BMW’s foray into the hatch market has brought it under the spotlight, and credit must go to not only to the Bavarian auto-maker, but also to its controversial designer, Chris Bangle, who took some heat with the current 5- and 7-Series models.
But the 645i Cabriolet and the new 1 Series have elevated him to the favourites list.
BMW’s decision to enter the five-door hatch market, and specifically the “C” segment, was bold and the company’s decision to retain its favourable rear-wheel drive is paying rich dividends.
The styling on the 1 Series is refreshing while retaining the BMW heritage: it has bold lines and the kidney grill, but it also incorporates a younger, more streamlined look.
The front is a mixture of the X3 and the 3 Series, giving the 1 Series an identity of its own. The rear, too, is individual, although it could be confused with Audi’s A3 or Nissan’s five-door Almera. The appearance, when viewed from the side, is distinct and the neat linen folds, one quite high up on the doors and one much lower down, have been used to give the car almost an arrow-shaped look. Its drag coefficient of 0,29 is low, and the fuel consumption figures prove that.
Keyless entry and one-touch starting immediately give you the feeling that BMW has left no stone unturned to make as much impact on the market as possible and to show that its baby matches its older siblings in class and sophistication. Slide your “key” into the designated slot, and hit the “start/stop” button.
The in-line four-cylinder, 16-valver immediately springs to life and, although not as quiet is its 3 Series counterpart, soon settles into a quiet idle. The engine develops a reasonable 110kW and utilises Valvetronic fully variable valve control and Double Vanos variable camshaft control to provide a very linear form of power delivery.
The driver’s seat can be adjusted for height. The steering wheel, with its neat aluminium centrepiece, is not only attractive but is height and reach adjustable. Leg and head room is good, while the boot, at 330-litres, expands to 1 150-litres once the seats are folded. You won’t find a spare wheel — there is a tyre kit and run flat tyre for you to use should you get a puncture.
Instrumentation is typically BMW — clear, uncluttered and easy to read — but there’s no temperature gauge to warn you of imminent problems; you’ll simply go into limp mode or completly shut down.
Sink into the optional leather seats, and prepare yourself for a super driving experience. The 1 Series gets going quite quickly, with very smooth changes effected by the steptronic box. What does impress is the speed-sensitive steering — the steeringwheel tightens up well and loses that very light, almost feathery feel to it to become almost spongy, but without losing sensitivity.
Our longish trip to Tzaneen was accomplished with little more than a whisper from the air-conditioning, and even in the hilly bits the gearbox did very little hunting.
What amazed was the fuel consumption. The onboard computer showed a high 12,5-litres per 100km from the previous user, which we did not reset. We were pleasantly surprised to see it drop to the 9,8-litre mark on our return, while cruising showed a mere 7,8-litres at a steady 120kph. Top speed is a claimed 217kph while the 100kph dash is dispatched in 9,2 seconds.
The BMW comes into its own on the tight fast corners, thanks to a 50/50 weight distribution between the two axles. Rarely did we under- or oversteer, the aluminium double-joint tension-rod axle set-up at the front and lightweight steel five-link rear suspension at the rear easily living up to the task at hand, with super levels of comfort thrown in for good measure. Handling is very neutral and has a very confident feel to it.
Our safety was provided for by a massive concoction of electronic wizardry with all forms of “controls” doing the work for us, for example traction and stability control, while braking is controlled by anti-lock braking system with electronic brake distribution. Three-pivot automatic seatbelts, headrests on all seats, two-stage activating front airbags, side airbags at the front and curtain head airbags did the rest for confidence boosting.
Clearly, there are things that stand out in a vehicle that make it pleasurable, and small things that irk. The car feels largely underpowered in city driving, but on the open road is superb at constant speeds. We still have to get our head around run flat tyres and puncture kits instead of the genuine article, while the three headrests obliterate all behind you, and it is best to remove them if you don’t have rear passengers. The finish on the Beemer is good though, especially with the careful use of aluminium on door handles, gearlever and dash, while the aircraft cockpit-type interior lights consisting of two high intensity LEDs, which stay on at night, are a nice touch.
Probably the only other area that needs a little attention is that of the wind deflector on the optional sunroof. It’s noisy, and holding it down during highway travel yields less noise and less wind too.
The handling will match that of more expensive models on the market, and the arrival of the two-litre turbo-diesel motor early next year will definitely see order books bulging.
At R215 000 you’re paying a chunky premium, but with a generous motorplan of five years/100 000km thrown in, we’d give the 1 Series a healthy 85/100 rating.