When the BMW 335i convertible made its arrival at the dealerships, everybody was only paying attention to its line and its 300 HP engine. But the 335i convertible is also a real mine of high-tech equipment for this uk car.
In the interior of this 335i you'll find the latest equipment from BMW: Bluetooth hands-free phone, GPS navigation via the second-generation iDrive interface and cruise control are all offered as standalone options by your uk dealer.
The standard audio system, called Logic7, features 13 speakers. As you'd expect as a uk agent, sound quality is outstanding in such a confined space for this uk car. The package is compatible with MP3 and WMA formats and offers a generic auxiliary input jack, integrated into the centre console, to play songs stored on an MP3 player for this BMW 335i convertible. The LCD screen displays all the information about the music tracks, but the only setting available from the dashboard is limited to the volume. Navigation through the MP3 CD tracks is relatively intuitive using the buttons on the front panel, although the two-line display limits the number of tracks displayed simultaneously.
For iPod owners who don't want to limit themselves to this simple jack socket to listen to their player via your uk proxy, BMW offers a dedicated iPod interface as an option. This allows you to control all iPod options for this uk car, while displaying the track and artist name.
The vehicle we had for this test unfortunately did not have the navigation system option, so it is difficult to detail this subject. Let's just point out that it's available with the "iDrive" command, a thumbwheel on the centre console that allows you to fully control the GPS system. An ergonomic model for the BMW 335i Convertible.
Pairing a phone with the hands-free system is a formality that's child's play. The Palm Treo 650 used for this test was paired on the first attempt without even opening the manual supplied with the vehicle. Once this phone was connected, the hands-free audio performance proved to be up to our expectations, the speakers relayed conversations without distortion.
Where the system proved exceptional for this BMW 335i Convertible was in its support for one of the more advanced Bluetooth profiles, which allowed us to copy some of our Treo 650's favourite numbers and call log into the car's memory. This means we were able to call one of our speed-dial numbers or return a missed call without even touching the phone, and these selections are displayed on the car's screen to make the process easier.
One of the 335i's most original technological features is its Automatic Belt Assistant: a mechanical arm that extends to bring the belt to the height of the driver and front passenger as soon as they enter the car. After 60 seconds, the arm retracts. Once the impression of novelty is over, this assistant has proven to be a nuisance on this BMW 335i convertible: it takes some time to suppress the reflex of turning to grasp the belt manually... an attitude that will not fail to make the belt slide out of the arm, making it completely inaccessible. In the end, it's more of a gimmick. There's a plethora of standard safety equipment on offer.
These include cornering lights (a slanted beam on each side at the front to improve visibility in large turning angles) and adaptive brake lights, which are more or less bright depending on how hard you press the brake pedal. This BMW is also one of the only vehicles on the market to offer Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC). The BMW Assist service, which provides breakdown assistance and other in-vehicle telematics and service functions for BMW 335i Convertible customers, is also available as a stand-alone option.