BMW 4-Series Convertible (2014 - 2020) practicality

• No Euro NCAP rating for BMW 4 Series Convertible
• Five stars for the 3 Series upon which it is based
• Plenty of safety tech on offer plus rollover protection

The BMW 4 Series range hasn’t been crash tested by Euro NCAP, but the 3 Series saloon on which it is based was given five stars.

Plainly there are lots of differences between that car and this, namely the missing roof. Mitigating that factor is a standard fit rollover protection system that pops out from behind the rear headrests.

Other safety kit includes LED headlights, front and rear parking sensors and automatic headlights and wipers, plus there is the Active Security Package, which gets you a lane change warning function along with Dynamic Safety and Driving Assistant.

How many Isofix car seats can I fit in a BMW 4 Series Convertible?

Two in the rear (providing you don’t install the wind deflector), but it is worth bearing in mind your children will be sitting up quite high and on chilly days their little faces will be blasted by cold wind.

• Plenty of room for two adults up front
• Compact dimensions make parking easy
• Bootspace is competitive but smaller than coupe

The BMW 4 Series Convertible is billed as a four seater but it’s best to think of it as a full-time two seater, with occasional space in the rear.

Those rear pews are pretty tight for adults, and if you install the pop-up wind deflector to help reduce gusts in the cabin, they’re completely unusable.

The BMW 4 Series Convertible is slightly wider and taller than the coupe but it’s still pretty compact, so you shouldn’t have any trouble parking it in normal sized gaps.

There are plenty of assistance systems on offer – front and rear parking sensors plus a rear camera to give you an extra view when reversing.

Bootspace is a mixed bag depending on whether you’ve got that bulky roof up or down. The maximum volume is 370 litres (compared to the coupe’s 445) but if you go topless the loadspace is taken up by panels, reducing it to 220 litres.

To access all of that space, the whole folded roof lot can be lifted up electronically to help pack items up to the seat backs and maximise the room on offer.

The best thing to do is abandon any plans to put passengers in the rear seats, and simply use them as a boot extension instead.