BMW 1-Series Review

Thanks to its larger size, this is a chapter where the new 1er can laugh in the face of the old one. The sound proofing and the solid feel were already there, but they were waiting for more room, especially in the back, to be able to cater to the human transportation needs with grace.

The suspension offers a good compromise, speaking both ride and handling languages, a pretty surprising fact, considering that our test car came with the optional M suspension -even the ride height was no spoilt princess.

However, this story also has its dragons, with the one breathing the hottest fire being a creature with two front seats instead of a head. The sport seats are way to eager to show you that they're ready to provide lateral support during corners and while they would be great on a track, they tend to suffocate you after a while.

Another problem would be the undecided nature of the car. While there's decent leather on the steering wheel and the textile upholstery looks and feels good in a way that really makes leather optional, there are certain plastic surfaces that seems to have been placed there for nail polishing and this can ruin the tactile comfort.

Our test car was packed with optional extras, some of which bring extra point for this chapter - the cruise control, the parking sensors and rear-view camera, the dual-zone climate control and others.

It all starts in the front, where we get an all-new 1.6-liter engine that, despite its size, is an alpha male, telling you all about its direct injection, twin-scroll turbo, Valvetronic variable valve timing and double Vanos variable Valve lift.

How does all this engineerding language translate into the real world? The engine, wish is also used for the 116i entry-level model, but in a detuned version, seems beefier than its 170 hp and 184 lb-ft (250 Nm) suggest.

The obvious comparison with the 1.6-liter turbo previously developed by BMW in collaboration with PSA Peugeot Citroen reveals that we are dealing with a unit that's a bit more frugal and has a considerably wider power band with.

However, BMW didn't choose an extremely aggressive setup (not even for the 118i), so, even though you can hit 100 km/h almost as fast as in a hot hatch, you don't feel like in one. Thus, compared to the aforementioned engine, this feels softer, even though, from the tech point of view, it has more potential (do you hear that tuners?).

All in all, this car is more about power reserve than brutality, a proper setup for the mainstream part of the market it is destined for.

The optional Servotronic steering is brilliant, being able to be submissive during parking maneuvers and dominant through the bends, while also being communicative.

If you also choose the adaptive suspension (you don't actually to need to), you can use the controls next to the gear shifter, which allow you to choose between comfortable and sport modes, to alter the characteristics of the throttle response, steering and suspension.

As for the iPhone integration, this is also useful, better than in other cases but still limited.

A hefty part of the price of our test car came from the long list of optional extras (as in many cases when we are talking about premium vehicles) so let's see if these we any good.

We'll start with the ones we enjoyed the most, such as the HiFi Harmann/Kardon sound system ,which is one of the best we've seen for the sub-EUR50k area, the BMW Professional Navigation System, which now benefits from a more intuitive iDrive, the BMW Individual Shadow Line ornaments, which really gave you a special feeling, the memory and heating for the otherwise horrible electric front seats, the rear view camera and the excellent variable sport steering.

We also enjoyed the bi-xenon headlights, which reminded us of the time when God said "Let there be light!", as well as the BMW Internet and BWM Apps which allowed us to perfectly integrate the iPhone and even use post pre-determined info on Facebook and Twitter while on the move.

The rain sensor, dual-zone climate control, high beam assistant and interior lights package also did their job well.

So, you've just entered the BMW family through its smallest member (for now). This is not the best time to think about having an accident, but you can't swap this possibility under the rug either - let's see what happens in case you brand new 1-Series does get in undesired contact with certain parts of the surrounding world.

The F20 1-Series was tested by the Euro NCAP, receiving a five-star rating, with an overall protection score of 91 percent for adult occupant, 83 percent for child occupant and 63 percent for pedestrian, as well as 86 percent for safety assist.

Everything was just fine during the frontal and side impact tests, but in the more severe side impact pole test, the dummy reading of rib area compression showed weak protection for the chest. In addition to that, the front seats and head restraints offered marginal protection against whiplash injuries during the rear-end collision test. These issues really bring the car down, despite the fact that it's got a good overall rating (91 percent).

As for the child occupant protection, this sits at a top level, but the information offered to the driver related to the use of airbags in conjunction with child restraint systems. In terms of pedestrian protection, the areas where a child's head could hit the bonnet offered good protection, but this offered poor protection for an adult's head.

We have to tell you that, if other drivers don't make this happen, it is pretty difficult to crash the 1-Series, as the vehicle's setup and DSC do a very good job at keeping the car on track. You really don't have to worry about the rear-wheel-drive, as the 1er offers a lot of grip.

Since BMW will introduce a new front-wheel-drive,entry-level vehicle, it allowed the 1er to become more mature, starting with size and ending with the feeling you get when sharing life with the car.

This is a man car that knows what it wants and comes with enough self-confidence. The new 1.6-liter turbocharged engine is a declaration of downsizing independece, proving to be good soldier, and the suspension has passed the stage where it behave like a teenager that's always ready to start a riot.

Now there's even decent space in the back, allowing for two adults to travel on long distances, something known as "torture" in the first 1-Series.

But wait, wait, the immaturity is still here, it's just hidden deeper. Leaving the front seats aside (these sport ones hug you all the time and become annoying after 30 minutes of driving), this still hasn't grown into a proper BMW in terms of handling.

Yes, it is civilized enough in order to be used on all occasions. but BMW seems to have forgotten about this issue when engineers and designers slept together in order to make this baby Bimmer.

Long story short (the aforementioned matter is an intimate one and we shall keep it this way), when you push the 118i hard into a corner, it will understeer.

This is just fine, as most people react better to such a setup, but the problem is that the car doesn't seem to know how to handle drivers that prefer a more effervescent reaction and try to make it use its back end more. The car does feel more dynamic than its front-wheel-drive rivals and it's also more efficient than many of them, but when you pay EUR45,000 (USD60,80 at the current exchange rates) for it, you want the real deal, not just a package that's better that others.

So, the Germans have taught the 1-Series how to behave and accept that it has to carry human beings around, as well as protect heir wallets from gas stations and keep them happy, but this car still isn't the perfect life partner for a driver. Isn't this last asset one of the main reasons you buy a BMW in the first place?