BMW 3 Series Convertible
Wheels Magazine 
March, 2007
If I'd had to launch a new BMW 3 Series Convertible anywhere in the world, I'd probably also choose the country that will buy 42 percent of them. And I would, like BMW, probably also have chosen the US state bathed under endless yellow-orange skies (if Road Runner cartoons are to be believed).
Seems somebody accidentally ordered the Acme Instant Icicle Maker. A light snow was falling in Phoenix, Arizona, between torrential downpours. A week earlier, snow had fallen on LA's Malibu beach. A day after we left, President Bush's State of the Union speech acknowledged that, yup, the weather don't seem to be like it useta.
Neither is BMW's 3 Series Convertible. The new E93 carries BMW's first retractable hardtop, prompted by the outcome of two separate market research clinics. "Customers, especially 3 Series Convertible customers, told us they expected this feature," says E93 product manager, Dieter Hilsch, pointing out that this didn't mean all BMW convertibles would go this way. "For instance, a 6 Series [customer probably has] other cars for winter conditions. Not so of a 3 Series."
The E93 lobs in Australia at the end of March (thereby missing the Melbourne snow season by three months). We'll see two versions, engines much as they were introduced in the E92 Coupe: a 160kW/250Nm, 2.5-litre unit in the 325i ($94,400 in six-speed manual, $97,500 six-speed auto), and the storming, 225kW/400Nm, 3.0-litre twin-turbo in the 335i ($121,500 and $124,100). There'll be no poverty-pack 323i drop-top.
The coupe/cabriolet roof's advantages over a traditional ragtop are mostly self-explanatory: rigidity, longevity, superior acoustic refinement, better urban security. Equally evident in this new BMW is the better deal for the two rear-seat passengers who, compared with those of the soft-topped E46, have 85mm more shoulder and 120mm more elbow room, and sit amid 30 percent more rear glass area.
The larger rear-side windows translate not only to a brighter view from the rear when the roof's up, but a less breezy ride when the roof's down.
The rear-cabin roominess and visibility is a direct consequence of not having to house cumbersome, articulated arms (a la soft-tops) into a thick C-pillar package. Indeed, the E93's one-touch, 22 seconds retracting roof - beating Volvo's 27sec C70 was a definite goal, confessed Hilsch - is cleverer than most. Rather than try to stuff everything undercover, it disguises two of its major linkages as body-colour trim strips along the outside of the roof. It can also be opened or closed via the remote key-fob.
No complaints from the front seats, which differ from the coupe's in having integrated, upper belt anchors (hence, no flapping). Improving on most CC rivals, the BMW's windscreen frame sits well forward of one's bonce, for a true, open-air experience. And yet, with the windows up, the effective windblocker in place and the temp sensor reading six degrees outside, we drove in absolute comfort.
Of course, the major disadvantages of a retractable hardtop are its weight increase, and the loss of boot space to the three, sandwiched roof sections when stowed. Compared with the E92 Coupes, the E93s have stacked on roughly 300kg, adding eight-tenths of a second to the 325i's 0-100km/h time (whether manual or auto), while penalising the twin-turbo 335i by threetenths. It may say something that there were no 325is at the launch.
According to Hilsch, nearly all this extra weight is down low in the chassis' structural reinforcement; the entire, retractable hardtop unit weighs only 40kg more than a fabric equivalent. Slick and otherwise smooth roads, airborne sleet and an audible black-ice sensor (triggered at 3 degrees) kept high-g cornering to a minimum in our 335i auto, but the chassis felt in no way soggy. BMW claims best-in-class torsional stiffness.
Styling dictated a rear deck some 13mm lower than that of the coupe, resulting in 350 litres of luggage capacity (versus the coupe's 430), in a best-case scenario. Meanwhile, worst-case still means suitcase: designers ensured that the stacked roof, though reducing capacity to 210 litres, would straddle a full-sized Samsonite. A 40cm wide through-port helps it swallow two golf bags. Such functionality prompts Hilsch to predict that the E93 will become the first 3 Series Convertible to out-sell its coupe sister. He might be right; it's an easy car to warm to.
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