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BMW 120i Cabriolet Review

OUR TEST CAR: BMW 120i Cabriolet

 
BMW 120i Cabriolet  - Page - 1
As just about everybody knows, the Bavarians are excelling at a minimum of two things, rear wheel drive cars and beer. Having already established itself as premium manufacturer of sporty vehicles in the 1980s, BMW kept upping its ante to the point where it almost became unrecognizable. To be more exact, BMW cars became larger and heavier in the next two decades. Sure, they weren't the only ones whose cars kept gaining inches and pounds over the years, but until about five years ago, the Bavarians were no longer having a compact(ish) model to brag about.

Logically, the BMW E30's modern successor would be the BMW E90 3-Series. Except that it isn't. In the past two decades, the 3-Series became almost as big as a 20-year old something 5-Series, while the gap left under it remained empty. Then, 2004 came. Technically a true spiritual successor to the BMW E30, the 1-Series almost made as much sense in the Bavarian lineup as the Golf did in the Volkswagen one.

Compact in size, rear wheel drive and an almost perfect front/rear axle/weight ratio, what more could you want from an entry-level BMW? Well, some clients wanted more than a hatchback, so the 1-Coupe came three years later. And what would a coupe be without a topless sibling? Enter the 1-Series Cabriolet.

The Cabriolet version of the 1-Series Coupe, which in turn is based on the 1-Series Hatchback, which also shares some of its components with the over-inflated 3-Series... [pause for breathing]... was launched in 2007. It thus filled the 14-year old void left by the interruption of the last truly compact 3-Series E30 Cabriolet in 1993. All the BMW four-seat cabriolets which followed that one were more and more oversized therefore not qualifying as true successors.

We became acquainted with our first Cabriolet from BMW in the form of a petrol-engined 1-Series Convertible, in 120i guise. Equipped with a high-revving two-liter four-banger and a six-speed manual gearbox, we couldn't have asked for more in terms of true BMW sportiness and driving pleasure. Sure, a few more ponies and an extra couple of cylinders under the hood would have been nice, but the rest was pretty much the epitome of everything that meant BMW in the 1980s.

With a front fascia identical to the 1-Series Coupe and quasi-identical (minus the bumper) to the 1-Series hatchback, our 1-Series Cabriolet test car also sports the BMW double-kidney grille trademark and the "eagle-eye" headlights with the "Angel Eye" treatment. Being black, it manages to appear wider than it actually is, while the menacing design of the headlights works quite well in giving the same impression.

The side view presents a very clean design especially with the top down, with absolutely no distracting lines to spoil the front to rear shoulder line, since the roof completely disappears into  a space in the luggage compartment. With the top up on the other hand there's a pretty non-BMW-like discontinuation of the overall proportions, especially since the very BMW-like Hofmeister kink is missing from the C-pillar. Purist BMW fans who can't live without it can still choose either the coupe or the hatchback versions of the 1-Series.

The design of the rear doesn't look like any other model from BMW, except for its coupe-sibling of course. This translates into a "love it or hate it" look for the L-shaped stoplights, which manage to give an impression of understated dynamism but also a bit of quirkiness to the whole otherwise simple package. All in all, the 1-Series Cabriolet appears to be very compact and "battle ready" when it comes to cornering, an impression enforced by dynamic touches on an otherwise classically shaped car.

Just as you would expect, the 1-Series as a whole is not another space-efficient front-wheel drive compact. No, it relies on the classic Bavarian configuration of a front-mid-engine and rear-wheel drive, thus sacrificing any extra passenger room or luggage space for the benefit of spirited driving. And the cabriolet version is even worse from this point of view, since the luggage compartment has to also accompany the roof and most of its complicated mechanism.

Of course, by moving the engine and the transmission closer to the perfect 50:50 ratio, you give up a lot of legroom, especially since the gearbox tunnel goes right between the seats.  The 305 liter (10.8 cubic feet) luggage compartment might appear more than enough for two passengers out for a weekend drive but trust us, it isn't. The main problem with it isn't its size, but its opening and "ease of operation".

Anyway, the 1-Series Cabriolet isn't the best car to go camping in, but if you can halve the manufacturer's claims about passenger and trunk volume you're going to get exactly what you expect. In other words, don't expect a true four-seater cabriolet and don't think that its 305 liters (10.8 cubic feet) are just like the ones in a regular compact hatchback. Obviously, they're not, except the case where your luggage is also trained as a contortionist.

The fit and finish is pretty much what you would expect from a premium automobile, but the quality of the plastics on the dashboard or the leather trim on the seats is a bit below par. Don't get us wrong, it isn't cheap, it just doesn't look to be in BMW's standards from a few years ago. The center console doesn't squeak or anything, but the hard plastic doesn't give an impression of premium, while the leather trimming looks durable mainly thanks to its very rough texture.

The two-liter four-cylinder under the hood is typically BMW. There's no low end grunt whatsoever, so driving it in the city might seem like it's a much less powerful engine. Above 3-4.000 rpm on the other hand, the engine springs to life, it's like 100 more horsepower are added just by going above that rpm threshold. Of course, this is pretty much useless when dealing with busy stop and go traffic, so the occasional "How much horsepower was this Bimmer having again?" question is bound to be asked more than once when driving with the needle in the lower part of the tachometer.

The fuel consumption on the other hand, despite not being exactly a featherweight at over a tonne and a half (3307+ pounds), is pretty good. After a pretty abnormal session of city driving, and by abnormal we mean a lot of acceleration followed by braking in a short time, we managed to achieve around 12.5 liters per 100 kilometers (US 18.8 mpg). The real surprise came when we observed those figures dropping to a relatively low 10.7 liters per 100 kilometers (US 22 mpg), which isn't half bad for a 170 horsepower vehicle that runs on petrol.

The start/stop system, part of the BMW EfficientDynamics program is mush less intrusive that others we've tested and, even though it also has an "off" button, we kept it on almost the whole time. Together with direct injection, electric power steering, brake regeneration and radiator blinds that open for airflow only when required, this means that fuel consumption should be lower than an equivalent car without these technologies. Considering the high number of cars on the road and traffic lights we usually experience in our test drives, that might just well be plausible.

Sure, when compared to the official 8.9 liters per 100 kilometers (US 26.4 mpg), our test car's figures are a bit on the high side. Given the fact we didn't quite test it in the best conditions possible, and petrol-engined cars are usually known to surpass official estimations by a great deal, it's not exactly the end of the world. The overall visibility is obviously close to perfect when the roof is down and not that great when it's up. If you don't feel like taking the roof down everytime you want to parallel-park the front and rear parking sensors do come in handy and can help you keep the other car's bumper paint off of yours.

Other than that, the car's small(ish) size can keep you out of a lot of trouble in heavy traffic, and you can squeeze in and out from a lot of packed intersections without too much trouble. The only minor problem with a 1-Series Cabriolet in the city might be the increased noise pollution you are subjected to in the case you're driving it with the roof down, but that can be a problem for any Convertible out there.

Since the sun was up pretty much up on our entire test drive, we mostly drove the car with the top down, including a few high speed bursts on the highway. The wind blocker makes the already almost useless rear seats totally useless except for carrying a few backpacks, but it does its job perfectly. With all the windows up and the wind blocker in place you can cruise comfortably even at highway speeds, with the only major downside being the increased noise.

The engine's lack of oomph at lower revs becomes irrelevant on the open road, with the precise six-speed manual gearbox using all its available ratios to please your acceleration-dependent senses. The zero to 100 km/h (62 mph) takes a sufficient 8.6 seconds, which is more than OK considering our test car didn't even sport a historical Bavarian inline six under the hood, and had to suffice with a feeble four banger.

The two-liter four-cylinder engine sports direct injection and the torque curve of a Honda, with the maximum torque of 210 Nm (154.9 lb ft) available from a relatively high 4250 rpm, while the 170 horsepower mark is reached at a rather stratospheric 6700 rpm. Its play field is obviously the 5-7000 rpm powerband, providing you're not a diesel fan or anything when you try this, since its sound is nothing like the famous BMW inline sixes. As a matter of fact, especially when open-topped, the engine sometimes sounds like a dying cat instead of making the cheetah noise of its bigger brothers.

The steering, just like on pretty much every other BMW is exemplary and can always keep you connected to the road in a very "man controlling machine" kind of way. The small and thick three-spoke steering wheel gives just the right amount of feel without ever being either tiresome hard or too mellow. The suspension can appear stiff on bad or paved roads but on the highway it provides a nice compromise between comfortable driving and agility during cornering.
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autoevolution Apr 2009
65
History
6
Exterior
7
Interior
6
In the city
8
Open road
7
Comfort
5
Tech facts
6
Gadgets
6
Safety
7
Conclusion
7
65user rating 15 votes
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