While enthusiasts aren’t in love with sporty convertibles, such as the BMW 4 Series Convertible, many customers are. In fact, they sell quite well, both here in the US and in the UK. So premium brands will continue to make them. And, admittedly, there are some good ones currently on the market. So which is the best of them? The Independent finds out by comparing the aforementioned 4 Series ‘Vert and the Audi A5 Cabriolet.
In this comparison, both cars were equipped with turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engines and automatic gearboxes. For the BMW 4 Series ‘Vert, that means a 2.0 liter turbo-four making 248 hp and for the Audi A5 Cab, that means a 2.0 liter turbo-four with 252 hp. That’s where their similarities end, though. The BMW uses the familiar ZF-sourced eight-speed auto and the Audi uses a seven-speed dual-clutch unit. While the 4 Series in this case powers only its rear wheels, the Audi has Quattro all-wheel drive.
Those aren’t the only differences, though. The BMW 4 Series ‘Vert is quite a bit heavier than the Audi A5 Cab, as it uses a folding metal hardtop, rather than the Audi’s soft-top. That causes it to be a bit slower in a straight line, taking 6.6 seconds to get to 60 mph, rather than the A5’s 6.1 seconds. But it’s not only straight line speed that suffers. All of that extra heft causes the 4 Series ‘Vert to be a bit sloppier when it comes to handling as well.
That isn’t the end of the beating that the 4 Series takes. On the inside, the Audi A5 simply feels more premium, better built and more modern. The Bimmer’s tech is impressive but the Audi’s is more so. It also has a slightly better back seat and more trunk space with the roof down, thanks to a soft top taking up less space than a hard top. What’s more, the BMW 4 Series ‘Vert costs more to be similarly equipped.
In the end, the Audi A5 Cabriolet was deemed to be better than the 4 Series Convertible. While the Bimmer is a good car, it’s not as good as Audi’s competitive offering.
[Source: Independent]
