Driven - New Facelift BMW 1 Series Review (2016 - Present)

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kingr
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Driven - New Facelift BMW 1 Series Review (2016 - Present)

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Introduction
The BMW 1 Series has grown up tremendously since it’s introduction to the SA market back in 2005. The 1 Series is a compact, rear-wheel drive hatchback, and the latest model is a facelifted version built off the 2012 - 2015 F20/F21 model range. The new facelift has minimal differences compared to its predecessors. Upgrades do however include new front and rear bumpers, a new headlight design with adaptive LED’s (optional), a new rear tail-light design and subtle changes to the display of the center infotainment screen. The BMW 1 Series is a great little car to get yourself into the luxury car segment, and our test car was a 120d diesel model. After 2500km in the driver's seat, we were left mighty impressed with the BMW 1 Series.

Drive and Comfort
The 1 Series gives you a comfortable and low road-noise drive, and the 2016 BMW 1 Series 120d we tested was also very nippy off the line. The handling in the corners is fantastic, even at high speeds, and when driving on the open road the car feels very “planted.” It just makes your feel like you can drive with confidence, and that you are in control.

A quality drive is surely what you expect from any of BMW’s cars, but the ride can be quite firm on poorer SA roads. Being an entry-level model, the 1 Series is actually a small car compared to other BMW models, and driving on uneven roads won’t be silky smooth. If you can stretch your budget and desire more comfort, then add the optional adaptive M Sport suspension and this will noticeably improve the overall drive quality.

Compared to its predecessor (2012 - 2015) we couldn’t feel any improvements in drive quality in the new facelifted BMW 1 Series. All current model upgrades seem more cosmetic than substantial, with subtle changes to the infotainment screen. Our test car was fitted with the optional eight-speed automatic transmission. This is one of the best automatic transmissions in its class and offers very smooth gear changes. There is also the option to drive in semi-automatic mode, although this feature is rarely used.

Performance
As with all BMWs released over the past 5 years, you can control the driving modes from the very intuitive iDrive system. Your options are Eco Pro, Comfort and Sport. The default mode is Comfort, whereas Eco Pro is the mode you can use to extend your range and get closer to BMW’s claimed fuel consumption. The best we could achieve in our 120d model test car was 6.9km l/100km in town, and this figure dropped to 5.5l/100km on the open road, cruising at 120kmph in the eco mode.

Sport mode will be your choice when you want to experience the maximum performance from the engine. Throttle response becomes immediately sharper and you need to watch the tail when planting your right foot deep, as the wheels will start spinning before the traction control kicks in to save you from any mishaps.

The BMW 1 Series 120d packs a heavy punch of 140kw/400nm, and 0 - 100km is swift in just 7.0s. Overall, it’s a very generous performance package. This model offers the best of both worlds, as you’ll get much better performance than the lower-end petrol 118i engine and much better diesel economy than the range-topping M140i. With mixed driving, we managed to get a real-world 700km range from the 52-liter tank.

Interior
Inside, the BMW 1 Series is a nice place to be. The interior feels premium, with appropriate touches of silver, quality leather seats, solid-feeling knob controls and high-gloss black plastics.

The front seats are comfortable, but don’t offer much lumbar support out of the box. You can spec the lumbar support option, and this will enable you to electrically adjust the support to your desired comfort level. The seats do sit low enough and offer ample headroom for taller people. Although this is a premium hatchback, you will need to manually adjust the front seats, and this can become annoying when doing height adjustments. In order to successfully adjust the seats, you need to pull a plastic lever and either lift your weight off the seat to allow it to rise, or put more pressure on it to drop lower.

The center console is fitted with a pair of cup holders in front of the silver-finished gear lever and these are big enough to fit a can of cooldrink. This model also has very savvy solid plastic “fillers” that live inside the cup holder space when it’s not in use. The door bins have ample space to store items, and towards the front are larger areas you can use to store a water bottle or bulkier items. You can also store items inside the armrest - just fold it up to access this storage facility. This is also where you have access to the Aux audio port and USB port to connect your smartphone, Apple iPod or USB memory stick.

The rear seats can comfortably fit two adults easily and have ISOFIX connectors for child seats. You could probably force three adults in the back, but this won’t be comfortable for longer trips, as the high transmission tunnel prevents someone sitting comfortably in the middle of the back seat.

The infotainment screen employs a very good contrast of colours and is easy to navigate from the iDrive controller, located behind the gear lever. New touches on the infotainment screen include updates to the car graphic when activating the park distance control (PDC). There is also a new section called “Sport displays,” which shows off two gauges displaying the kW and torque readings produced while driving. Bluetooth connectivity to your smartphone is now standard on this facelifted model compared to being an optional extra on the predecessor (2012 - 2015 F20/F21). While playing back your music, the screen will also display the song artwork in full colour,. Also, optional Apple CarPlay will enable you to easily sync your iPhone and control your phone from the iDrive controller - all modern and high tech!

Form and Function
Front visibility from inside the BMW 1 Series is very good, but parking with front PDC will help, as you can sometimes misjudge the big nose. With a much smaller rear window, rear visibility can become challenging at times. Once the rear headrests have been raised or when tall adults sit at the back, rear visibility becomes very limited.

The boot space is practical, but not award-winning, especially compared to the facelift’s direct competitors - the Audi A3 and Mercedes-Benz A-Class. The rear seats can fold forward to offer you maximum storage space in the form of a flat load bay. This can be ideal when you plan to carry much larger items like a new TV, or decide to move house! The BMW 1 Series can also be fitted with an optional tow bar, making it ideal as a small family vehicle. We do think, however, that towing a trailer will be very challenging with the 118i model.

Cost Effectiveness
The 1 Series is the entry level model offered by BMW, but with that being said, you will still be paying a premium for the BMW badge and to experience “sheer driving pleasure.” The 1 Series retains good value in the used car market due to the price bracket being accessible to a big pool of buyers. From our experience, models fitted with the M Sport kit and sunroof will do the best on trade-ins. This model is also well equipped with good standard features, such as the bluetooth phone connectivity, automatic Start/Stop function, rain sensor, automatic headlight control and alloy wheels, among others.

The 1 Series comes standard with a 5 Year/100 000 km maintenance plan and a 2 Year/Unlimited mileage warranty.

Used Car Price: R349,000 - R410,000 (2016 BMW 1 Series 120d Auto)
New Car Price: From R433,600 (2018 BMW 1 Series 118i Manual)

Alternatives
Audi A3
Mercedes-Benz A-Class
Volkswagen Golf

Verdict
The BMW 1 Series is one of the best small family cars in the luxury hatchback segment. It comes standard with a very good maintenance plan and is an overall great car to live with for a small family, couple or single person. Although highly recommended, it does trail behind with interior quality compared to the now outgoing A-Class and offers less rear legroom than the Audi A3 and Golf 7.5.
Kurt #3337

Current:
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