2007 BMW 3 Series Convertible

Summary

Competition in the convertible market has reached new heights. Now, to be truly a contender in this niche market, they must offer a hardtop convertible, one that replaces the traditional folding fabric top with a retractable hardtop. BMW compensated for the 200-plus pounds added by the top and its supporting mechanicals by raising the energy levels under the hood. The base engine, if there is such a thing in a BMW, is the same displacement, 3.0 liters, as the top engine in the '06 convertible, but with 230 horsepower, five more than that engine. The up-level engine also displaces 3.0-liters but, boosted by dual turbochargers, pumps out 300 horsepower, up 75 from the '06's top engine. The 2007 BMW 3 Series Convertible comes in two trim designations, both two-door, four-passenger models with the marquee's first-ever, retractable hard top supplanting the soft-tops of previous editions. Neither model name relates any longer to engine family. Standard is a six-speed manual transmission; optional is a six-speed automatic transmission allowing manual gear selection with the Steptronic feature.

Full Review 2007

Much of what has allowed BMW to claim to be the ultimate driving machine survives on the new 3 Series Convertible, and, for that matter, on its coupe and sedan siblings. It's a superbly balanced car, and in unadulterated form, sinfully fun to drive. Steering is light when it should be, that is, at low speeds, and with proper resistance and feedback at the elevated speeds the car constantly tempts drivers to explore. Nearly equal front/rear weight distribution leaves the driver in full command of where the car goes and when, with a high-threshold stability control system reassuringly keeping watch should a driver somehow manage to venture beyond the car's almost limitless capabilities. Sadly, at least for long-time, BMW purists, another field in which BMW feels compelled to stay competitive, if not lead the field, is in using electronics to manage its cars' functions. The 2007 BMW 3 Series Convertible comes in two trim levels. Both engines come with a six-speed, manual transmission.

Standard features include leatherette upholstery; automatic dual-zone climate control; cruise control; heated outside mirrors; remote lowering of the top; tilt-and-telescope steering wheel with spoke-mounted, secondary audio and cruise controls; a 10-speaker (including two subwoofers), multi-media audio system; multi-adjustable driver and front passenger seats, including two driver-memory settings for seat and mirrors; and choice of four interior trims, three with wood, one with brushed aluminum. Optional on the 3 Series Convertible are Active Steering with vehicle speed-sensitive variable assist ($1400); Comfort Access with keyless entry and remote raising and lowering of hard top ($500); heated front seats ($500); rear-seat, pass-through trunk storage with cargo bag ($175); rear-only park distance control ($350); active cruise control, which auto-adjusts speed for following distance ($2400); on-board navigation combined with BMW's trademark iDrive managing climate, entertainment and communication functions and, where available, Real Time Traffic Information ($2100); BMW Assist emergency and convenience services with Bluetooth capability ($750 for four-year term); HD radio ($500); Sirius satellite radio with one-year subscription ($595); iPod/USB adapter ($400); and choice of 11 metallic paint colors ($475).

The Cold Weather Package ($750) is the same for both and comprises heated front seats, retractable headlight washers and pass-through trunk storage with cargo bag. The 328i Premium Package ($2650) includes a universal, remote, programmable garage/gate opener; auto-dimming interior and outside, power-folding mirrors; four-way, front-seat power lumbar; four-year, BMW Assist subscription; and the Dakota leather upholstery. Sport Packages (328i: $1200; 335i: $1300) add sport seats with adjustable side bolsters, a specially tuned sport suspension, increased top speed limiter (150 miles per hour vs. the standard, electronically limited 130 mph) and high-performance, run-flat, 225/40R18 front tires and 255/35R18 rear tires on 18x8.0 front and 18x8.5 rear alloy wheels with styles unique to each model.

Safety Features  

Safety features include the usual array of front and side airbags, plus lower dash-mounted, anti-submarine knee airbags. Front seat belts have automatic pretensioners and force limiters, all four seating positions have three-point belts and adjustable head restraints, and rear seats are equipped with child safety seat footings and tether anchors (LATCH). A tire-pressure monitoring system comes standard.

The BMW 3 Series is the last of the BMW automotive family to fall prey to the marque's new-Bangled design vocabulary. Up front, the new 3 Series easily passes what some automotive stylists call the rearview mirror test, whether a driver can recognize a car's brand from a quick glance in the mirror. Side view shows a silhouette that keeps the faith with the traditional overall proportions of the 3 Series coupes in its long hood and short deck topped by an expansive greenhouse. Short front and rear overhangs (distance between the tires and the ends of the car's body) bear eyewitness to the car's standard-setting handling. The good, at least to long-time, die-hard BMW fans, is that this saves the convertible from the rounded fenders with proud trunk lid of the current 7 Series and 6 Series and to a lesser extent the 5 Series.

Interior Styling and Features

Even the iDrive knob, which in the 2007 3 Series also controls a GPS-based navigation system, is comfortably positioned for driver or passenger to operate. The rear seats are adequate only for short stature adults or children into maybe their early teens, especially with anybody taller than 5-foot-6 in the front seats.

Against the Volkswagen Eos and the Volvo C70, the BMW 3 Series Convertible compares favorably, measuring within an inch in headroom and legroom in both front and rear seats in all but the C70's rear-seat legroom, which bests the 3 Series by a full two inches.

Two cup holders hidden under a flip-cover in the rear portion of the full-length center console serve rear seat occupants. Both front and rear seats have a covered storage bin in their respective center consoles. The front doors host hard plastic, flip-out map pockets. Front seatbacks have mesh pouches for magazines.

Driving Impressions

From the driver's seat, the BMW 3 Series Convertible communicates its understanding and acceptance of the responsibility of living up to the brand's heritage. Unlike most of its kin, this BMW remains a car a driver puts on and wears more than climbs into. And save for a few areas where electronics numb messages the car and the driver wish to exchange, it's what people should expect a BMW to be.

Put more plainly, the 3 Series Convertible, like the 3 Series Sedan and Coupe, is a joy to drive. Step on the gas, and the car goes. Use a small turbocharger, which spools up relatively quickly, to get the power boost started early on at lower engine speed. This gives the best of both worlds for an atmospherically enhanced engine: decent torque at low engine speeds and more horsepower at high engine speeds. Running gear sounds making their way inside the car are muted but pleasantly mechanical. The Steptronic automatic gets that power to the road as effectively as the manual transmission. Perchance it's the result of cramming slots for six forward gears into a shift pattern more properly proportioned for five gears, but whatever, this is a distinct step backward from previous 3 Series manual gearboxes. Overlooking the spongy touch, upshifts flow naturally from gear to gear, even if the driver skips a gear or two, a not uncommon inclination when crawling through rush hour traffic.

2007 Conclusions

The new BMW 3 Series Convertible proves BMW hasn't completely forsaken fans of the marquee who want to believe it builds the ultimate driving machine. BMW.com offers all specs, photos and videos on the 3 series. There are still more layers of electronic interference between the driver and the machine than many think is necessary, but enough of the connection between driver and pavement survives to make this car, and its sedan and coupe siblings, the best, most fun BMW still around.