Cruisin' round with my top down

Author's Rating:

Pros: handsome, grippy, lux interior, superb top, valet cachet, great resale

Cons: horrible blind spots, mildly annoying climate control, so-so stereo (H/K)

The Bottom Line: 
It's a great car. I can buy it at lease end and sell it for a $5k profit. And the damned thing just makes me look hot!

Author's Review
I leased a 2003 325iC (convertible) at the end of March '03, just moments before they shut the flow of '03s and started shipping '04s. I did this because the '04 will have more stylized (and uglier) sport wheels and scalloped headlight surrounds that my friend calls "menacing".

No question, it's a lot of money for a car, period. BUT...but...the 325iC is truly a four-seat convertible. Really...real people can sit in the back. The fit and finish are impeccable. Valet dudes park it right up front even in hip-hop-plagued Atlanta (Hummer H2 with huge chrome wheels and lamp guards, anyone?)and even though it's a 4-year old design.



Visually, I really love this car. I think it's among the most classically handsome designs extant. Think Cary Grant in a tuxedo or Audrey Hepburn in her LBD (little black dress). Especially with the Sport package's alloy wheels, it's just a flat-out great looking car. The wheels don't make this car, but they help it out a lot. The jet black (non metallic) paint is flawless, though like all black cars it gets filfthy quickly.

The interior--if just a tiny bit snug--is equally handsome. The quality of materials and manufacturing are above reproach. If the dashboard design is a smidge dated, it's still beautiful, especially with the myrtle wood that comes with the Premium pkg. There is a dearth of storage space. CDs? Reach across the Beiring strait to the glove box cuz there's nowhere else to put them. Cell phone? Either in a cupholder or in your lap. The armrest is absurd...tiny, holds nothing, gets in the way of the 2nd cupholder...why bother? And 2 months in, I still reach for the driver's door to put the windows up/down; unfortunately, they're on the console. And why no power-up for the back windows?

Performance-wise, I like this car a lot. With 184 horsepower and 175 lb/ft of torque and 3,600 lbs of mass, it's just not fast, even though I insist on a stick (more on this in a moment). My former car, a '00 Maxima SE, would smoke the BMW off the line all day. And the Max's V-6, a real torque monster, never left me wanting. The BMW is ok, certainly adequate, and even snappy off the line. But at, say, 40mph in 2nd gear, I'm often left wishing for more oomph. Of course, in a convertible, you always feel speedier sans top. I drove the 330iC and it is markedly stronger mid-range (if not much more so off the line). Is it worth $150/month? No. As another reviewer noted, if flat-out performance is your bag, get a Z4 (hideously ugly) or steal an M3.

Handling...is terrific. Rear wheel drive makes a huge difference, as do the large, gummy Sport package tires. I don't get to toss it around all that much in Atlanta traffic, but it certainly clings in all the right ways.

The top...is a delight, albeit a tad confusing. There are no levers to pull or push: simply hold the button (after figuring out whether the clutch has to be depressed or not, or the car has to be in gear or in neutral) and voila! Putting the top up is just as easy--and quick; spring showers of late have caught me with my pants, er, top down, and I always have time to get it up before getting soaked.

Quibbles: The Harman Kardon stereo upgrade still sounds only so-so to me. The stereo adjusts to increased ambient noise, but when you come to a red light, it goes almost silent. The CD player does not love home-burned CDs. There are ENORMOUS blind spots at the C pillars with the top up. They're just dangerous. The automatic tilt-down right-hand mirror sounds like rocks in a garbage disposal. Maybe I don't get this feature, but I need to see the cars behind me when parallel parking, not the curb I may hit. The remote locking requires one to be very close before it will work, and there's no panic button (a godsend for finding your car in the airport parking lot). The wheels get dirty (brake dust) incredibly fast.

Big hits: Besides looking stunning in and out, this car just feels well screwed-together. Sure, the rearview mirror shakes over potholes (only the new Audi cabriolet is truly rock-solid), but compared to the Saab 9-3, this is Gibraltar. There is room for four real people. That engine sings a mellifluous tone at any part of the tach. The leather seats are comfortable, grippy, and well made. The wood shift knob (Premium package) is a delight to caress.

Personal note: I don't drive an automatic, so my 4-seat convertible choices were limited to the Mustang (ugly and ancient), Mitsubishi ("sweet sixteen"), Volvo (loosey-goosey and impossible to find a stick, and the Saab. Neither Audi nor Mercedes offer a stick shift. The dealer had to search high and low to find me a stick too. What has the world come to when 90% of all BMWs sold in Atlanta are automatics?!