The BMW 2 Series Convertible: The leather is treated to absorb less heat from the sun’s rays. ©BMW
(Relaxnews) – The latest addition to BMW’s soft-top line up offers more comfort and practicality than its predecessor without diluting performance.
The 1-Series convertible was a huge hit with the company selling in excess of 130,000 examples.
Its replacement, the 2 Series convertible, revealed on Wednesday ahead of its official launch at the Paris Motor Show, could prove to be even more popular.
It’s bigger in pretty much every way than the car it replaces so that rear-seat passengers get an extra 43mm of leg room and the trunk now offers 353 liters of space when the roof’s up. When dropped and folded into the trunk, load space drops to 280 liters, but for a car that’s only 4432mm from nose to tail that’s not bad.
To improve space inside without impacting on performance, BMW has opted for a lighter fabric rather than a heavy metal retractable roof. And rather than try to disguise the fact the car has a ‘soft’ top, BMW is accentuating it by offering owners a choice of fabric finishes to complement or contrast the exterior paint job.
Although using a fabric soft top can mean that the cabin is noisier and colder when the roof’s up, because this one has four layers, BMW says that cabin noise in the rear has been cut by 7 decibels. Meanwhile, the system knows when the roof is down and can automatically compensate for big changes in temperature and the speed at which the car is travelling.
Other intelligent touches include a special leather finish that incorporates something called SunReflective technology, which means that when the roof’s down and the sun’s shining into the cabin, the leather seats shouldn’t heat up as much.
In terms of engines, at launch there will be a choice of three petrol powerplants, the most exciting of which – a twin turbo in-line 3-liter six-cylinder—will be found in the M235i. It is capable of going from 0-100km/h (62mph) in 5 seconds when power is sent to the rear wheels via an automatic transmission.
There will also be one diesel available in the 220d that offers less in way of performance but incredible gains in fuel economy of 4.4 – 4.1 liters per 100 kilometers (64.2-68.9mpg) when specified with automatic transmission.
The 2-Series Convertible will go on sale in Europe in October and will be on public display at the Paris Motor Show.