Test drive BMW 1 E87 2004 - 2007 hatchback

Say: "One!"

BMW is ready to apply part of the profit for BMW-116i in Russia start with 23,000 euros.

The BMW series 1 had not yet managed to remove camouflage overlays, as a journalistic brethren from the Russian expanses has already glued a Bavarian penny to him. The nickname seems to have taken root. The unit sounds worse. The first series will soon appear on Russian roads. Such a decision was made, possibly a little spontaneously, but irrevocably.
Why five?
For the invasion of BMW, there were many reasons for them to dwell on a new class. Firstly, a place appeared. Cars are growing and the current movement between the mini and three in the BMW program needed to be filled. Secondly, the class of compact cars in Europe the most popular each year is sold 12 million cars. At the same time, sales of prestigious brands (this third) grow the highest pace inside it.
Fourth, wealthy customers require convenience, quality and sports, with which BMW products have long been associated. And finally, the individuality of the BMW series 1 will be built on customer orders. They are able to attract not low price and discounts, but by quality, originality and individuality.
About this is the meaning of the speech of a member of the BMW Council of Professor Burchard Göshel at the presentation of the car. It is difficult to argue with his arguments.
Why is the first episode, not the third compact, what are you already used to? In fact, the new BMW will be artificially separated from larger models. A successful start of the first series will open the ability to create another full -fledged family with all the variety of bodies and engines.
Why five?
It is no secret that all modern cars in a compact class are front -wheel drive, with a transverse location of the engine. Many have all -wheel drive modifications, especially with powerful engines. The first series from the traditions of BMW does not retreat: a longitudinally located motor, a drive on the rear wheels, an ideal weighting 50:50, the longest base and a wide track. Specialists of the company claim: only the rear -wheel drive car is fully able to give pleasure from driving, and four evidence gives in confirmation.
First: the rear -wheel drive car loads the drive wheels during acceleration, improving the clutch and reducing the slip. Further, the layout with the engine displaced back and the transmission units in the database reduces the moment of inertia relative to the vertical axis, contributing to the improvement of controllability, especially in S-shaped turns. Thirdly, the layout allows you to bring the driver closer to the center of the masses, providing him with the best sense of the car. Finally, the front wheels are free from the forces and moments associated with the traction of the engine, and convey only a pure control effect.
All this is fair with an important reservation for roads and tires with a high clutch coefficient. On the ice, the picture is completely different.
About the fifth why in a thick folder documentation is silent. But it is easy to guess that this is a technological reason. BMW production is designed for the longitudinal location of the engine and the proprietary layout, about the advantages of which is said above.
The BMW plant in Regensburg, which produces cars since 1986, is the largest among a dozen production of the company. All cars of the third series of sedans, coupe, convertibles, station wagons and sports models M3 are made here. And in the summer of 2004, the 1st series appeared on the only assembly conveyor.
The list of additional BMW equipment of the first series is impressive: this is an indispensable climatic installation, and door handles with backlight, and the ignition key with the memory of individual settings and the technical condition of the machine, the connection for the Bluetooth mobile phone, seats with pneumatic regulation of the profile, glass hatch in the roof and still Hundreds of positions.
One hundred twenty I
Five dark gray BMW-120i are waiting for us in the parking lot at the research center in Munich. There will be no traditional battle for the same configuration: the navigation system, I-Drive, a mechanical gearbox, a two-liter gasoline Valvetronic motor with a stray regulation of not only phases, but also valve lifting. The coordinates of the point were instituted into the navigation system, where it should be returned by six in the evening ahead all day and delightful landscapes of South Bavaria.
Those who are familiar with BMW, sit in a hundred twentieth, will be easy to adjust the seat of the seat. Drivers, accustomed to other brands, can get confused in the side handles. But the control of the pneumatic under the back of the back is thought out impeccably. First, select the right back for the lower back, then squeeze the back From the sides. The result is the back on the figure and the 70- and the 100-kilogram driver.
The first impressions of driving around the city to the car do not need to get used to. Great maneuverability, magnificent brakes, good dynamics, a painful engine all these are pluses. Review at the level of modern competitors. Alas, passive safety standards are now forced to thicken the racks of the roof. At first, the inner mirror at first caused bewilderment, but soon even convinced the review even with a rectangular glass will not become better back. Side mirrors could be more broad -screen. It is a pity that for the sake of a spectacular appearance they sometimes compromise.
However, the lack of viewing in the rear hemisphere replenishes the parking sensation with an indication on the I-Drive display. He will certainly raise the alarm if you try to run into low parking columns. A six -speed gearbox acts like a bolt of a rifle: clearly and with a clear effort. The moves of the lever, however, are too big for a dynamic car, I want to be shorter. The two -liter Valvetronic is also lucky with idle speed, but clearly loves the right half of the tachometer. Only then his reaction to gas becomes fast, and his voice unexpectedly memorable for the in -line four.
Despite 150 horses under the hood, the BMW-120i-20i acceleration does not seem impressive. The car is even and confidently gaining momentum, over and over again laying the tachometer arrow on the border of the red zone. And yet, in the declared 8.7 s to hundreds, I somehow do not believe too much.
Sixty kilometers of the autobahn fly in a matter of minutes ahead of narrow, filled with landstrasse cars. Overfigure here is rarely succeeded. But we can evaluate the comfort of the suspension. Unfortunately (for us), large coating defects in Germany cannot be found. The gutters in the parking lot of the BMW pendants swallowed easily. But the washing board in front of the traffic light (these Germans slow down on the yellow as abnormal!) Suddenly shook. Apparently, the perpetrators of low -profile tires of increased mobility with very rigid sidewalls. They allow you to drive 150 km, even if the air comes out completely. It is impossible to replace them with ordinary space for the spare.
Wining paths among the hills will not let the driver be bored, even if there is nowhere to accelerate. Not too fast the BMW steering wheel allows you to prescribe smooth turns without unnecessary movements and does not strain on an autobahn. It is too early to give up a classic hydraulic mission to give up its electric counterparts not so perfect.
Warm summer rain again meets BMW-120i in Munich. Put the car on the parking lot, hand over the keys, not forgetting to finally look at the board. 7.8 l/100 km is not bad for the whole day of traveling, including city traffic jams and one and a half hundred kilometers of an autobahn at a speed of 150160 km/h. Perhaps for this you can forgive Walvtronika as a seemingly lethargy. Of course, the engine for 200 forces will be quite appropriate here, but it is no secret that the basis of sales is precisely the average in terms of machine power.
ANOTHER
You can consider a unit as an alternative to Volkswagen-Golf the difference in price is not very great. But, perhaps, another thing is more important: even the smallest BMW is still a real, original car that does not separate the chassis and units with mass models. A lot of style, aristocratic origin, an atypical componing for the class, impressive handling and a huge selection of configurations make it pay attention to.
 
Anatoly Fomin. Photo by the author and BMW

Source: The magazine "Driving"