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on 2
Nov 2011 |
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7 years on, BMW 1-Series
has yet to establish a reputation that its badge deserved. The baby
Bimmer had whatever it needed to succeed, such as the only rear-drive
chassis in family hatch segment, a 50/50 weight distribution,
sophisticated suspensions and some excellent straight-six engines. It
also got adequate investment, as shown by its availability in four body
styles (3-door, 5-door, coupe and cabriolet) and a number of facelifts
and engine upgrades during its lifespan. Somehow, its market success
was modest. Last year, just under 200,000 units were sold, no better
than Audi A3. Most telling, few people really saw it as a classier
opponent to the mainstream Volkswagen Golf.
The original 1-Series had a number of problems. The biggest was the
lack of interior space, something due to its unique FR layout. The
second was its ugly design, the first example of Chris Bangle's flame
surface nightmare. Its interior quality, boot space, ride comfort and
the ability of throttle steer also fell short of expectation. This
mean, while it had the best handling in family hatch segment, it was
neither practical, desirable nor entertaining enough to win the hearts
of motorists, sadly.
So, the engineers responsible for the second generation 1-Series,
codenamed F20, had a long to-do list. Not only to correct the faults of
the original car, they had to push the envelope of "EfficientDynamics"
further, turning it into the green leader of the class.
Yes, the F20 is remarkably green. Headline model 116d EfficientDynamics
emits only 99 grams of carbon-dioxide per kilometer and delivers a
whopping 74
mpg fuel economy. Regular diesel models (116d, 118d and 120d) are also
good for 63 mpg and under 120 g/km. Even a 118i petrol, which tops 140
mph and accelerates from rest to 60 mph in 7.0 seconds, can achieve 49
mpg and 134 g/km. Such a bland of solid performance and environmental
friendliness is impressive.
How to do that? As before, the car has automatic engine stop-start,
on-demand oil/water pump and regenerative braking
alternator equipped as standard. New improvements include a smaller
petrol motor (1.6-liter turbo instead of 2-liter NA),
electromechanical power steering, a slightly sleeker body, an 8-speed
automatic transmission by ZF and a 4-mode control system defaulted to
softer throttle response and, in case of automatic gearbox, lazier
gearshift patterns. Moreover, an Eco mode tunes down air-con and
heaters while displaying real-time fuel economy on the instrument panel
to encourage you to drive greener, very much like many hybrid cars.
Unfortunately, the rest of the car is not so remarkable. In fact,
compare with the brilliant VW Golf and Alfa Romeo Giulietta, the new
1-Series is still underwhelming in most aspects. Take the styling for
example, Adrian van Hooydonk’s softer, rounder approach might be less
controversial than Chris Bangle's, but it is still far from beautiful.
While it retains the old car's flawed profile – with a too-long bonnet,
rearward cabin and near-vertical tailgate, its surface twist has been
tuned down to the extent of boring. The fuzzy shapes of its headlights,
taillights, double-kidney grille and air intakes also fail to speak of
style. The result is a design showing neither charms nor character of
its own. Frankly, I would rather have the old design back.
A similar story can be told about the interior styling. Here, it
follows the recent 6-Series to take back a driver-oriented center
console, but the overall design is old-fashioned, looks like coming
from yesteryears. I think it will get outdated in short term when new
generation rivals emerge. Fortunately, the lack of style is compensated
with higher quality plastics. They look and feel generally expensive.
Not quite Audi-matching, but close. As you would expect for a BMW,
driving position is faultless and the front seats are supportive.
To improve interior space, BMW enlarges the car, but we found its 85 mm
more length, 17 mm more width and 30 mm more wheelbase translate to
only 21 mm more legroom to the rear passengers, which means it is still
the least accommodative in its class. 6 footers will find the rear seat
cramped and hopeless to take on long journeys. To back the viewpoint,
Autocar magazine took a measurement and found its rear legroom trails
Alfa Giulietta by 40 mm – and mind you, no one has called the Alfa
Romeo a space king.
