BMW 435i Review

When you get into a luxury car, you should immediately be able to tell why its priced the way it is. The build quality, the cut and finish, everything about the car should reassure you for paying the extra buck. In today’s car market, the line between luxury cars and economical cars has been extremely blurred. Many of the economical vehicles at their highest trim levels will have the same features as the luxury brands. But once you actually sit into the seat, start pressing buttons, feeling the contact points and interacting with the car, it's clear they are still lacking.

This is where that extra money goes for a luxury car. Everything is purpose built, to the best and highest quality. Sure, the Ford has a back up camera, leather seats, a touch screen and all that jazz, but it doesn't have that sense of prestige and quality that a luxury car can give you.

The BMW 435i M-Sport Convertible has that quality.

Sitting in the driver's seat you immediately realize that BMW knows what they're doing. You quickly feel the difference between the 435i and a more economical car. Everything about the interior is designed to be as user friendly as possible with the highest quality possible. The dash is smartly laid out with everything exactly where you need it to be. On top of that the climate control and radio have actual buttons! No touch sensitive controls or confusing infotainment system to wrestle through just to raise the temperature. Nothing is more frustrating than trying to change temperature while driving and having to look down to make sure you didn't call you ex girlfriend instead. Not only does it have buttons but they have an excellent feel. Strong tactile feedback and a rubberized coating give the buttons a certain appeal that many other cars simply don't have. Although I question how the coating will hold up after a few years of use.

The buttons aren't the only great feature about the inside of the car. The leather is supple and soft and the seats hug the body nicely while not having too high of bolster. I imagine anyone with wider hips than me may not be as comfortable though. The leather is a burnt orange with a darker wood trim accent. Personally this would not be my first choice of colors since I usually don't appreciate the color of an aging Floridian that spends too much time at the beach. The door panels also feature a weaved leather design that in any other color would look great, but in this orange further accentuate the aging beach goer with wrinkled skin.

Storage space is limited but usable, especially for a convertible. With large door storage and a moderately sized glove box, there is enough room to store your insurance card and registration along with a few other goodies. The back seat is small, which is to be expected. I can't get my legs in behind the driver seat in my normal driving position, and the center armrest is very odd in the rear. It comes completely off and then flips over to go into its down position, all in all a very strange design. I get the feeling there won't be too many people riding in the back seat of this car to notice the armrest.

The infotainment system is relatively easy to use. There is definitely a learning curve to the system but it is clear and concise and easy to navigate. Connecting my IPhone to the system was very easy and I had no problems with making calls or listening to bluetooth music. The stereo is of moderate quality. The bass can of course be adjusted to unusable levels like all modern cars but the rest of the sound is not very customizable and the clarity isn't as good as I'd expect from this level of car.

Overall the interior styling is very contemporary with attractive bits hidden throughout. The steering wheel is very attractive, and BMW decided to keep the traditional round wheel instead of the cheesy flat bottoms most manufactures are going with nowadays. Thank God for the stubborn Bavarians keeping the steering wheel an actual wheel. The brushed aluminum door handles have a beautiful curved design that gives a subtle but classy addition to the door.the Brushed aluminum continues into a trim piece that cuts through the center of the dash breaking up the darker wood accents from the black upper dash.

Exterior Impressions

Being a hard top convertible the car naturally has two different external personalities. With the top up it is a semi aggressive sporty coupe. The bulging front hood gives the car a more muscular look, and the concave doors lead into a strong upper character line that distract the eyes from the separated panels of the hard top. The rear has a sporty feel with slightly slanted tail lights that give it just enough aggression to not take over the rear. The dual exhaust also sets nicely into the M-sport bumper adding to the sporty appearance. The front also has slightly angry headlights that add to the aggressive look to the car but still keep the classiness of a BMW. While the M-sport package front bumper also features working front and side scoops to channel air around the wheels to reduce drag at higher speeds, plus they just look cool.

Putting down the top quickly changes the appearance of the car and removes much of the aggressive look that the hardtop contributed to. In just over 25 seconds (which is longer than I expected) the 435i looks more modestly styled and swept back, like more of a cruiser than a bruiser. The burnt orange interior stands out against the metallic gray paint and draws the eye up from the midline of the car more towards the top, bringing the focal point to the beltline. The car takes on a new attitude and looks well-suited for a drive down Sunset Boulevard verses carving through the canyons. On the front end you no longer notice the macho front clip, but rather the sloping back body lines of the hood. Taking the aggression levels down a few notches and adding a more classy appearance. It's amazing what removing a roof can do to a car.

The BMW 435i is an excellent piece of engineering. There is clear thought that has gone into all of the engineering of the car that separates it from the competitive market and makes it worth spending the extra money on. The interior is an inviting place to be and the design can attract a wide customer base. The car isn’t going to go down in history as anything special, but makes a great daily driver and a fun weekend getaway car.

Oh, and one other cool feature, there is a switch to roll all the windows up and down at once, how nice it that?