When it comes to designing convertible roofs, BMW has adopted a kind of Robin Hood approach: It takes from the über-rich and gives to the merely affluent.

How else to explain the ragtop on its newly minted $443,000 Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe, and the nifty new retractable hardtop on its fourth-generation BMW 335i Convertible? I mean, relatively speaking, the Bimmer, at $51,200, is eligible for food stamps.

Actually, the 3-Series convertible I tested was a rather elegant food-stamp recipient. Indeed, everything about this high-performance luxury car, from its leather and burl walnut interior trim to its snick-snack, six-speed manual transmission, smacked of precision and design cleanliness. Operating this automobile made me feel as if I were driving around in a Rolex.

There are lots of things about this new convertible model to remind us why BMW is still the benchmark for performance/luxury. For openers, there's the gracefully styled, perfectly fitted body, and the flawless paint work.

Then there's the gorgeous interior I found in the tester. The seats were red leather, and the door panels were upholstered with matching red and black fabrics. Generous, curving bands of burl walnut ran across the door panels and rear seat compartment sides, segregating the red and black, and across the dashboard as well.

But it is driving dynamics that separate BMWs from most of their competitors, and the new 335i retractable doesn't disappoint in that realm. The handling is superb, thanks to a mixture of nice suspension engineering and some very serious rubber. The tester was fitted with 19-inch alloy wheels shod with 255/30R19 high-performance tires. The "30" in that designation means the tire's sidewall is only three-tenths as high as the tire tread is wide. A sidewall of such extremely low aspect means the virtual elimination of sidewall distortion in a fast turn, and that increases stability.

Narrow-sidewall tires like this can translate into a hard ride, but that's not the case in the 335i. The suspension engineers compensated for that inherent stiffness enough to provide a civil ride.

The engine in the 335i Convertible is also a source of techno-intrigue. Unlike just about every other six-cylinder engine in the business, the three-liter power plant in the 335i is an inline engine, not a V-type. Since inline sixes are innately smoother than V-6s, the 335i becomes a very civil fellow traveler, both at stoplights and on the highway.

But don't be fooled by the drawing-room calm. This turbocharged, 300-horsepower straight six can get things done. Redlined at an exceptionally high 7,000 RPMs, this guy has serious gumption. Sixty miles an hour arrives in second gear - with 3,000 RPMs left. (Actually, I loved playing with this car in third gear. It was fun to blow past cars on I-95 in third and still have plenty of revs on tap.)

Playing with this engine, of course, also meant toying with the delightful six-speed manual it's buttoned to. I'm told the new, improved automatic in the 2010 model (which I haven't tried yet) is also a lot of fun, but I can't believe it dispenses this much joy.

Speaking of neat machinery, this car's retractable roof certainly qualifies. The roof's design was complicated by the fact the 3-Series' horizontal lines don't provide the same amount of roof storage space as the usual, wedgy silhouette. Despite that, BMW was able to come up with a trunk that retains well over half of its 12.3 cubic feet of cargo even with the top down.

A cool-weather note: By employing a wind-blocking screen, heated seats, and the climate control's "top-down" setting, BMW says the 335i can offer comfortable topless tooling in 40-degree weather.

Like most convertibles, the 335i retractable is not without its warts. Rear-seat legroom is in short supply, and the trunk lid's design means the trunk has to be loaded from the side when the lowered top is in residence.

But it does not suffer from the structural weakness that afflicts so many convertibles. No squeak, creak, and cowl shake with this boy.

This new convertible model, equipped with rollover protection, has not yet been given federal crash ratings.

Excellent

BMW 335i Convertible

Base price: $51,200.

As tested: $54,025 (including shipping).

Standard equipment: 3-liter engine, 6-speed manual gearbox, and all the usual luxury cast members, plus touches like dynamic cruise control.

Options: Metallic paint, Comfort Access feature, heated front seats, iPod and USB adapter.

Fuel economy: 17 m.p.g. city and 26 highway.

Handling: Cat-like.

Styling: Distinctive, civil.

Warranty: Four years/50,000 miles bumper to bumper; full maintenance for that period.

The Ben Key: Four Bens, excellent; three Bens, good; two Bens, fair; one Ben, poor.

Contact Al Haas at [email protected].