BMW sedans vs coupes vs convertibles

In my neck of the woods it's MLs, X-5s, Range Rovers, XC90s... :-)

DAS

For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling

errr....not so fast

Once I went for a charity run-a-thon and had to whisk a few gals to the event. After the walk on our way back to my car (330Ci) one said, "I like your sports car. Is it a BMW or a Mercedes?"

(And just so there is no mistake, I humbly admit we're all Gen Y, so we're not talking about retirement home residents!)

The E46 BMW coupes' seats only recline till ~160 degrees ;( which are enough I guess. But I also wish I could disable the lateral lumbar support - but on second thought - maybe not, makes it tight(er).... ;)

It's pretty hard to mistake a 3-series for an S-class.

Or a c-class and a 7-series.

If you are not into cars much it is easy not to recognise the car brand or type. Heck, I once had someone in the front seat of a Merc saloon who asked my what the car was, despite the fairly visible upright star at the end of the bonnet.

I bet lots of people are like that.

DAS

For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling

The OP is correct - convertibles only seat 4, they rattle like hell, the top is a pain, driving top-down on freeways requires earplugs. But the cool factor is 5x a coupe, and 10x a sedan.

BTW my M3 c> >

My CLK Cab (first generation W208) does not, apparently, shake, rattle and roll. Even at 120 mph.

I have seen a journalists's comments to the effect that it is only one that doesn't.

DAS

For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling

I once owned at the same time a 91 325i coupe and a 91 325iX sedan.

The coupe was a great little sports car that happened to have some extra seats in the back. The iX was a very competent grocery-getter that handled the snow like a Polaris snowcat, but was about as much fun to drive as a Honda Civic.

Adding up the differences between the two cars, I decided the big factor in how they handled was weight. The coupe had a 5-speed and little extra on it except a leather interior. The iX had the weight of 1) an automatic transmission, 2) seat heaters, 3) a sunroof, 4) extra door hardware for the two extra doors, 5) the 4-wheel drive hardware, 6) the extra metal of a slightly squarer sedan roofline.

I have no idea what the real weight difference was between the two, but driving it, the iX always felt like I had 400 pounds of cement in the trunk. Since owning those two cars I've always looked for as light a BMW as I can find in the model I want. A coupe, to me, is a good starting point.

(As a point of reference, the current 330i Sedan weights 3417 pounds. The

330i coupe weights 3285. That's a difference of 132 pounds, all or mostly very high up, right where you don't want it.)

Alan Brooks

-- And all this calculation goes out the window when you're talking convertibles. Damn the extra weight, convertibles are just fun.

I would say that the bigger difference was outfitting your coupe with a manual gearbox vs. the slushbox in the sedan. All the difference in the world IMO...