Luggage space is much better. A longer overhang enables 30 liters of
extra space, taking the boot to 360 liters. That matches Ford Focus and
actually betters slightly VW and Alfa. Moreover, the rear seat is now
40/20/40-split, making loading large or long items more convenient.
The new 1-Series continues to share platform with 3-Series. Up front,
it keeps the aluminum-intensive MacPherson struts of the old car. Each
of
the rear suspensions remains a five-link setup, with less costly steel
components instead of the bigger car's aluminum ones. Admittedly, this
enables the 1-Series to claim a 50:50 weight distribution despite of
its lack of tail. To improve handling, front and rear tracks have been
increased by 51 mm and 72 mm respectively. On the other hand, adaptive
dampers have been added as cost option for those seeking better ride
comfort, even though I think most cars won't be sold with it.
BMW claims a reduction of 30 kg across the range and a boost of 30
percet in the front structure's torsional rigidity through the use of
high-strength, hot-stamped steel in the monocoque chassis. Despite
that, we found the car is actually a few dozens kilograms heavier than
the equivalent models of the old car. Anyway, considering the upgraded
quality, equipment, green features and added size, the new car is not
overweight.
On the road, the first you notice about the new chassis is improved
ride comfort, thanks to softer springs and better damping. It now copes
pretty well with B-roads, something its predecessor struggled. The
electromechanical power steering is one of the best on the market,
offering good weighting, progression and precision, if not the ultimate
feel of the outgoing hydraulic rack. Most motoring journalists found it
more satisfying to use on day-to-day basis because of its lighter helm
and free of kickbacks. Body control sees a slight improvement, too, as
are braking and high-speed stability. Nevertheless, the new 1-Series is
no more fun to drive than the old car. Its chassis tuning biases
towards the safe side. If you push it too hard, it will run into mild
understeer. No matter lift off or apply more throttle, you cannot
induce oversteer to the car. This chassis is inert to your commands. It
does not inspire its driver like Focus, Giulietta or even Golf.
Undoubtedly, it is a huge disappointment to the fans of BMW. It is a
waste of the rear-drive chassis.
Compare with the chassis, the powertrain is more satisfying. Basically,
BMW offers it only one petrol and one diesel engine, but they are given
different states of tune to take the roles of 116i, 118i, 116d, 118d
and 120d. The 1.6-liter direct-injected turbo petrol is a development
from the one used on Mini, but is converted to longitudinal
installation, added with Double Vanos (instead of the intake-only
Vanos), Valvetronic and a twin-scroll turbocharger. It produces 136hp
on 116i or 170hp on 118i. Both engines delight with lag-free power
delivery, strong bottom-end torque, good refinement and a surprisingly
delicious exhaust note. Only some harshness at high rev reminds you it
is not a six-cylinder engine. BMW is not going to include its classic
straight-six on the car on the grounds of cutting emission. The
range-topper, a spiritual successor to 130i, will be powered by the
245hp 2.0-liter DI turbocharged four pot engine recently introduced to
Z4 sDrive28i. Probably only the 1-Series M would get the six-cylinder
treatment. That is not a good reason to keep that long long engine
compartment.
On the diesel side, the 2.0-liter turbo diesel produces either 116hp on
116d, 143hp on 118d or 184hp on 120d. The last one is particularly
strong, offering a muscular torque of 280 lbft to achieve 0-60 mph in
6.8 seconds. Needless to say, such a strong torque curve means its best
companion should be the ZF 8-speed automatic. Its seamless gearchange
suits the refined character of the car. The 6-speed manual is not bad
either, with short-throw and crisped gearchange in typical BMW fashion.
It is just not as slick as some Japanese gearboxes.
In the end, however, I'm afraid we cannot award the car more than
average rating. Its lack of rear seat space is a big minus to many
family car buyers. Its ugly appearance is still an eye sore to us. Its
lack of driver engagement is especially disappointing for a BMW. You
can be better served by a Golf or Giulietta at lower cost. Wake up,
Munich, EfficientDynamics is not everything !
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Verdict:  |
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