BMW 228i Convertible: A Purist’s Indulgence
Convertibles cannot change the weather, but leave it to a BMW to try.
The drop-top version of BMW’s compact 2 Series coupe was designed to reduce buffeting and wind noise. In this, the German marque’s replacement for the 1 Series convertible, noise is cut by a manufacturer-claimed 50% over the outgoing model, reports BMW product planner Eric Sargent. With its sound-insulated soft top, the 228i eschews the mass and expense of the folding hard top found on the mid-range 4 Series.
The cabin is remarkably placid when the roof is raised, but more important is the 228i’s ability to allow top-down enjoyment in an expanded range of temperatures. Driving open-roofed in the cool, 7C (45F) late-winter air of the Texas hill country, the 228i let a driver choose the optimal degree of thermal mitigation. Indeed, the car’s heater and its electric seat heaters may be the traditional first line of defence against the chill, but occupants can also enlist a rear-seat wind deflector that protects front-seaters from air spilling forward after it trips over the windshield. BMW even applies a special coating to the leather upholstery for better resistance against sun exposure, prolonging the car’s luxury cabin appointments.
The 228i Convertible has another bit of weather-mitigating hardware: an available all-wheel-drive system that lets the driver approach slippery surfaces with a confidence unimaginable in rear-drive BMWs on performance tires.
Why drive with the top down in the cold? Why have a convertible? It is an invigorating experience, one that lets drivers feel a part of their environment rather than a spectator to it.
To wit, open-air cruising alerted passengers to a promising barbeque vendor in downtown Bastrop (population: 7,554), the aromas wafting through the air unlike anything that would enter a hermetically sealed Bimmer.
The roof folds in 20 seconds – not fast but certainly not sluggish – at speeds as high as 50km/h (30mph).
The tested 228i has a turbocharged 240-horsepower, 2-litre four-cylinder engine, which makes an agreeable little racket when pushed. Absent, however, is the positively magical sound created by BMW’s signature in-line six-cylinder engines, such as the one in the higher-performance M235i Convertible. In global markets outside the US, a 2-litre four-cylinder diesel engine and even the 1.5-litre turbocharged three-cylinder introduced with the Mini Cooper for 2014 are also available.
The engine delivers power in the characteristic torque-rich fashion typical of modern turbocharged engines, with snappy response and without the irritating tendency to keep revving after the accelerator pedal has been released, as the Ford Mustang’s similar EcoBoost four-cylinder turbo engine does.
The US-spec 228i is fitted exclusively with the eight-speed automatic transmission seen previously on the 3 Series and 4 Series, while a six-speed manual transmission is available only in the M235i. Drivers can shift the automatic via steering wheel-mounted paddles, which create a poor facsimile of the satisfaction found in rowing through BMW’s crisp manual box. The paddles may be best forgotten, as the default Drive mode operates commendably, holding gears in spirited driving or settling into a low-RPM cruise on the highway.
Compared to its 1 Series predecessor the 228i is 20% stiffer, all but banishing torsional twist – the bane of convertibles. The rigidity of the strengthened platform allowed engineers to more finely calibrate suspension settings – a simplified task when the chassis does not have the flexibility of an election-year politician.
Purists may decry the electric power steering as inferior to the hydraulic assisted rack on older BMWs, but the 228i’s steering response and feel are excellent, and any shortcomings would only be lamented by a tiny sliver of prospective buyers.
The rigid frame, compliant suspension and precise steering combine with the tidy proportions of the 228i to produce an authentic BMW, no small feat in 2015. With the brand’s diversification into myriad market niches and experimentation with often distracting electronic “enhancements”, the focus on the driving experience may, at such a time in the company’s history, seem anachronistic. Yet the 228i is a familiar size for a BMW, with familiar proportions and handling characteristics. BMW’s niche vehicles aim to attract new buyers to the brand, whereas the 228i Convertible upholds the company’s traditional virtues. The ability to lower the top only gives them more breathing room.
Source: BBC News
