, the dynamic trait that impressed us most about the original Z3 was its ride quality. Like all of BMW's recent offerings, it managed to blend sports car reflexes with a supple ride that took the harshness out of small potholes and pavement patches while leaving the driver connected to the road.
During a couple days of white-knuckle barnstorming on mountainous country roads around Spartanburg, we were surprised to find that the M Roadster has this same quality. Driving through the Blue Ridge mountains gave us little time to think about ride quality, however.
For the most part, our driving sessions became a blur of braking, downshifting, and switchbacks, and we emerged even more impressed with how well the M Roadster accommodated our every whim. Perhaps its most endearing trait, sheer go-power notwithstanding, is its margin for error. This car inspires confidence and forgives mistakes--a great combination for a sports car.
Part of this is the massive grip of its huge tires, but part of it lies in rear suspension tuning that's actually a bit softer than the 2.8. As a result, the M version doesn't feel quite as nervous in quick maneuvers at a brisk pace. Enter a decreasing radius turn a little too quick and the M Roadster seems to give the driver just a little more time to do something about it.
And if that something happens to be stopping, this is the right setup. The stopping power that goes with the wheel and tire package on our M Roadster was nothing short of raceworthy, even when we found ourselves approaching corners at an eye-widening pace. The brakes seem virtually immune to fade--loss of performance in repeated hard applications--no matter how hard or how often they're applied.
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