We had the opportunity to test and review the new BMW 1 Series 2012 (F20) at the Berlin official launch, and we’re able to bring you the main good and bad points of this car, as well as a comprehensive photo gallery from the test drives.
First of all – BMW 1 Series 2012 at a glance:
1. The car is bigger, wider and the interior space is taller. You have more space for the ankles and feet in the back due to the wider wheelbase, as well as more space for the head and shoulders. This means that now you can have 1.80m (6 ft tall) and sit relaxed in the back. The third person on the back seats will not sit as comfortably, though, so this car is for 4 adults only.
2. The back seats can fold individually, as well as the headrests. This is nice if you want to travel with lot of luggage, the 360 liters offered being above the standard offer in the C segment. Also, you have plenty of storage space in the front, and the door panels are designed intelligently to fit all kind of bottle sizes.
3. Trim quality is up a little, you get better plastics than in the former generation, but the textiles, Sensatec and real leather remain of the same quality (that is, abysmal for the textiles, good for the Sensatec and very good for the real leather).
4. You get the latest installment of the iDrive interface, which at first is extremely confusing and complex, but with time you will grow to like it because of the vast array of options that it offers: from synching with an iPhone to BMW’s Assistance program that can help you (in Europe) find practically anything you want, downloading the data on your navigation system.
5. The 118i 170 PS and 120d 184 PS engines we’ve tested are turbocharged and extremely fast, while being soft on fuel consumption. The gasoline one, coupled with a manual box, is very responsive and – in Sport or Sport + mode – even sporty, while the turbodiesel one offers lots of torque from the very beginning and practically no lag at all, even when coupled with the automatic gearbox. Of course, the gasoline variant is nimbler and more agile, while the diesel is still very adept in the corners, but prefers to be on the highway, were it simply delivers a lot, at any speed.
6. In standard you get a selector that sets the car’s response from Comfort to Sport and Sport+, adjusting the engine reaction, steering and dampers to the needs of the driver. On bumpy roads you will still prefer the Sport mode, as the Comfort suspension is rather lax, but in the city you can also chose an Eco Pro mode that indicates when you are in the green zone – to make you feel eco and save some gas. This means that you can drive this 170/184PS car as a 110PS car if you want, or to fully use its power if the need arises.
The car is very grippy around corners, with the 50:50 mass split ensuring you get the best out of the driving train – it’s agile, fast and fun to drive, even in the wet. Here’s a short video of our test on the ADAC track and around it.
7. There are two trims available: Sport and Urban, each with specific design elements. We’d rather prefer the Sport one, which has a black grille, the chromed one from the Urban being a little too bling for our taste.
Overall, it’s a big leap forward for BMW, with a larger, more comfortable, more fun and more technically advanced car in the compact segment. At around 26.000 Euros in Europe (VAT included) as a starting price, it is above its competitors from Audi and Mercedes – at least for the time being.
