gas mileage

[salserod]

I am new to the board. Hello to all. I own a 97 z3 1.9L. I was just wandering what type of mileage you are getting? I consistently get 23.5 mpg in the city which seems low for a 1.9 L. My friend owned a 94 318i and I believe it had the same engine and he was getting 26 mpg in the city. Is this mileage normal? On the highway I get around 29 mpg which seems good.

 

[Big Daddy]

According to BMW the 97 Z3 1.9 should get 23 city and 31 highway! I get 20 in the city and 28 on the highway when I drive nice in the M roadster, your mileage is good!

 

[IslandDawgZ4]

A little better

My Z4 3.0 6spd gets around 27-28 when I drive "nice"...65mph or less, but at higher speeds, it drops to 22-23. I think your mileage sounds about right. The 1.9 has to work a little harder. When I had my Miata, 1.8 6spd, I never got much better than 22-23 in suburban driving and 27-28 on the highway.

 

[salserod]

How do you like your z4?

 

[IslandDawgZ4]

How do you like your z4?

When they first came out, I really didn't care for it and bought an RX-8 instead (keeping my Miata for top down fun). Last summer, the deal became to hard to resist, e.g., $300 over dealer cost (BMW was giving the dealers a $4500 marketing incentive). So, I jumped in and got the Z and haven't looked back. It was a good choice for me. The looks have grown on me andothers of all ages remark about how neat the car looks. It is also very refined as such sportscars go in my book. It handles very well in everyday driving, better than most. It's not as light as the Miata, but it's in a whole different class. I've autocrossed it several times and it has performed respectfully, limited more by my skill (or lack thereof). In 6k miles, I only had a blown speaker and that's it. It is faster than the Miata and the RX-8, and gets better mileage than either of them. The build quality is excellent for a car assembled by South Carolinians. It will hold my clubs and the folding 3 wheel cart! And there are a lot of little nice touches like the led light over the gear shift at night, etc. My only real complaint is that I got the premium stereo (Carver amp) and it is NOT compatible with the IPod connector which really pissed me off. The dealer was unaware of this failing as they installed the connector twice before they found out by reading the installation instruction sheet. This was really a BMW problem since is was nowhere else to be found at the time. Anyway, on the whole, that's minor. I really like the car and think BMW has done an exceptionally poor job of marketing it. I can'tspeak for the 2.5, but this car goes like stink and makes all the right sounds. To me, it is comfortable and the wifey likes it too (didn't care for the Mazdas). That makes it a good choice for me! Try it. You may just find yourself hooked like me.

 

[salserod]

You mentioned that the looks have grown on you- many of the BMWs do that. I didnt care for the new body style for the z4 but it looks better every day. This was also true for the last body style of the 3 series but I love it now. I used to have a 87 325e and I still like that classic body style. I have been thinking about upgrading to a z4 but the time is not right. Take care.

 

[IslandDawgZ4]

You mentioned that the looks have grown on you- many of the BMWs do that. I didnt care for the new body style for the z4 but it looks better every day. This was also true for the last body style of the 3 series but I love it now. I used to have a 87 325e and I still like that classic body style. I have been thinking about upgrading to a z4 but the time is not right. Take care.

I had an 85 325e, my first BMW and it was a super little car. After that, I moved up to an 88 535is. I often think back to those cars and fondly remember that these were not "cheap" BMWs, just smaller. The sports seats in my 85 were the same seats as in a 635, the radio and on board computer were the same. In the 90s, along with MB, it seems to me that smaller also came to mean cheaper and some of that is in evidence still today. The basic engineering quality (steering, brakes, supension) is still the same across the line, but interior fitments in the smaller cars, 3s particularly, seem to fall short to me. But, that's just my opinion.
The Z4 comes across as diverting from that pattern and that's why its price is relatively high unless one compares prices with the Boxster. It's the old saw, "you get what you pay for", but some times you may get less, seldom ever more.

 

[grc]

the 97 and the 94 are different engines and use different management systems. OBDI vs OBDII. is your 97 auto or manual?

 

[salserod]

Its an OBDII. I thought it was not exactly the same engine but the displacement was. Maybe they just made some performance changes for the z series thus compromising the gas mileage.

 

[hjhazen-lee]

I just bought a 99 z3 roadster 2.5 a few months ago, and I find the gas milage is about 25 in the city and 27 on the highway...but I am a bit of a speed racer at that.