You'd struggle to get a confession from BMW, but the prestige carmaker must have been disappointed with the first Z4's sales figures, which suffered largely due to the car's looks.
It carried a muscular and slightly gawky style that made the significantly more elegant Audi TT the preferred choice for much of the market; in particular the female half. The original Z4 was simply too ugly for most tastes.
With this in mind, BMW tasked two of its most senior women designers with the second-generation car's exterior and interior styling, giving them the chance to start afresh. A chance they declined to take, as it turned out. The overall shape is again long and sleek, with an aggressive face achieved with the help of another shark-nosed grille. The lines are actually more aggressive than before, such as the beefy rear arches and sharp-edged light clusters.
There's a lot going on with the design, but we think it's a huge improvement, and makes the Z4 much more handsome than before, but still no-nonsense and sporty. In truth, BMW was unlikely to revise this car heavily enough to give it the co-ed appeal of the Mercedes SLK or Audi TT.
BMW has managed to follow the recent trend for more power yet better economy and lower emissions from its engines, as the Z4's three six-cylinder petrol units all improve on their predecessors across the board, although they still emit around 200g/km of CO2. Even the basic sDrive23i's 202bhp, 2.5-litre engine is strong enough to manage 0-62mph in 6.6sec, while the naturally aspirated 3.0-litre unit in the sDrive30i shaves another 0.8sec off that time. The strongest engine is the turbocharged 3.0-litre in the sDrive35i that yields 304bhp, which is a big number for such a small car. The less powerful models are available with a six-speed auto 'box, while the top dog's self-shifter gets an extra cog and twin clutches, but the manual option is more enjoyable in both cases.
M Sport adaptive damping means the Z4 is more agile than before, although the performance setting is too rigid and makes our bumpy country roads uncomfortable to endure, with the stiffness reducing stability rather than aiding it, whereas the comfort setting is far more agreeable. Porsche's Boxster still beats the BMW for balance and snappy footwork, but the Z4 is still fun to drive and has settled, comfy motorway manners.
That refinement is enhanced by the new electric hard top that comes as standard, takes just 20sec to fold away, and sifts out exterior noise effectively. Along with improved interior space, this significant addition transforms the car into a roadster-cum-GT car with serious long-distance talents.