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Dean Slavnich test drives the all-new BMW 1-Series
Is the new BMW the one car to rule them all in the all-important C-segment arena? Dean Slavnich found out when he put the 1 Series to the test.

The BMW 1 Series, a car that will eat into Audi A3 and VW Golf sales

So, here it is; the single most talked about car has finally arrived. Introducing the BMW 1 Series: the car that is probably the most significant launch of the year and the car that is, without doubt, the most important model BMW has rolled out so far this millennium. For the engineers, execs and all people BMW, this really is the ‘one’.

The tale of the ‘one’ stems back a few years when BMW chiefs dumped Rover, the British brand the German carmaker initially bought to be the source of its smaller vehicles.

After deciding it did not have the quality to deliver the goods, BMW sold Rover for a nominal €15 ($18). BMW chiefs now admit that Rover was not up to BMW standards. Dr Gerd Schuster, 1 Series project director, told AE a few months ago: “We found the components that went into Rover products were not really suitable for BMW. Rover was always more a family car than a premium car.”

So Rover was sold. To rub salt in the wounds, only days after the controversial sale the German carmaker announced it was to embark on its own C-segment, mass seller, project. Rover chiefs were angered while execs in neighbouring Wolfsburg became worried.

Skip to 2004 and after spending two full days behind the wheel of the ready-to-launch 1 Series, one can see why there’s still a bitter taste in the mouth for Rover and why the headache has become a thumping big migraine for VW execs. This car is good, so good in fact, that Rover will rue its missed chance and VW’s Golf and Audi’s A3 have trouble.

The difference

The front-engine rear-wheel layout – unique in this segment – immediately differentiates the 1 Series to its competitors. The car was never supposed to be a Golf, Focus or A3. It’s a BMW.

“Is this car a space miracle? Well, I have to say no, too much driving enjoyment would have been sacrificed,” admitted Schuster. In that quote, the newest edition to the BMW family is perfectly summed up. The car has road handling capabilities that blow apart the competition.

The rear-wheel drive system with the front-mounted engine helps achieve a near perfect weight distribution. The pesky problem of understeering – a hindrance to certain front-wheel drive concepts – does not rear its ugly head in the 1 Series, even when pushing the car to its boundaries on tight corners.

It has to be said that the car sticks to the road. In Germany, where we were testing the car, it was raining heavily throughout the two days. Yet the 1 Series remained stable and well mannered with precise steering. There was no hint of erratic handling and torque steer.

Part of the great agility of the car comes down to a new stiff but lightweight five-link rear suspension system that’s based on a double wishbone rear axle with a rear-sited track rod, the upper and lower A-arms of which have been replaced by two single arms. The end result of such a system is that each wheel is precisely guided for desired road performance while, due to the small lever arms, there is little the road can throw to disturb the car.

A space miracle?

So the 1 Series project director admits BMW’s Golf/A3 beater is not a space miracle. But it manages to seat up to five people with relative ease with good head and legroom. With the rear seats down the BMW, which is actually longer than the Golf, can take up to 1,150 litres of space.

There’s a business like feel to the interior. The dash is kept simple and does not try to over-complicate matters with too many buttons or flashing lights. Everything inside the car, says Schuster, is geared to one thing: driving pleasure. And he’s not wrong. The seats are also very comfortable and there’s a near excellent climate control system as well.

BMW opted for an engine starter button for the 1 Series, which is located on the dashboard. Schuster sites ease of entry as being the main benefit to such a system. The good thing for BMW is that it is relatively easy to use; all the driver has to do is insert the radio key card into the hole on the dash and press the starter button.

The one qualm from within the 1 Series has to be the iDrive system, which accompanies the car when sat-nav is purchased. Unfortunately it’s still very complicated to use, and it took me (and a co-driver) the best part of 10 minutes to figure out how to switch the system off, which incidentally was trying desperately hard to take us back to where we came from.

Diesel power

From launch there will be two petrol and two diesel units to drive the 1 Series: a 120i and 116i and a 118d and 120d. It was the more powerful of each pair that we got a chance to test.

Without doubt, the 2.0 litre diesel drives the new BMW better than its petrol counterpart. As well as the obvious, offering marginally better economy (7.5 litres/100km compared to 7.4 liters/100km), the diesel offers a higher maximum speed and a more refined ride.

The high-end diesel develops 163 ps (120 kW) at 4,000 rpm and has an impressive torque curve that peaks at 340 Nm (251 lb ft) from only 2,000 rpm. That means the 1 Series accelerates from standstill to 100 km/h in just under 8 seconds before achieving a top speed of 220 km/h (137 mph).

The petrol engine, which somehow feels underpowered in the 1 Series, offers less power than its diesel stable mate, producing 150 ps (110 kW) at 6,200 rpm and 200 Nm (148 lb ft) of torque at 3,600 rpm. As a result, the 120i takes half a second more than the diesel to reach 100 km/h from standstill before finally achieving a lesser top speed of 217 km/h (135 mph).

The 1 Series comes as standard with a six-speed manual gearbox, or a five-speed changer for the 116i model. The same six-speed automatic transmission that’s available in the 5 Series will also be made offered in the 1 Series range.

New gizmos

And there’s more. The 1 Series has an abundance of technology that’s amiss in this segment, like the runflat tyres, which are fitted as standard and come with a tyre defect indicator. There’s a monitoring system that indicates when parts should be replaced and a permanent batter sensor that observes the state of the battery.

BMW claims the 1 Series has the best ever braking system, which essentially is a two stage brake light system to warn drivers from behind.

No head turning

However, despite all the wizardry of the 1 Series, this car is no head turner in terms of style. Admittedly it does stand out from the new Golf and A3, but it has none of the attention grabbing style traits that have epitomised Bangle’s career.

When pictures first surfaced of the 1 Series, many poked fun at the odd looking BMW. The shoe’s now firmly on the other foot and BMW (and Bangle) is having the laugh, because the 1 Series looks very much at home on the motorway and in the city.

Despite some very complex shapes – check out the rear lights – the 1 Series impressively blended into German traffic. Driving the car on the Autobahn and drivers of all ilk did not stare at the car. Perhaps that’s a good thing for BMW, in this very conservative segment where much of the rivals look the same: New Astra, new Golf, new A3…

The 1 Series is BMW’s passport into a European market that currently is around 12 million strong. The Bavarian carmaker will sell at least 150,000 1 Series units in its first year. This is the ‘one’ that Rover missed and the ‘one’ that will give Pischetsrieder and co one very big migraine. It’s already an early contender for car of the year. Here’s the ‘one’ car to rule them all.