5/28/08

1 Series convertible

1 Series convertible - fabulous but flawed
IT COULD BE ONE OF THE GREAT DRIVERS' CARS

EXTRAORDINARILY ELEGANT: BMW's new 1-Series convertible is one of the prettiest on the road.

May 28, 2008
By Dave Abrahams

BMW's 1 Series convertible, launched in South Africa yesterday, is the fourth derivative of this model to be introduced in 10 months.

It follows the face-lifted five-door, the three-door hatch and the coupé as BMW broadens its entry into what it calls the premium compact segment.

Premium it certainly is – in terms of pricing anyway – but it's also the only rear-wheel drive car in its class and, especially in the case of the convertible, has been engineered for a younger demographic with a USB port wired to the BMW Professional sound system standard and an eye-popping range of extra-cost options
To many eyes it's the best-looking 1 Series so far
.

It's a very pretty car indeed, to many eyes – including mine – the best-looking One so far, with a bluff, purposeful nose, no front overhang to speak of and a straight, gently rising waistline that runs the length of the car.

The neatly sculpted concave/convex side panelling looks even better here than it does on the coupé because there's no domed roof it to spoil its purity of line and the gently rounded, almost sensual, rear treatment rises above Chris Bangle's layer-cake design to become a thing of beauty.

The fabric roof raises or lowers itself in 22 seconds in an astonishingly complex sequence of movements that you really need to see from the outside to appreciate. Get someone else to hold down the button while you watch; it's worth it.

The roofline is similar to that of the coupe but not as rounded; it has completely different texture and colouring to the body, however, and forms a separate design element altogether, detracting nothing from the flat-topped barchetta (little boat) body line, originally penned by a young Pinin Farina for his superb Cisitalia 202 of 1947 and perfected on Enzo Ferrari's first road car, the 1949 166MM
BMW has added a touch of 21st-century glitz to the dolce vita glamour
.

Enough history; BMW has added a touch of 21st-century glitz to the dolce vita glamour with an optional roof fabric that has shiny metallic threads woven into it to give it an eye-catching shimmer in direct sunlight.

With the top down the outside of the car flows seamlessly into the interior via a gently rounded, flush-fitted black plastic capping just made for resting your toned, tanned, Rolexed arm on as you cruise the beach road at Cannes (or Camps Bay).

The cabin is trimmed in BMW's special UV-reflective leather that doesn't get hot in the sun (when are you going to put it on a motorcycle, BMW?) while the rather plasticky fascia is standard 1 Series issue, plain almost to the point of austerity with just a little brushed aluminium for emphasis.

BMW punts the convertible One as a full four-seater but two of them will have to be very petite indeed. This is really a 2+2 and the maker tacitly acknowledges it by offering a custom-fitted travel bag that neatly fills the area behind the front seats, usefully extending the luggage capacity of the glove compartment between the rear wheels.

That cavity holds 260 litres with the top down and 305 with it up; the rear seat backs, however, can be folded flat to extend the cargo area into the cabin, allowing the stowage of two full-sized golf bags.

Three engines, two transmissions

The convertible will be available with a choice of three engines and two transmissions, starting with the two-litre, four-cylinder 120i for which BMW claims 115kW at 6400rpm and 200Nm at 3600, for a 0-100km/h sprint time of 9.2sec and 214km/h top speed.

It's a hard-working, somewhat raucous, engine that needs to be revved hard to give its best. The standard six-speed transmission is slick and crisp, slightly let down, however, by a grabby clutch that takes a bit of learning and often descends into lurch mode under an unsympathetic left foot.

Only the six-speed manual version was available at yesterday's launch in the Western Cape; I suspect the semi-automatic Steptronic model will have an uncomfortable tendency to hunt, judging by that demonstrated by the clutchless 125i I drove.

Said 125i should logically have been designated 130i; it has the 2996cc straight-six engine of the 130i hatch, slightly detuned for more mid-range grunt. BMW quotes an easily believable 160kW at 6100rpm and 270Nm at 2500, promising 0-100km/h in 6.9sec and 237km/h flat out.

BMW howl

This, sports fans, is the real deal; it revs as hard as you want it to with that unmistakeable BMW howl, accelerates ruthlessly from 3000rpm for effortless overtaking and cruises inaudibly at 160km/h with only 3600rpm on the clock.

The standard six-speed manual is as crisp as fresh lettuce, the clutch firm but beautifully progressive, the whole package so sensually satisfying that even Dave Brubeck on the superlative BMW Professional radio/CD/MP3 player is an intrusion.

The auto version has a slight tendency to hunt at highway speeds but the Valvetronic throttle is so accurately modulated that, with a bit a of practice, you can use the accelerator to control the gearbox and have it change gears exactly when you want it to.

This is a very civilised option; its performance is nearly as authoritative as that of the manual but with a relaxed feel that says, "Going fast is fun, dude, don't get so uptight". Very California.

The semi-automatic 125i is available with paddle shift as an extra-cost option but it's standard issue if you're crass enough to order a 135i with a self-shifting transmission.

Electrifying performance

The 135i is, of course, motivated by the 225kW, twin-turbo, three-litre six-pack that has so deservedly won Engine of the Year for two consecutive years.

It will only be released in South Africa in July 2008 and wasn't available for the launch drive but if its performance in the much heavier 3 Series is anything to go by it will be electrifying.

BMW agrees, quoting torque of 400Nm, on tap from 1300rpm all the way to 5000, 0-100km/h in a neck-straining 5.6sec and an electronically limited 250km/h top end. If, as they say, lots is good and more is better then the 135i should be just about right.

Unlike most chopped coupés the suspension on the naturally air-conditioned 1 Series is firm almost, but not quite, to the point of harshness; body roll and shake are negligible.

The more you load the suspension the better it sticks and the car's cornering is phenomenal, helped by an unobtrusive dynamic stability package that gently brakes whichever wheel is trying to get out of line and only resorts to backing off the engine power when you're getting really silly.

Indefinable rightness

The deeply supportive front sports seats hold you gently but firmly in place at ribs and hips, making you part of the car as the sideways g-force builds and giving you that indefinable but unmistakeable feeling of rightness usually reserved for race cars.

What a pity, then, that the chassis package is let down by its stupidly over-engineered, politically correct, electric power steering. This is part of BMW's otherwise laudable EfficientDynamics energy-saving programme and works only "on demand", i.e. when you turn the steering wheel.

The problem is that it switches off in the straight-ahead position, leaving you with vague, imprecise, wooden steering that is too light and so over-sensitive to bump steer that the car dances about on bumpy straights like a 1940's MG and makes anything above 160km/h very scary indeed on all but the smoothest roads.

BMW's publicity material states pointedly that the 135i convertible has conventional power steering. Please, gentlemen, go back to hydraulics across the range.

That would make a stunningly pretty, potentially wonderful but flawed roadster into one of the great drivers' cars. Until then, in the words of my old headmaster, it gets a B+ and the comment: "Tries hard, could do better."

Prices
120i – R308 500
120i a/t - R323 000
125i – R354 500
125i a/t- R371 100
135i – R432 500
135i a/t - R450 200





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Jean-Louis Kayitenkore
Procurement Consultant
Gsm: +250-08470205
Home: +250-55104140
P.O. Box 3867
Kigali-Rwanda
East Africa
Blog: http://www.cepgl.blogspot.com
Skype ID : Kayisa66

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