Drove a 1 series today

[d6dph]

My mate who bought my last car off me has got a 116i as a courtesy car whilst his car is being repaired (it was mint when he got it from me ).

Met up with him today and had a quick drive of the 1, well im not going to dash out and order one! What a lump of shite. I wasnt expecting a quick car but a little more life than three week old roadkill would have been nice!

Interior is just a mass of cheap plastic, and the seats are not particually comfortable. i fell over the sills getting in as they are that high!

What have bmw done? Has anyone else driven one yet?

[daveyw]

no but wouldn't mind a shot of the 130i. bet that goes. love the look of the 1 series despite its faults.

[d6dph]

yeah i think the 130 should be a laugh to drive, but i was massivly dissapointed in this one. might go and blag a test drive in one?

[JazzMan]

I drove a 118d when they first came out as I was looking to switch out my 316 for a 120d. The steering was pretty sharp but it lacked anything exciting about the drive. The engine pulled but there was no real shove at any point.

My biggest problem with it was the "pipe" view out the back - you just cant see anything and the window is tiny.

Bought a secondhand E46 instead with a 6 pot - much better

[NIX]

Yeah i drove one months ago when they were still relatively fresh to the market after a mate managed to blag one for the weekend. claimed he was a doctor when really he was a weed abusing student like me back then.

As cars go it seemed pretty solid and went pretty well but by no means anything spectacular. was only an auto.

Not convinced by the looks either. Although i did really like the way the door handles had lights underneath them that faded away after the lock was turned off. cool and handy at night. simples things...

anyways, gave it a rag before it went back. altho my mate managed to spank the front before it went back. over Ԛ£400 worth of damage, of which was the excess for the weekend...the jammy c@nt managed to blag his way out of that and they even offered to let him drive the higher powered diesel 2 weeks later suckers! he didn't tempt fate tho and stuck to spanking his civic

[Pilsbury]

I have 2 118d's and disagree with most of those points.
The 116i is the base model, and is hardly that slow - 10.9 seconds to 60 is as quick as an E30 318i.
The 120d is as fast as an E30 325i to 60, and has a huge amount of torque which makes it very fast through the gears.
The 130i is quicker than an E30 M3.
The sills are higher than an E30 because cars now have to pass safety tests that would render an E30 into a mess of twisted metal.
Depending on what seats you go for, they can need a bit of adjustment until you get them to your liking.
The dash and interior is pretty much identical to the E90 3 series, and it doesn't feel that cheap to me, certainly 80's and 90's BMW dashes look to be made of cheaper stuff to me.
Dynamically, the car handles exceptionally well. The only complaint I have with my car is the sports suspension and run flat tyres that can make the car a bit hard over rough roads. I've cured this with non run-flat tyres.

[Beeches]

Overall I don't mind the car however the packaging leaves a lot to be desired and the interior isn't my bag.

[billgatese30]

not so sure about the 120d being as fast to do as the 325

i can get a 6.8-7.0 second 0-60 out of mine most of the time

bmw quote 7.9 seconds to 60 for the 2.0d lump in any guise (be it es, se or m sport)

only the 130 is quicker which is about 6.1 seconds to 60

i think the qutoted time for an m3 sport evo is about 6.2 or 6.3 so not exactly that far off

i have heard however that the 1 has a good chassis and a fantastic suspension setup that is fun to drive (with the power to match ala 130)

my dad has the 330d m sport (e90) and the chassis and suspension feel is great, feels so stable and planted at any speed

but as you said, stiff suspension and runflats do make it a crashy/bumpy ride most of the time unless your driving on a billiard table

[maxfield]

Ive read evo sports do about 5.9

[Pilsbury]

E90 uses the same chassis and suspension as the E87 1er.
I've now dumped my run flats for standard tyres on 18" wheels and the ride quality and handling is much better.

[billgatese30]

thats probably why it feels good then

my old man test drove two five's (both e61 tourings) when they were released, one was on runflats, the other not, both on sport suspension, was a huge difference in the comfort.

[JazzMan]

Like I said the steering was very sharp, it was mainly the view out the back and engine that I didnt like.

[e30bemer]

The 116i is the base model, and are very slow!
then u have the 118i, bit quicker,

I have had the 120d, when i went to a course, and that flew!
Very quick!

But it can beat the 130i!
Very quick and sounds awesome!