RE: PH Blog: heart versus head

[BBS-LM]

I have had a VW Golf, never again, biggest Lemon of the car I have ever had to own, overrated and expensive compared to Ford and Honda. If I had the money again I would go the extra mile and get an Audi or BMW, at least the BMW is RWD, which is always a good thing.

[Garlick]

I'm genuinely not offended by the looks of the new 1-Series. Colour and spec sensitive for sure, but when done right it can (IMO) look good.

That said, I was a supporter of the previous model too.

[Antj]

The new 135i M sport works out the cheaper car if you spec the 125i with same options as most things are standard on the 135i such as xenons etc. And its got a proper 6 cylinder engine, At £29,995 it is going to be the best selling sports model and a real bargain for a BMW!!!

[WojaWabbit]

I looked forward to seeing the new 1-er before the pics were leaked. "It must be better looking than the outgoing model. Has to be. It couldn't get much worse than that horror movie".

Turned out I was wrong.


I imagine its a good pedal though.

[toppstuff]

Riggers said:

Sadly I won't have the chance, as it isn't on long-term test. But I can write thousands of words on it and PM them to you if you wish?

Actually, joking aside we will be doing a 'proper' first drive on it rather than just my fairly random thoughts...

And don't try pretending that less than 30mpg is acceptable either.

It just is'nt acceptable. No justification is sufficient.

There is something seriously wrong when Harris's E63 was returning mid 20's while the Golf was barely doing 30mpg.

Hopefully the BMW will do a better job of being a quality sports hatchback that is good on fuel and fun to drive. The Golf only got 50% of that task right, it seems to me.

[jason61c]

Riggers, I like these 'musing' stories, its what PH was built on as they feel like a conversation not the overly polished editorials that we seem to be getting at the minute.

Time for BMW to start making a 6 pot line up again

[thewheelman]

kambites said:

Not driven the new one series and I suspect I'd prefer the way it drives, but it's just soooo ugly.

Somehow the fact that the BMW is a turbocharged four is more annoying than with the Golf too, because BMW used to be one of the last bastions of larger capacity N/A engines.

I think you just hit the nail on the head.

[rtz62]

Grey porridge.
Neither make my yeast rise.
I would rather have a used Porsche 911 for the same budget....

[pistolp]

Auto or manual for the BMW? Think I'd have Auto now. Such a shame DCT isn't a option

[fozzymandeus]

I hate the puckered look the front end of the new 1 series has.

To hear that the 125i is a 4 pot is another black mark against it.

So it's down to RWD. Hmm.... maybe...

But then to hear that the Golf costs as much as the 125i... that's just stupid. VW have struck out into upmarket territory they haven't any business being in.

They'll be making Audis that cost nearly as much as Lamborghinis next.

Oh...

[arun1uk]

This is a really tough one actually...BMW have introduced a real fight between their models.

125i:
Cost - £25,540
Power - 218bhp
0-62 - 6.5
MPG - 42.8
Co2 - 154 g/km

125d:
Cost - £27,290
Power - 218hp
0-62 - 6.5
MPG - 57.6
Co2 - 129 g/km

I'd go for the 125d...same power and speed as the petrol, but better MPG, lower emissions, and inevitably better residuals. I think I can sacrifice the noise and linear power delivery for the extra benefits the Diesel brings.

But, is it worth the extra £2k? It's a tough call...

[tommy vercetti]

I like it, weren't sure of the looks when I first saw it, now grown on me, colour is great too.

[Antj]

arun1uk said:

This is a really tough one actually...BMW have introduced a real fight between their models.

125i:
Cost - £25,540
Power - 218bhp
0-62 - 6.5
MPG - 42.8
Co2 - 154 g/km

125d:
Cost - £27,290
Power - 218hp
0-62 - 6.5
MPG - 57.6
Co2 - 129 g/km

I'd go for the 125d...same power and speed as the petrol, but better MPG, lower emissions, and inevitably better residuals. I think I can sacrifice the noise and linear power delivery for the extra benefits the Diesel brings.

But, is it worth the extra £2k? It's a tough call...

Sorry but i think this is the question that Pistonheads will need to address in their review, as i personally do not see where the 125i fits in when you compare it with the 135i.

so if youw ant MPG and performwence you buy the 125d, we know that.

but if you want performance and a petrol engine you buy the 135i, esepcially as the same specced 125i is the same bleeding price as a 135i

So

125i:
Cost - £25,540 basic but with 135i items not including the 135i wheels = £29500
Power - 218bhp
0-62 - 6.5
MPG - 42.8
Co2 - 154 g/km

compared to-

135i:
Cost - £29,995
Power - 320bhp
0-62 - 5.1
MPG - 35.3
Co2 - 188 g/km



Just so the naysayers know the spec difference, styling aside on the 135 is m sport 6 pot brakes, variable steering, m sport adjustable suspension, Full nevada leather, full xenons with coronna rings.

Why anyone would buy a 125i is beyond me and this 135i seems to be a real the bargain of the range for a hatch with real M performance.

Can PH explain this to me

[Krikkit]

I can see the attraction of the BMW, but that face is just horrendous. In these pictures it doesn't look too bad, but IRL it's really awful. The old 1 has a much more resolved look.

[anonymous-user]

Maybe these 2012 90 days in service reliability scores can tip the scales. Enlightening stuff for some here I think.

[Fetchez la vache]

Errr... i thought these new 1's were front wheel drive though...

[Luca Brasi]

M Sport looks sort of ok but the standard company car spec looks unbelievably awful.

[junglie]

Just to say that I am very glad that there are other people who share my 'BMW should be 6 pots not the dreaded 4'. My fear is that when it comes to buy cars in the future (always used for me and not new) that the choice of proper engines from any manufacturer will be sorely limited.

I will continue to enjoy my wife's ST220 and, hopefully, a V8 BMW for me shortly in 5 or 6 series guise. Fuel economy is the be all and end all in the world at present but is really only a small fraction of what one spends on a car through its life.

Long live big swept volumes!

[Wolands Advocate]

I had a new shape 116d as a rental car in northern Italy the other day. Much against my better judgement (4 pot diesel - yuck, looks - yuck, especially in Urban spec painted white), I ended up really enjoying it and the looks did start (slowly) to grow on me. It was just remarkably good fun to drive on the twisty roads around Lake Como, to the point where I could see that the 125i/5 and M135i might really be rather nice. And after all, one sits inside it most of the time, not outside staring at it...

[Richard330s]

Absolutely hounding face. Not sure it was possible to make the bread van less attractive, in new guise but they have managed it!

Also compared to a golf bit cramped...

Stark contrast to rest of new BMW range, which I agree is much improved.

Not for me.