Standard across the range is a BMW Z4 safety system called Dynamic Stability Control+ (or DSC+ for short) which combines several features such as traction control, corner brake control and brake fade compensation to help keep the car on the road and stable.

The body shell is extremely stiff and there are head/thorax airbags integrated in the side of the seat backrests which inflate in the event of a collision from the side.

Like most BMW cars, the Z4 comes with run-flat tyres which allow you to drive for 150 miles (at a maximum of 50mph) with a punctured tyre, although BMW says it has carried out successful tests up to 600 miles.

Like the majority of two-seater sports cars, BMW Z4 practicality isn’t a strong point but it offers enough space to make it useable everyday.

With the roof up, the boot offers 310 litres of space – more than a Ford Fiesta – and the load area is easy to access, if not very wide. With the roof retracted, space is cut to just 180-litres which is marginally less than the Mercedes-Benz SLK and it’s hard to get to items as they have to be loaded through a narrow slot.

An optional through-loading system is available which includes a hatch between the two seats to allow longer items up to 1.7 metres long (such as skis) to be carried.

In the front there’s a decent central cubby, door pockets that fold open and a storage box with shelves behind the seats.