BMW 1 Series

6 weeks and 3000 miles into ownership, thought it time to do a quick review in case it's of any use to people considering the particular model.

The following is purely personal opinion and probably boring as hell to anyone who already has one - you have been warned! Although please chip in if you feel I'm misleading potential buyers

The Good
- The engine is the best thing about the car. Flexible, powerful, very little turbo lag. It is possible to match the 'official' numbers for both performance and fuel economy (although not obviously at the same time). The engine is superbly smooth for a diesel, and the Start-Stop works perfectly. All the Efficient Dynamics hype seems justified. Performance is relaxed rather than exciting so for those who like to relax the 118d might be a valid choice, and for those who crave excitement maybe the 123d is better. I'm happy with the compromise myself though.
- All the controls are nicely weighted relative to each other in a way that few manufacturers manage. It has the best electric steering system I've used - good weight, direct and enough feel. Gearshift is great once broken in (rubbish for first 500 miles though!). Brakes are powerful with plenty of feel.
- The coupe bodystyle is practical for the class of car. It is a viable family car if the front seat passengers are not too tall. Access to the rear is good. The boot is bigger than rivals (and bigger than in the hatch) and practical with a low loading lip. The rear seats fold as standard (which is not the case in the saloon/coupe 3 series)
- Driving position is excellent. You can sit low 'in' the car not 'on' it like in many hatchbacks. Yet visibility remains good thanks to relatively upright screens. Very easy to park as a result. The sports seats you get in 'Sport' or 'M Sport' models are excellent. I think the tilt function you get only on these seats is essential to comfort as the I find the best driving position is quite reclined (as others have commented)
- As a whole the car feels of excellent quality. There is more hard plastic inside than you might get on an A3, but I've never understood the obsession with squishy materials. It's good quality hard plastic! The doors thunk nicely. Everything feels well engineered. The interior isn't flashy, just logically laid out and nicely executed. I love it. It feels like it cost more money than whatever else you were going to buy. Which is just as well...

The Bad
- Ride/Handling isn't as good as it could be. It's entertaining, but on less than perfect roads it's bumpy and unsettled in corners. I don't have the M-Sport suspension - it's probably worth considering as it's a cheap option even on non M-Sport models. That said, the handling remains fun, characterful, and doesn't spoil the car - you get used to the unsettled feeling. But it's not the 'Ultimate Driving Machine' as standard. The 3 series is better.
- Styling. If only because it nearly looks really good. But the proportions are slightly too stumpy, the headlights a bit too gormless. It has character though - but should a BMW coupe look cute? Big wheels and dark paint help.
- Value. It's ever been thus with BMW, but the standard equipment is stingy and poor value compared even with premium rivals. The standard radio is appalling, the 'business hi-fi' speaker/amp combo sorts the problem, but should be standard. The 'Sport' trim level is relatively good value though - getting many essentials. When working out the cost of buying a BMW factor privately, factor in the hefty cost of essential options and then be sure to use this figure when working out the true depreciation not quite as good as the published figures then...

The Slightly Irritating
- The headlight switch is angled to point at your feet. Why?
- Wipers are confusing. Why is intermittent on a push button, but other speeds are accessed with the stalk in the normal manner? This makes no sense.
- Why is it necessary for the driver to be able to levitate in order to adjust seat height? VAG does this much better with ratchet adjusters.
- You have to unlock the car before you can open the boot with the remote. Two button presses rather than one. Silly.

Conclusion
I can't imagine anyone who enjoyed a test drive being disappointed by ownership. It's a grower. In some ways not in the way I expected - I expected to appreciate it most as a driver's car but actually I'm more impressed by its versatility, and in-depth quality. It does fast AND frugal, motorways AND B-roads, solo blasts AND family outings.

I'm a legendary tightwad and this car is on lease. As a company car - yes absolutely - on my scheme you can have one of these for the cost of a Golf GT. As a private buy, it's not exactly a bargain, but I'd grudgingly concede it's probably worth the premium over lesser marques if you have the cash. You're buying substance for the extra cash, not just a badge.

There's room for improvement. If the next model tweaks the styling just a little, and delivers a suspension set-up on a par with the 3 series I'll be getting another one.

Great write-up. Have to say I totally agree with your 'Slightly Irritating' points, although with Comfort Access I'm spared the unlock-the-door-before-the-boot problem, but get the washing-the-car-lock-unlock problem instead.

I actually like the shape of the coupe in this class of car although if I get another 1er (and based on my 9 months of ownership, that's quite likely unless the new 2011 model is a dog), I'll probably still go for the 3-door hatch. I'm paranoid that I might need to carry something bigger than the coupe boot can cope with, although this rarely seems to be the case.

You'll be adding the electric seats next time!!!!

A few comments on your post:

Ride / Handling - will probably be harder still on M Sport suspension, RFT's cause the main issues

Value - not sure I agree... spec similar cars Audi TT TDI and a Scirocco TDI 170 and I bet they come out very similar and the TT is probably more expensive. You will get fairly good residuals in the BMW 120d, so that will offset the higher price over some non-German rivals

Wipers - make perferct sense to me in my car, press once for Auto / Intermittent and then select speed... simples - I think the button is their for the auto wiper option

Height adjustment - much faster to adjust in a BMW with non-elec seats than in a VW - my missus gets in, lifts her arse up and pulls the lever - no messing and straight to max height, i get in, press the lever and just sit... simples

Boot opening - never really thought about this, I actually hated the fact that my boot on my Audi S3 unlocked but the rest of the doors didn't... I locked my keys in the boot once, so happy not to have that feature!!

Finally, RWD cars will always be more expensive than FWD due to the layout and is the primary reason that so few manufacturer's offer FWD - you will pay for this premium.

VW Golf GT... is this really a competitor to a Coupe?? Maybe the hatch 1er, but not the coupe. Plus they look bland and totally uninspiring, wouldn't touch the current Golf it's so dull.

The Scirocco is quite well specced as standard - the stereo is decent for one thing... Nice 18' alloys. The Audi is overpriced though.




No. That was kind of my point. On my lease scheme I could have a more powerful RWD BMW Coupe for the price of the Golf - so on a lease basis I got more for my money with BMW. A Scirocco TDI 170 would have cost me extra on the lease. Other schemes may vary of course.

The Scirocco was the only other car in the class I really wanted - summary would be better rear seat space, but worse boot. With small children the BMW is better.

Some interesting observations on the Coupe, certainly the box is heavy from new. Regarding the suspension, I think you sold yourself short not having the M Sport pack, the suspension set up is a good compromise for poor surfaced a & b roads, it's a good motorway cruiser, and comfortable with the wide range of seat adjustments. Still not keen on the keyless remote set up though.

The wiper buttons makes a lot more sense when its the auto wiper button, doesn't your car have that option? If not and its still used to turn on intermittent then I can see what you mean.

Agreed on the seat adjustment, tricky to get a consistent position if its been adjusted, and if you're not that mobile it can be a real pain, when my wife was pregnant she simply couldnt balance and take the weight off the seat enough to allow it to move up, then obviously going back down it was less than controlled.

I do not find the wiper controls very intuitive. It needs too much thought when multi-tasking particularly at night on difficult roads around here.

I believe that it is high time that certain controls such as lights, wipers, front widow demist and so on where standardised throughout the EU on all cars so that jumping from one car to another is smooth familiar and safe. These secondary controls become ever more important on dark wet nights on twisty country roads, where one may need to dip ones lights against sudden unexpected oncoming cars adjusting wipers and also controlling the primary controls as one goes along. Sure after a long familiarization one learns to extract the best from each car but it should be easier than that. Some of my cars have wipers and lights on different sides of the column and may operate in a different fashion.