The BMW 1 Series hatchback has been round in five-door guise because 2004, at the same time as the three-door hatchback become introduced in 2005. It changed the BMW three Series Compact range as BMW’s smallest and most less costly car inside the variety (depending on the engine version). It boasted some specific attributes for its elegance.
For instance, the 1 Series is the best vehicle in its magnificence, presenting rear-wheel drive, 50:50 weight balance, a longitudinally-mounted engine, and a complicated aluminum multi-link suspension. It is currently one among BMW’s first-class-selling automobiles and, in 2008, accounted for almost one-fifth of the manufacturer’s overall sales.
With credentials like those, it became with incredible interest that we took delivery of our first BMW check car right here at SACarFan, the three-door BMW 120i M Sport, to find out what the 1 Series, and certainly the M Sports model, is all about.
By now an acquainted face on our roads, the BMW 1 collection hatchback surely raised some eyebrows whilst it was released returned in 2004, ours protected. Things advanced with the advent of the three-door version, which we cannot assist but suppose changed into how the child of the range was constantly imagined to appearance. However, add the’ aerodynamic package, and the look of the automobile is converted from a curious searching hatchback to a compelling warm-hatch.
The extraordinarily drab front bumper from the same old version is replaced by using one carrying included fog lights and a deep, center-aligned air dam, flanked with the aid of smaller air intakes on both aspects. The facet skirts are bolder than those fitted to the same old 1 series and feature a bulge that attracts one’s eye from the front to the rear of the car. The rear bumper gets a dramatic layout exchange, with an inset dark grey diffuser-like segment rounding off the more sporty look, together with chromed dual-tailpipes.
Double-spoke ‘M’ 17-inch alloy wheels, shod in 205/50 profile rubber upfront and 225/forty-five on the rear, fill the wheel arches courtesy of the M Sports suspension, which offers the 120i M Sport a fifteen mm decrease ride height over the usual model and facilitates to complete the polished M Sports appearance.
The sharply described angles of the outside are endured at the inside of the 120i M Sport and are complemented by using softer curves, inclusive of the door handles. The result is a contemporary, minimalistic and simple cabin that achieves an elegant synergy.
As anticipated, a comfortable riding position is quickly practicable using adjusting the seat and guidance wheel for your preferred settings. The riding position of the BMW 1 Series is inherently low first of all, and raising the seat peak might also result in taller drivers looking through the pinnacle of the windscreen. Having stated this, you handiest clearly notice the low-slung driving function when mountaineering inside and outside of the car when you’re internal. It’s a comfy experience.
The leather included sports seats may also have plenty to do with the comfort thing, as they provide proper all-spherical assist whether or not sitting in visitors or relishing your favorite corners. However, with the general public of head and legroom up the front, the three-door 1-Series does now not welcome rear passengers. In reality, passengers up front commented that the legroom changed into potentially too beneficiant as they had no ground board to push towards to assist themselves.
Standard indoors specs are as you would expect from a BMW and encompass air-conditioning, stereo jack for auxiliary tune gadgets, radio/CD participant, driving force and passenger front and facet airbags, as well as head (curtain) airbags for each front and rear passengers.
Apart from the seats, the M Sports package enhances the indoors with aluminum trim at the dashboard and door inlays; leather included, multifunction sports activities steerage wheel; leather-covered handbrake and gearshift lever gaiter; in addition to the anthracite-colored roof lining.
The indoors, and indeed the complete automobile, gives one the over-using influence of impeccable build high-quality. From the tactile indoors elements to the stable thud of the doors, the BMW 1 Series M Sport feels built to final.
With its low-slung riding position, the BMW 1-series hatch without delay feels sporty earlier than turning the important thing. The chunky, 3-spoke, sports activities steering wheel offers accurate steering and ok comments from the road. The leather-clad gearshift lever fits snugly for your hand and, with quick throws between the gates, gives a sporty, unique, and rewarding shift via the 6-pace gearbox, urging you to alternate at each opportunity.
Once on the flow, the 120i M Sport definitely grabs the attention of other avenue users, who absolutely confidently anticipate looking for a 130i badge at the boot. The engine word from the dual-exhausts is one of the qualities of any in-line four to be had, and whilst you point the tacho needle skyward, the BMW 120i M Sport responds willingly.
The road-retaining supplied by using the 17-inch wheels, with run-flat tires as standard, and sports suspension is excellent – the chassis is firm, supplying wonderful experience and a relaxed trip – as a result in the rear-wheel power 120i M navigates corners with enthusiasm.
The M Sports package deal does now not include overall performance enhancements for the two, 0-liter engine found inside the 120i M. This means energy output stays unchanged from that of the usual model, with 115 kW of height energy available at 6 400 rpm and most torque of two hundred N.M at 3 600 rpm. As a result, the 120i M feels slightly underpowered compared to what one can also count on, although this expectation is made from the sporty elements of the M Sports bundle in preference to the abilities of the 1995 cc naturally aspirated engine, whose output figures are the various highest in its elegance.
Stirring the gearbox, as its sporty nature urges you to do, can have the 120i M jogging alongside at a decent pace, irrespective of the uphill and down-dale nature of our roads. The obviously aspirated engine revs willingly and sings the extra you wind it up. The bottom line is that the 120i M Sport isn’t a mainly fast vehicle, and the ‘M Sport’ package deal is more approximately the look and experience, in preference to outright tempo. But that is ok, due to the fact between the sweet transferring gearbox, the throaty roar from the engine, sports seats and guidance wheel, balanced chassis, and high-quality avenue-keeping, the BMW 120i M Sport placed a grin on our face each time we drove it.