What is it with the "lard a*se" 4 Series Convertible?

[cerb4.5lee]

Mike335i said:

They don't have the reputation of Audi is suppose and I reckon it must be very spec dependant as I find my e90 I lovely place to be. I concede that a basic one is a bit bland though.

I find the interior on the E9x to be really poor and I'm not a fan but it hasn't stopped me buying three of them because I do like the way they drive, when I had my E92 M3 I couldn't believe the list price BMW asked when it was almost identical to the interior of the E90 330d I'd had previously.

I've always thought Bmw's have never been about the interior, and that's the part you put up with because they were good to drive and that was their forte.

[iSore]

cerb4.5lee said:

Bmw's aren't renowned for having good interiors in fairness though when compared to its German rivals.

Really? The E46, E39 etc forgotten already. The E90, E60 interiors have all the flair and quality of a late eighties Carlton though.

[cerb4.5lee]

Agree and I should have said E90 onwards and I also much prefer the earlier bmw interiors as well, plus they drove much better then too rather than the crappy electric steering that's in the current cars.

[msej449]

Trouble for me with the 4 Series convertible is that you lose almost all your boot space to the hard top folded roof when it's down. And it's a 3 Series so for anywhere decent sportiness you need a six-cylinder engine of one sort or another (diesel for effortless torque, petrol for response).

The 'sporty' 2 convertible would be an existing M235i (replaced in 2017 by the M240i). The equivalent (new) 3 would be M440i. New, you're into £40K+ for the former and £55K+ for the latter. Is this really within your budget. even with a couple of years depreciation? You might be able to get a 2-year-old M235i for £25K but I would have thought it a bit tight .... [EDIT: Just did a quick bmw.co.uk search, and no, I couldn't find any M235i within 50 miles under £25K]

I don't think a 2 or 4 is the right car given your stated criteria: there's not enough depreciation to bring the sporty version into your budget range, and getting the 2L diesel is going to be disappointing after the Mini.

Edited by msej449 on Monday 29th May 20:49

[diehardbenzfan]

cerb4.5lee said:

Mike335i said:

They don't have the reputation of Audi is suppose and I reckon it must be very spec dependant as I find my e90 I lovely place to be. I concede that a basic one is a bit bland though.

I find the interior on the E9x to be really poor and I'm not a fan but it hasn't stopped me buying three of them because I do like the way they drive, when I had my E92 M3 I couldn't believe the list price BMW asked when it was almost identical to the interior of the E90 330d I'd had previously.

I've always thought Bmw's have never been about the interior, and that's the part you put up with because they were good to drive and that was their forte.

I own a 4 series and my brother has a e46 3 series and I can honestly say I prefer the interior to the e46, especially in m sport trim with the carbon fiber like panels, its proper quality stuff and the car feels properly solid inside opposed to mine, don't get me wrong, the 4 is a nice place to be in but I don't think it will age well as the e46, the new models have far too much plastic!

[diehardbenzfan]

With regards to the OP, I don't think any car unless it's in the same category will feel as fun and sporty to drive compared to a Mini Cooper S! Comparing a 420d convertible to a mini is like comparing a 21 year old ballet dancer to a 35 year old Size 12 woman with 3 kids! You can't have a pop at the 4 series as I'm sure an A5 cab or a c class convertible will feel exactly the same