2008 BMW Review

Specifications

Ahhhh, Bee, Em and Double-U. Amongst motoring enthusiasts, those three
letters should inspire thoughts of razor-sharp handling, intoxicating
exhaust notes and fingertip control, without having to resort to the
sometimes claustrophobic confines of an outright sports car. With the
exception of 1971’s built-to-race M1 Procar, Agent 007’s one-time
steed the Z8, and a few others, BMW products have walked the line
between performance and practicality for decades, whether it be a
spacious sedan with V10 power or, in the case of my 128i test car, a
zippy two-door with power to spare. Freed from its Euro-spec 3- and
5-door shackles and given the right to fly freely along the freeway as
a sports coupe for the North American market, by the time you read
this you will be hard-pressed to go a day without seeing one. That’s
because it is everything a BMW should be, and, since the departure of
the iconic 2002 and the late 318ti compact, fills a void for BMW North
America in the compact segment in which other manufacturers, German or
otherwise, have been thriving.

Upon first
sight, the connection to the 2002, the little car that could in every
sense of the word, is apparent. Like that car, the 128i features a
fairly tall greenhouse and roofline, which allows for generous headroom
even with the optional sunroof found on my car. Also present are the
short (and almost nonexistent fore of the front wheels) overhangs, and
thanks to the Bavarian company’s styling direction started by 2001’s
E65 7 Series, the slab-like side panels that offer a muscular and
almost monochromatic finish to the car as a whole. Like many critics,
I was a little skeptical when BMW’s chief of design, Chris Bangle,
revealed his styling direction, but since then many BMW models have
become styling home runs, and one of those products is the 1-Series.
There are many details, my favorites being the wonderfully aggressive
headlights and muscular wheel arches that, along with a subtle rear
decklid spoiler and the aforementioned side panels, do their part to
give the car a stance that gives the impression the 1’s muscles are
tensed and ready to go. In my modest opinion, the best angle from
which to observe the little 1 is the front three quarters, which gives
the car an almost M3 like impression, especially with the lower ride
height and optional 18-inch W-spoke alloys included in the $2,500 Sport
package. And while this particular example doesn’t feature that Sport package, it nevertheless looks fabulous from this angle. The classic
twin-kidney grille is flanked by a set of stylish halogens, or xenons if so equipped, while the
pronounced wheel arches are at their best from the three-quarter vantage
point. Thanks to the muscular
3- and 5-series models going back to the mid ’70s, the baby Bimmer has
some big shoes to fill, and I must say that from a styling point at
least, the little 1 does a fine job.

The
view from behind the wheel is a good one. You sit low, while visibility of the
gauge cluster is uninhibited even though the wheel is one of the chunkiest
I’ve felt to date. Crafted out of a grippy leather with dimpled perforated-look
inserts molded to fit the shape of the hands where more grip is needed, this little 3-spoke
number foreshadows the capability of this car. I swear, I pulled into my
driveway and just sit there, gripping the wheel for a few minutes just
to savor the moment.

Creature comforts on my car
included front seats that can be heated to three levels, part of the cold weather package, a
power-adjustable driver’s seat and BMW’s Premium Sound System option,
priced at $875. What this gets you is an auxiliary input nestled
under the armrest and upgraded speakers to HiFi playability.
Although my car didn’t include one, a navigation package can be added
for $2,100, and for $400 more you get USB Audio Integration, which
allows mp3 playlists to be uploaded directly to the car’s hard drive and then displayed onto the infotainment
screen, reducing driver distraction, at least when compared to fiddling with an iPod.

Safety features include
front and side thorax airbags for driver and passenger, reinforced door
panels that close with a satisfying “thunk”, active seatbelt restraints
and the SMART airbag system. This is especially ingenious as it determines
which specific airbags need to deploy in a collision as opposed to
deploying all at once, thereby reducing injuries caused by needlessly
deployed airbags and lowering repair costs.

The rest of the cockpit
detailing is solid as well, if finished with a little less panache than
that of, say, an Audi A3 for example. When it comes to the BMW brand,
function over form has always been the word of the day, and so it goes
with the 1-Series, just like the 3-Series above it and even the 5-Series above
that. The necessary luxury requirements are here; the leather seats
are supportive and of a high grain, while soft touch fabrics and
plastics adorn everything from the A-pillars to the top of the dash, except for the hood above the gauge cluster which gets the black matte
plastic treatment, but it’s hard to ignore the fact that the orange
font color within the instrument cluster peering out from between the tach and
speedo looks little different from models before it, ditto the buttons
and the broad center console with its healthy dose of plastic. Then again, some will appreciate that this little Bimmer looks and feels a lot like its bigger brethren. To that end, any minor misdemeanor was minimized when I realized that the cockpit controls are some of the most intuitive available.
The buttons aren’t overly stylized or too tiny to toggle, but clear and at a
finger’s length from the wheel. Everything, from the HVAC controls to
the stack of DSC, hazard lights and door lock buttons mounted clearly
in between the two center dash vents, adds an air of ease-of-use functionality not always found in
today’s gaudy cockpits.

