Wheels Magazine About the Z3

• it feels too much like an open 3 Series, not enough like a true sports car
• ill-fitting black plastic and the optional mock-wood just make it look even cheaper
• you sit high, behind a fixed steering wheel that is too big
• the gearchange [...] is excessively long and imprecise
• the car never feels or sounds especially exhilarating
• the exhaust note is a contrived, metallic sound, restricted to a wheeze
• there's simply too much grip to give the Z3 a class-leading handling response
• Turn-in [...] is never as cohesive as you might reasonably expect
• there's a hint of lateral body roll that is annoying if you're changing direction quickly
• Nor is the steering Alfa-precise at the straight ahead.
• Grip [...] inevitably means understeer and there isn't enough power to negate its effects.
• The brakes [...] work effectively without inspiring confidence.
• the Z3 fails to offer the same excitement as an MX-5