BMW 435i Convertible 2014 Review

BMW 435i Convertible

The name might be new, but the 435i Convertible is as its predecessors have always been: elegant, stylish, comfortable and not quite sporty. Still, it's plenty quick, with 225kW of in-line six up front, and even more comfortable in both the front and the back seats. This has never been a car to set lap records, but the 3 Series Convertible was always comfortable lapping the coffee circuit.  Is the 435i Convertible any different?

You're going to think this is just a convertible version of the BMW 3 Series sedan with a two-door bodyshell and a fancy new 4 Series name tag. It isn't.

The 435i Convertible is really a drop-top version of the 4 Series Coupe, complete with its wider tracks, 50mm longer wheelbase and sportier mien.

Every single dimension is larger than the old 3 Series Convertible and, disappointingly, it's 20kg heavier as well. The upside is that it's quite a big car these days and almost feels more like a 5 Series convertible than a 3 Series Convertible.

We drove only the top-spec 435i version, which comes with the classic 3.0-litre, direct-injection, turbocharged in-line six-cylinder engine, mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission and available only with rear-wheel drive.

There are others, of course, including the 180kW, 350Nm 428i four-cylinder, which will be the biggest seller in Australia when the family arrives in March. It reaches 100km/h in 6.4 seconds, even as the 2.0-litre four labours under 1680kg of weight. There's also a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel version with 380Nm of torque and while it posts a 0-100km/h sprint of over eight seconds, it's not far away from the rest of the range on the rolling in-gear sprints.

But the big hitter is the 435i. The engine is a sweetheart, with 225kW of power singing as highly as 6000rpm but still capable of delivering 400Nm at just 1200rpm. The result is Flexibility Central.

Sure, it hits 100km/h in 5.6 seconds (even though it weighs 1740kg), but that's hardly the point with this car. Instead, it's all about easily accessed performance from every scrap of the rev range, any time the driver asks for it. And it is supposed to deliver it seamlessly, smoothly, quietly and then sound nice when you want it to. And it does all of that brilliantly.

It starts quietly, it is an easy thing to get to grips with very quickly and it has such a range of emotion and a depth of voice that you just know you're not going to get bored with it any time soon. It's also terrifically strong any time you tickle the throttle pedal, and it gets by on 8.1L/100km.

It also shifts gear slickly and seamlessly and you barely even notice the thing has a gearbox at all, except for when you switch to the Sport mode, when it delivers a nice snap to the upshifts and a burble on the way back down again.

All of this powertrain is there to propel what is, effectively, a 3 Series Coupe with the roof cut off and a three-piece folding metal roof gobbling up boot space. It adds weight, cost and complexity. The Coupe is 1525kg, which is lighter than the old 335i Coupe, yet the Convertible is not only 215kg heavier than the Coupe, but it's 20kg heavier than its predecessor.

Speaking of complexity, BMW offers a new trick in the boot to help you load it (there's 220 litres of space when the roof is folded away). A button on the inside of the bootlid lets you lift the metal roof pieces up and down and, while it looks like a glorified trash compactor, its actual benefits to loading seem dubious at best. Especially when the car doesn't get an automatic boot release.

The other downside is that, while BMW claims the roof can be raised or lowered at up to 18km/h in 20 seconds, it feels like a very long 20 seconds sometimes.

Sadly, while BMW has reinforced the Convertible's underduds to the tune of an extra 40 per cent of torsional rigidity, the four-seat layout still delivers a mighty big hole in the top and that means there's a lot of forces flexing the daylights out of it. And while it's stiffer than its predecessor, it's still not rigid enough to provide the basis for a properly sporting machine. There's a significant level of scuttle shake, where the windscreen surround wobbles out of step with the rest of the body, and that's no basis for accurate chassis inputs.

On the upside, it's a genuine four-seat convertible, especially if those in the rear are kids, and the wind blocker makes chatting comfortable even at very high speeds. And, unlike most of the wind blockers around the place, this one folds into a small space and BMW has thoughtfully given it its own storage area behind the folding rear seats, just ahead of the generous through-loading portal.

Of course, unlike proper soft tops, that scuttle shake disappears when the roof climbs up and the car becomes an altogether different place to be. It's quiet, with an inner lining said to soak up 2dBA alone, it's stiffer and the whole car is more accurate and a more sparkling drive. But that's not really the point of it, is it?

Even then, the handling package is compromised by a steering wheel that delivers very little information about what's happening up at the front wheels.

Still, this isn't the BMW you get if you want to smash it in the twisty stuff and it probably only has to be as good and competent and interesting as it actually is. And it is more than good enough for most days of the week, in every regard.

2014 BMW 435i Convertible pricing and specifications:
Price: TBA
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 225kW/400Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 8.1L/100km (combined)
CO2: 190g/km (combined)
Safety Rating: TBA