By
Long term tests
27 September 2007 09:00
BMW’s 335i Convertible is surely the perfect everyday car. Rear-drive, four seats, big torquey engine, iPod and mobile literate, the right badge: it doesn’t merely tick the boxes, it defines a 30-something bloke’s ideal wheels . At least that’s my assumption and that’s why, after running a Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, I’ve weaned myself off Solihull’s SUVs and onto Munich’s ubiquitous Three.
The Convertible has only been on the UK market a few months, but even in my Lincolnshire market town, they’re as popular as rugby shirts and reality TV. I can’t go for a 10k run without tripping over a 330d/wheezing past a 320i/being run over by a 330i.
Idle at the homestead, my 335i awaits. That’s the intriguing new badge in the 3-series range, designating a twin turbocharged 306bhp straight six petrol engine, also equipped with direct injection to conserve fuel. Each bank of three cylinders is blown on by a small turbocharger, which spool up more quickly than one big turbo serving all six. The result? Peak torque of 295lb ft wades in at a basement 1300rpm.
That’s a shade more grunt than a 540i’s 4.0-litre V8. It’s an appropriate comparison, because this 3.0-litre six feels like a big V8. Pick a gear, any gear, and the 335i sails forward. There’s a deep thrum from the exhaust, rising to a growling crescendo as it surges to the 7000rpm limit. Acceleration is relentless and it makes overtaking a doddle. Just squeeze the throttle and the engine does the rest. Standstill to 62mph takes 5.8sec, and mid-range acceleration is similarly explosive. The downside is a claimed 28.5mpg, fractionally worse than a 540i’s. And we’ll see how close we get to BMW’s official figure over the next 12 months.
This is the fourth generation 3-series Convertible proper, and it’s as big a step change as the original E21 3-series’ Targa/canvas hybrid roof, outsourced to coachbuilder Baur, making way for the E30’s first proper folding roof in 1985. That’s because the new drop-top 3-series features BMW’s first folding hard top.
It was a big decision for BMW to ditch the fabric, with its potential weight and aesthetic compromises. While the snide mutter that beautiful BMWs went AWOL long before this coupé-cabriolet, the Convertible is far better looking than the fat-bottomed French CCs, thanks to its three-piece lightweight steel roof. The roofline faithfully echoes the Coupe’s, and three bite-sized chunks helps eliminate a claustrophobia-inducing extended header rail and an inflated rump to stow the top.
In Le Mans blue metallic (which makes the roof’s cutlines hard to spot) and with the M Sport bodykit and sports suspension, the Convertible is as sexy as the coupé, the best-looking 3-series by far. The narrow lamps are so much meaner, and combined with the chin spoiler, extended wheelarches and chamfered shoulder line , my 335i looks borderline M3. The M Sport package, whose internal mods include M kickplates, leather steering wheel and sports seats, costs £2320 more than SE spec.
List price for a 335i M Sport Convertible is £40,670, and that’s before options. Upgrading to the 19inch double spoke 255 alloys cost £465, and black leather another £1065. The big one was BMW’s professional navigation system (does that mean a map is amateur hour?) at £1970. The coolest one was £430 for comfort access, providing remote unlocking and roof opening and closing from key fob buttons. The rest: essential Bluetooth ‘phone compatibility at £535, a £220 wind deflector, £265 for an armrest storage box with USB and iPod sockets and £285 to have a forward parking sensor added to standard rear vigilance. Oh, and a scandalous £75 for floor mats.
So that’s CAR’s new 335i. Delivered today with 131miles on the clock, and tomorrow I drive it from Lincolnshire to Dartmouth. A 550-mile round trip is the ideal way to run it in …
With murky grey clouds hanging overhead and spitting out infrequent showers, I won’t be dropping the roof for this inaugural run. Although getting soaked and frozen would be good preparation for the weekend – we’re going coasteering. To the uninitiated (and sensible ) that’s donning a wet suit and trekking around Dartmouth’s watery coves, occasionally scrambling up cliffs and jumping into the sea. It’s my friend Ben Paviour’s stag do, and he’s vowed to shake us out of our comfort zone.
And what of the 335i’s comfort? It’s a good first test for the run flat tyres: 255/30 R19 Bridgestone Potenza rubber. Driving over to Birmingham to pick up the M5, the ride is taut but fine: no thudding over ridges, no hideous tyre roar. I daren’t rev the engine beyond 5000, but there’s no need because the engine pulls so hungrily. In fifth, 30mph swiftly becomes 70 as the straight six piles on the pace. There’s a hint of wind noise at motorway speeds, but it’s a pretty refined cruiser. Fuel consumption is a reasonable 26.1mpg on the way to Dartmouth, a slightly scary 21.5 on the return leg.
The sun is out on Saturday afternoon, which is perfect for a post-coasteering warm up. I try to drop the roof for the first time, only for things to stall midway. It appears that a millimetre or two of wind deflector is fouling the system, but after a quick repack it folds away smoothly. It’s very balletic: the two end sections glide in opposite directions above and below the middle section, before that compressed section folds away.
The engine and exhaust come to life during the topless blast back to HQ, along winding coastal roads. The steering is fluid, with medium weight, and the 335i flows up and down crests and around the sharp corners. This 3-series is the stiffest convertible in BMW’s history, but the reduced rigidity is obvious with the roof down. Connecting with a pothole at 50mph sends a shudder through the cabin – only to be expected. But the heightened sensations and sense of freedom totally compensate. The new 3-series cabrio has a wide range of talents: top down cruising to a great soundtrack, or roof up blasts in a stiff and composed coupé. I’m quickly getting to like this car…
| Total Mileage Since Last Report Overall MPG Since Last report Fuel Costs Other Costs Highs Lows | 764 miles 633 miles 23.8 mpg 23.8 mpg £117.56 none Brilliant engine, perfect spec, great fun Floor mats cost £75 |