And don’t forget
the engine start/stop button, engraved with BMW’s clever “Year one of
the 1” (in North America, anyway) slogan, as it leads to the firing of
a smooth-revving six cylinder that, coupled with a growly exhaust note,
makes you wonder how the twin-turbocharged unit found in the car’s 135i
sibling could be worth the extra 8 grand. Of course, more power is
always welcome, but when you take into account current gas prices and
the fact that the more powerful 1-Series weighs more than a 3-Series with the same
engine, the 128i becomes that much more intriguing (of course, get back
to me after I sample the 135i in a few weeks’ time). With the 128i, what you get is a stonking inline-6 that channels 230 horsepower and
200 lb-ft of torque straight to the back wheels (and DTC can be fully disengaged with a three second prod of the dash-mounted button),
one of the slickest six-speed trannys on the market, a rock-solid stable
suspension system that’s still surprisingly compliant, and steering that could make some sports cars blush.


This
aspect of the 128i is what stood out the most to me. Yes, the engine
is great and the power delivery linear, and yes, like in a Mazda MX-5 I
found myself shifting unnecessarily just to feel the linkage at work,
but the 1’s steering is unprecedented. Every surface detail, down to
pebbles strewn from a soft shoulder can be felt, but not to the point
of being unnerving. It’s so good that I wonder why it’s necessary to spend the extra $1,400 on BMW’s Active Steering, which decreases
the amounts of steering wheel turns needed to get the front wheels from
lock-to-lock and tightens things up as the drive becomes more spirited,
the car is tractable around town but obliging on b-roads as well. Either way, the 128i that I drove was brilliant and at its best when allowed to stretch
its legs.

It all starts with the gas
pedal that paves the way for lighting-quick throttle response.
Pedal travel is minuscule—when I first stepped in the car, I found that
my right foot would meet carpet a lot sooner than I expected. I
quickly learned to rectify this as such a wide open throttle is, of
course, conducive to more gas being used, and once I did I started
getting some good fuel consumption numbers in the neighborhood of 20 mpg in the city and about 24 on the highway (thank you, handy trip
meter!). But I must say, the aural response from such a great exhaust
system is worth the price of admission in itself, fuel consumption be
darned. Feelings of inertia are minimal, and the only complaint I have
here is that acceleration rates, while initially very brisk, seem to
taper off a little between 3,000 and 5,000 rpm, only to come on strong
again all the way to redline at 6,800 rpm—peak power comes in at a fairly
lofty 6,500 rpm. Peak torque, on the other hand, is readily
available much lower in the rev range at a fuel-saving 2,750 rpm, a perk of the
naturally aspirated engine.

As for the
transmission, the 6-speed unit found in my car is a testament to how a
good ol’ fashioned manual is still one of the best ways to connect
driver to car. The flat knob on the lever takes a little getting used
to, but once you do you’ll be treated with one of the more precise
shift actions in the biz. Not once did I miss a shift, and BMW has
fine-tuned the shift mechanism to a point where it’s as if the gates
themselves act in a vacuum and grab the lever, aiding your hand in
selecting the next cog. It’s a sensation that must be felt to be
believed, and I would challenge anyone to find a transmission that
provides better feedback through the lever than that of the 128i. The
clutch, meanwhile, takes a little getting used to, in that it takes a
while to find that perfect point where it engages, a learning
curve that isn’t helped by the short throttle travel. But once again,
learn the ins and outs of the car and the action is seamless, the
responsive throttle and low peak torque limiting power
interruption during an upshift. All great stuff that makes forward
progress in the 128i a natural symbiosis between man and machine. Of
course, if ease of progress is of utmost importance, a 6-speed auto is
available, with optional paddle shifters. Still, to miss out on such a
great manual transmission (and even worse, having to pay for it not only
with dollars, but pounds as well) would be a mistake in my book.

Anchoring
the 128i are ventilated discs all-round, plus standard
ABS. Suspension duties are carried out with MacPherson struts up
front, plus a trapezoidal-link rear axle and stabilizer bars at both
ends. For the most part, the ride is good for a car with such a short
wheelbase, but I did experience some pretty serious jarring over road
imperfections such as sunken manhole covers and the like. This is by
no means a deal breaker, for the overall ride quality sits above what
is often considered passable for an entry level car. BMW’s Dynamic
Traction Control (DTC) system is forgiving in that, as mentioned before,
it can be fully disengaged. Press the the button marked “DTC” once and it allows a little safe hooliganism, stepping the tail out only so far before being pulled back into check by the electronic nannies, but hold it down
for three seconds and it’s totally up to you to manage oversteer - think twice before doing this in the rain. The ABS and brake assist system, which BMW calls Dynamic Brake Control (DBC), never gets totally turned off, mind you, but continues to
apply brakeforce upon braking. Still, the system is hardly
intrusive. I
found that it really took some effort, such as a full
pedal-to-the-floor stop from high speed to cause the yellow DTC icon to
flash.

So, at a hair under 29 grand in its
most basic of forms, is the 128i worth it? I mean really, that’s more
than you’ll be paying for a bigger coupe such as a Nissan Altima, while the Accord Coupe with a V6 only costs a little more. While both of these cars are roomier, and come with more
bells and whistles for the price of my test car, they simply don’t
offer the same driving dynamics or pedigree of the 128i. The 1 is a
captivating little car, and aside from some niggling
shortcomings such as the 3,300 pound curb weight and tricky pedal action,
I must say that it is a strong testament to BMW’s “Ultimate Driving Machine” slogan. It’s nimble, it offers acceleration rates that come close to the best in the sport-compact class (excluding Evo X, STI and a couple of others), and it rewards drivers who spend sufficient time to learn its unique characteristics. Once I learned to lighten my right-foot pressure and began to trust that the solid feel wasn’t an
illusion to be broken by a quick loss of traction, but with a linearity
that every automaker should strive for, I was left with a car that
excels at what it’s supposed to excel at, and there’s little more a performance enthusiast can ask for.