BMW have got it so right with the two-seater soft top Z4. It’s a car a driver really ‘connects’ with.

Visually impressive and beautifully proportioned. Low, and squat in build. Beautifully sculpted with a bold double waistline and those sweeping curves. Big in front with that long, low bonnet.

A real feat of engineering with the shortest imaginable time to get the top off. BMW claim it is the ‘world’s fastest fully-automatic convertible roof’.

Roadsters have played a key role in BMW’s history since the inception of the Bayer Motoren Werke (Bavarian Motor Company) nearly 75 years ago. Now the Z4, sharing those same traditional principles, is turning heads in the 21st century.

Like all BMW roadsters, the Z4 has a long wheelbase with short overhangs. The rear end is pretty strong too. Note the upwards curve of the boot lid and those twin exhaust pipes. There’s simply no mistaking it for anything else with BMW badges clearly visible on all sides.

Mine was the 3-litre version producing 231 bhp at 5,900 rpm and 300Nm of torque at 3,500 rpm which makes it fairly punchy indeed given the size of the car. If needed, it can do the 0-62 mph sprint in just 5.9 seconds. Top speed is 155mph!

Underpinning the Z4’s impressive performance and agility is its high degree of body stiffness and almost 50-50 weight distribution.

The new six-speed manual gearbox - introduced on the 3-Series Coupe and Convertible models - does have a short travel. Top speed is 155mph and the 3-litre can accomplish the 0-62mph trip in just 5.9 secs.

With all that power, this can be a thirsty brute, with an estimated range of 21-31mpg, depending on whether most of your work is in urban areas.

The cabin is roomy enough. The driving position is low and set back which may not suit everyone. But with the electric seat height adjustment, and three memory settings, it’s relatively easy to get a comfortable driving position and to recall it if someone else has dared to change your setting to theirs.

With my seat raised, I could see the big curve of the middle of the bonnet and the curves of the wheel arches.

Sporty windows are rimless by necessity and are on the small side. They move downwards to allow the lid come off, returning to their original position when the manoeuvre is completed. Once down, there’s not much of the lid visible as it tucks neatly into the car’s body. You do have a lot of wind shelter with the height of the windscreen and my hair wasn’t blown around too much.

There’s actually lots of head room with the lid up, due in main to the low slung sports seats which were clad in very fetching red leather.

I found the car fine for short hops but wouldn’t be all that comfy with very long hauls. This is due to the suspension which is a bit on the hard side for Irish conditions. Some of this is perhaps down to the ‘run flat’ tyres but there again, I’d rather have them than not in case of a blow-out.

A main cabin feature is the high and wide central console which runs between both front seats. As well as the hand brake, this houses two compartments on the upwards sweep between both seat backs. Press in the lower lever and the lid comes down to reveal a handy storage area, two small shelves and the CD changer. Nothing at all happened when I pressed the top lever so I still don’t know what it is for. A strong wind mesh is fixed between both the steel protection bars behind each seat for when the roof is down.

Instruments are contained in two smallish recessed sporty dials but the speedometer figures are somewhat cluttered looking. A nice feature has been made of the three-spoke steering wheel, with the bigger bottom spoke split up the middle.

Visibility is restricted, as in most sports cars, due to the pretty small rear window, and you have to rely a lot on your side mirror when overtaking with the roof up.

Other standard features on the 3.0i version include automatic air conditioning, the leather interior with fully electric seats, the Sport function which stiffens up the suspension for sporty use, CD player and the sports steering wheel. The Z4 also has an exceptionally stiff body in case of roll over or an accident occurring.

BMW’s Dynamic Stability Control keeps the car on the straight and narrow. The Z4 also features Dynamic Traction Control.

The big boot is a result of the soft-top storage compartment. With the roof down some 20 litres of storage space is taken up by the roof. With the roof raised, a lever in the boot collapses the soft-top compartment leaving the roof storage space to be used as boot space.

The 17-inch alloy wheels come with safety conscious ‘run flat’ tyres which allow the car to be driven safely for up to 90 miles (150 kms) at a reduced speed of 50mph (80 km/h) after air rapid loss.

There’s certainly never a dull moment with a BMW Z4 around!

You can start in an Z4 with a 2.2-litre engine. Price range is 48,875-64,490.