BMW 1 series coupe interior

[jay44]

Hi,

I'm thinking of upgrading to one of these when my banger dies. I don't think the interior is particularly up to scratch, when compared to competitor vehicles, like the A class hatch (minus that ugly sat nav) and the A3.

Does anyone know of any kits/service to upgrade the dash, say under 200 all in? I'd want a more modern look, not the standard looking plastic dash and orange backlit display for the radio/centre console

Cheers

[ZOLLAR]

jay44 said:

Hi,

I'm thinking of upgrading to one of these when my banger dies. I don't think the interior is particularly up to scratch, when compared to competitor vehicles, like the A class hatch (minus that ugly sat nav) and the A3.

Does anyone know of any kits/service to upgrade the dash, say under 200 all in? I'd want a more modern look, not the standard looking plastic dash and orange backlit display for the radio/centre console

Cheers

Do you want an upgrade for the whole interior under £200 or just the driver dash?

[jay44]

Just the dash and centre console. I'm not bothered about the seats, steering wheel or gauge area with the Speedo and odometer (name?)

[ghost83]

Apart from tacky Halfords stuff I don’t see you been able to do much for £200 if I’m honest

My list for a 1 series would be dash retrim with contrast stitching then I’d go raid the bmw parts catalogue for stuff like bmw performance seats steering wheel gear knob and gaiter carbon etc etc

[ZOLLAR]

No idea on cost but I've heard these guys are great for Steering Wheel retrims.

http://royalsteeringwheels.com/

I quite like the sound of alcantara with contrast stitching!

[ghost83]

Royal steering wheels are good but I can fully recommend the bmw performance version, perfect in every way

[MarJay]

My 130i has one of the classiest dashes around. I don't see what's wrong. It does have plastic 'aluminium' plate, but it looks good and has lasted well.

[bodhi]

I've had a 125i Coupe for 3.5 years now, and whilst the dash isn't as flashy as some of it competitors (not that I'd class the A3 and A Class as competitors, being hatchbacks and all), it is very functional, and after 116k miles mine is mostly rattle free. Only additions I have made are:

Kenu Airframe (other phone holders are available, such as the Brodit range)
Sony Bluetooth Receiver (I tried the cheaper ones and they all either had issues or failed after a few months - this Sony one works really well).

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Smartphone-Controller-BLU...

Other than that, I'd just recommend getting one of the 6 Cylinder models, as then, you won't care too much about the interior the second you fire it up

[roboxm3]

I've had my 1 series for 3yrs and 80odd thousand miles now and before that (while waiting for it to be built / delivered) I used an A3 and S40 for a couple of months each; I wouldn't say there's much between them in terms of "quality" really, aside from the spec details.

I've also been in an A-Class a few times and don't really see that it's too much different either, aside from the pretty naff looking screen.

[aeropilot]

jay44 said:

I'm thinking of upgrading to one of these when my banger dies. I don't think the interior is particularly up to scratch, when compared to competitor vehicles, like the A class hatch (minus that ugly sat nav) and the A3.

I disagree.
I owned a 135i for 6 years from new, and the interior was very nice, and was still much nicer than newer competitor vehicles. The coupe wasn't introduced until 2007 and was an upgrade on the earlier pre-07 hatch 1 Series cars.
Which, brings me to the point that as you specifically mentioned wanting the coupe, there is really no competitor cars, as A-Class and A3 are nasty hatches

jay44 said:

Does anyone know of any kits/service to upgrade the dash, say under 200 all in? I'd want a more modern look, not the standard looking plastic dash and orange backlit display for the radio/centre console

Not sure what you expect for 200 quid, anything in that range will likely be even poorer quality that the OEM bits your replacing
Check out MStyle website, probably find some cheap tat on there but whether its the type of cheap tat you're looking for is another matter

[ghost83]

If anything the A class dashboard is naff from start to finish stty fake carbon and a stupid screen if you get a 2010 onwards 135i coupe I love the dash with the nice sat nav screen much nicer than the prefacelift tbh

[nct001]

aeropilot said:

Not sure what you expect for 200 quid, anything in that range will likely be even poorer quality that the OEM bits your replacing
Check out MStyle website, probably find some cheap tat on there but whether its the type of cheap tat you're looking for is another matter

Bought from German eBay seller - better than oe quality - from memory it was £150 delivered made to order.
Fitted it myself, in 20 mins.

[mp3manager]

You fitted it squint!

[jay44]

Thanks for all the replies. Yeah I get the hatchbacks aren't direct competitors, but they're what I think as cross make equivalents to what I'd get. I've driven the new a class and hated it. Thought the windshield was way too small and wasn't a fan of the gearstick and the ugly sat nav

Going back to the one series coupe, I'm thinking that or a seat Leon fr, the super economical 70mpg 150hp odd new Gen as options.

Any personal information about people's experiences with either car?

[Mr Tidy]

jay44 said:

Thanks for all the replies. Yeah I get the hatchbacks aren't direct competitors, but they're what I think as cross make equivalents to what I'd get. I've driven the new a class and hated it. Thought the windshield was way too small and wasn't a fan of the gearstick and the ugly sat nav

Going back to the one series coupe, I'm thinking that or a seat Leon fr, the super economical 70mpg 150hp odd new Gen as options.

Any personal information about people's experiences with either car?

I bought a pre-reg 123d in 2007 with the Piano Black dash option - loved that!

In the real world over 6 and a half years and 81K miles it averaged 48.7 mpg - I can't see the Seat doing too much better, but my 123d was 201 bhp so plenty of grunt! (when you needed it)!

[jay44]

Thanks for the info, hopefully will be going for the 140odd hp model, perhaps get a slightly better fuel economy with that

Just to clarify (confused myself) I don't mean the dashboard behind the steering wheel with the dials, I mean the plastic panel that stretches across the front seats that houses the radio, goes around the glovebox etc. I'm referring to the almost bubbly plastic seen around the start stop button in the above photo

[Yacht Broker]

Mr Tidy said:

I bought a pre-reg 123d in 2007 with the Piano Black dash option - loved that!

In the real world over 6 and a half years and 81K miles it averaged 48.7 mpg - I can't see the Seat doing too much better, but my 123d was 201 bhp so plenty of grunt! (when you needed it)!

my newly-bought 135i M-Sport can only dream of 48.7mpg... take 20mpg off that and you're probably still a little way off... lol (love it though)

[Mr Tidy]

jay44 said:

Thanks for the info, hopefully will be going for the 140odd hp model, perhaps get a slightly better fuel economy with that

Just to clarify (confused myself) I don't mean the dashboard behind the steering wheel with the dials, I mean the plastic panel that stretches across the front seats that houses the radio, goes around the glovebox etc. I'm referring to the almost bubbly plastic seen around the start stop button in the above photo

Oh right, I think they all come with that "bubbly plastic" around the start/stop button because that's part of the top of the dash!

But I've found a photo of my interior with the piano black trim which I really liked. But it might be expensive - someone is selling a used piano black set for a Z4 on another forum for £400!

The other option would be to take the panels off and wrap them if you are handy with stuff like that.