RE: BMW M235i Cabriolet: Driven
Discussion
TurboHatchback said:
v10yep said:
1,695kg.... Good lord
Indeed, that's damn near as heavy as my enormous AWD V8 luxobarge! Have they just machined it out of a giant billet of cast iron?moffat said:
£37,710 for the manual M235i Convertible so not £40k is it... The sport auto version does get closer though, bit surprised both Sat Nav and Xenon's are an option though!
It's also £3k more than the Coupe which is about right and £9k cheaper than the less powerful 435i Convertible.
Xenons are standard, as is leatherIt's also £3k more than the Coupe which is about right and £9k cheaper than the less powerful 435i Convertible.
A few years ago when I was looking at e46 M3s, I was amazed that there were so many convertibles available. Yet I rarely see them on the road (probably because I'm not in the sunny south!) and I've never known someone who has owned one. It begs the question, who buys them in the first place?
SFO said:
moffat said:
£37,710 for the manual M235i Convertible so not £40k is it... The sport auto version does get closer though, bit surprised both Sat Nav and Xenon's are an option though!
It's also £3k more than the Coupe which is about right and £9k cheaper than the less powerful 435i Convertible.
Xenons are standard, as is leatherIt's also £3k more than the Coupe which is about right and £9k cheaper than the less powerful 435i Convertible.
This car isn't designed as an out and out performance car. Think of it as a GT that drives nicely around Monaco and can get you there swiftly whilst making an ok noise and returning reasonable MPG and it hits the nail on the head. It drives smoothly and very briskly, but isn't a rip-snorting drive, IMHO.
Head into the hills and ask it to provide some serious fun and the inside wheel will spin up unless you tick the optional LSD box (to be fair, what serious driver wouldn't), the hazard warning lights will switch on when you brake hard, the car will understeer on lower speed corners and if really pushing hard the fronts will lock way, way ahead of the rears (maybe that's just my feel of the thing).
Head into the hills and ask it to provide some serious fun and the inside wheel will spin up unless you tick the optional LSD box (to be fair, what serious driver wouldn't), the hazard warning lights will switch on when you brake hard, the car will understeer on lower speed corners and if really pushing hard the fronts will lock way, way ahead of the rears (maybe that's just my feel of the thing).
That's right, BMW intentionally made the car heavier than it needs to be just to wind up those who drive powerful saloons/coupes. Cabriolets are heavier than the car they are based on! In other news, water is wet...I get that there will always be people who dislike convertibles. I used to be one of them when I was younger, when all I cared about was performance and handling (and to some extent worried about what others might think). However, for those with families and wanting a 4-seater car that covers all the bases for year-round long-term hassle-free ownership, BMW convertibles are a pretty good bet. I won't be buying this one though, I will stick with the V8 M3 convertible for now.
SFO said:
Xenons are standard, as is leather
I know leather is but on the configurator there's an option for Xenons which I thought was weird - under Packages for £590 (lights plus washers).The M235i Convertible is also the same price as the S3 Convertible so I think the price is pretty much spot on.
moffat said:
I know leather is but on the configurator there's an option for Xenons which I thought was weird - under Packages for £590 (lights plus washers).
The M235i Convertible is also the same price as the S3 Convertible so I think the price is pretty much spot on.
That the Visibility Pack which add adaptive lights and high beam assist. The M235i Convertible is also the same price as the S3 Convertible so I think the price is pretty much spot on.
S3 is 4 cylinder, so 6 cyclinder 235i wins hands down
Please PistonHeads, comparing a convertible/cabriolets to coupes is probably the most predictable, boring reading there is.
Surprise reading #1: Cabriolets always struggle to be taken seriously as performance cars, even if they're based on something really good.
Surprise reading #2: There's no arguing that the extra mass has a noticeable effect on the Cabriolet's willingness to change direction.
Surprise reading #3: It's definitely not as agile as the fleet-footed Coupe...
Compare open tops to open tops, or if you have to compare cabriolets to coupes, do a comparison showing which companies did the best job in transforming their coupes to convertibles, i e the least loss of driving pleasure, in pure performance terms.
Surprise reading #1: Cabriolets always struggle to be taken seriously as performance cars, even if they're based on something really good.
Surprise reading #2: There's no arguing that the extra mass has a noticeable effect on the Cabriolet's willingness to change direction.
Surprise reading #3: It's definitely not as agile as the fleet-footed Coupe...
Compare open tops to open tops, or if you have to compare cabriolets to coupes, do a comparison showing which companies did the best job in transforming their coupes to convertibles, i e the least loss of driving pleasure, in pure performance terms.
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