One of the most important clues to the character of the new BMW is the number of miles it completed in development on the Nürburgring circuit in Germany. That number is 30,000 — not surprising if this was a racy new sports car, but the 1 Series is a small hatchback, BMW’s first foray into a sector more usually associated with school runs and shopping trips.
It shows that BMW’s number one priority was to make the 1 Series a hoot to drive. To conform to BMW’s idea of a “driver’s car”, the littlest BMW offers a layout unique in the class. Namely, it has a longitudinally mounted engine in the front, rear-wheel drive and the longest wheelbase in the segment. It also has a uniquely BMW look, with deeply sculpted doors and strong shoulders running the length of the car. With its upright snout and minimal front overhang, the 1 Series looks pugnacious. Thuggish, even.
The prices place it against the upper end of the VW Golf range. When it goes on sale in September, the base, 115bhp 1.6 model will start at £15,690. As such it’ll be awfully tempting for Ford Focus or Vauxhall Astra customers to lay out just a few extra grand in order to swank about in a BMW. The top of the range 1 Series will cost £20,800.
Climb aboard and you’ll be struck by how much like a sports car it feels. You’ve got a cowled group of instruments dead ahead, a central console angled towards the driver and that snug, cocooned feeling you get when sitting down low in a car.
The “sport” theme continues with the start-up procedure, which involves inserting the key and pressing a start button. However, to my mind that’s an affectation you can get away with in an Aston Martin but not in a £15,000 hatchback.
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So how does this little BMW go? Well, in a most un-Golf-like fashion. Having established a sporty feel before you’ve even moved, the 1 Series follows through on the promise. Whether it is tackling high-speed sweeping corners, or roughly surfaced tight twisting lanes, the balance of this car is extraordinary. The steering weights up nicely as you turn into corners, and feeds back precise information about what level of grip you have in reserve. The six-speed gearshift is a bit long in the throw but oily smooth.
So the 1 Series is great fun to drive and it manages a trick no other in the class can. In damp conditions and with the stability control turned off, you can slide the back end around like a right old hooligan.
In fact the chassis’s remarkable ability reveals the one chink in the car’s armour — power. We drove the two most well endowed 1 Series, a 163bhp 2 litre diesel and a 150bhp 2 litre petrol, and while both are reasonably sharp the car felt as if it would really come into its own with an extra 100bhp. BMW will follow up with more powerful versions, but until then the punchy 2 litre turbodiesel is the one to go for.
So, another resounding class win for BMW? Not quite. To give you all this driving greatness, BMW has had to save on the space for occupants in order to accommodate the rear-drive differential. On the plus side, the boot is a reasonable size and the rear seats fold down. Still, rivals will trounce the 1 Series on space.
The car is packed with clever details. The remote-control key, for example, is charged when it’s in the ignition so you never have to replace the battery. And one of my favourites is the two-stage brake light — during normal braking you get the usual amount of illumination, but if you really nail the brakes, or the antilock braking is activated, a bigger, brighter light comes on.
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The 1 Series will really shake things up in the Golf class. It’s great to drive, appears well built (not a given with BMW these days) and, despite the higher initial cost, should represent good value as its resale price is likely to hold stronger than its rivals’. Just make sure you can live with less than family-car amounts of space before you sign on the line.
VITAL STATISTICS
Model: BMW 120d
Engine type: Four-cylinder, 1995cc
Power/Torque: 163bhp @ 4000rpm / 206 lb ft @ 2000rpm
Transmission: Six-speed manual
Fuel/CO2: 49.5mpg (combined) / 152g/km
Price: £18,850
Verdict: A driver’s car but it won’t win the space race
Rating: