BMW 1-Series

dewey

Wale bate1,

I seem to be in that rare niche you inhabit--the small performace wagon segment.
It's a rare segment indeed, so rare that my two top choices resemble yours( BMW 1 series and the Audi A3). I myself cant think of any other suitable vehicle in this category.

Having said that dont hold your breath for a 1 series hatchback. Everytime I read rumors about a 1 series in N. America, those rumors are followed by the words"it will be offered in either coupe or sedan versions, unlike the hatchback versions offered in Europe."

I have been reading some 1 series reviews in British auto mags and each one seems to have the same complaint: "The 1 series hatchback looks ugly" . And this is from a land of hatchback friendly consumers. That in itself makes a 1 series hatchback in N. America a very unlikely prospect.

So what is better a 1 series sedan or a A3? I cant really make up my mind on that one. The tie breaker IMO would be a A3 2.0 MT Quattro. Unfortunately such an Audi does not exist at this time!

I guess I will just have to wait a bit longer until I find a car that catches my fancy.

kyfdx

Everything I see now.... says coupe and convertible... not even a sedan... :surprise:

wale_bate1

Unfortunate, isn't it?

To paraphrase Paul Newman' Butch Cassidy, "we got vision, and the rest of the country's wearing bifocals".

When I first started seeing pics of the 1, in Motor und Sport, there was a pic (possibly crafted) of a real Touring version. It was a tad longer aft of the rear doors than the hatch we all see, and just that small stretch evened out and refined the proportions of the car. It was very good looking. I think the hatch is just too stubby, so at least in part I agree with the Euro press. Still, with all the other elements that are clearly so right for me, I think I could overlook a little wrong!

I have to say, though, friend Dewey, that if they ship any 130 iteration, I'd expect the actual lot pricing to be somewhere north of the A3 2.0t, probably squarely in the A3 3.2Q range. Just my gut, but since it seems to get bigger every day, I listen to it closely...
;-]

ateixeira

The CS1 looked better than any of the hatches, IMO.

Volvo and VW will have hard-top convertibles starting in the $30s, I'd like to see BMW put something in that segment, too.

-juice

jlbl

I am sorry, I don't. I know of one based here in Spain though I don't know whether they ship to the USA (www.elrincondelautomovil.com)—the language used in there is Spanish, anyway. I have very few time at the moment to browse through the web. (This is the cause of my delay in answering to your post.) I apologize for it.

Regards,

José

fedlawman

http://www.autoweek.com/article.cms?articleId=103483

kyfdx

Curb weight: 3885 lbs.?

Let's hope that is some weird Euro way of figuring it...

Already producing 136,000 units, when capacity is 150,000.. no wonder they are in no hurry to bring it over...

fedlawman

Yeah, I saw that too. It's got to be a typo.

Another thing I noticed: 0-100 KPH in 6.2 secs is about as quick as a 330i. Shouldn't it be quicker?

dewey

By the time the 1 series will arrive on our shores it will be a dated vehicle in terms of its product cycle!

Model age kind of dampens my enthusiasm for the upcoming 1 series! I would rather wait a few years after the 1 series intro in N. America and get a new and improved second edition of the 1 series!

kyfdx

From the BMW website...

530i = 3472 lbs.
330i = 3417 lbs.

So, a 130i might not be much lighter... any advantage would be negligible...

I'm thinking the Euro numbers include driver, etc..

regards,
kyfdx
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dewey

That probably explains why the performance specs for the 1 series is not much better than a 3 series equipped with the same engine!

The 1 series would be one wicked car to own if it went on a "Weight Watchers' Diet".

I dont know what the MPG data is, but I am willing to guess that the 1 series contradicts the notion that "small cars are frugal gas savers".

fedlawman

Model age kind of dampens my enthusiasm for the upcoming 1 series!

I prefer to think that the bugs will be worked out by the time it arrives...

BTW, I went to BMW's international website and found this techsheet:

http://www.bmw.com/generic/de/de/products/automobiles/download/pdf/1_SH_datasheet.pdf

BMW 130i:
unloaded weight = 1450 kg (3190 lbs)

It's no featherweight, but it's light by today's standards (it weighs the same as a WRX). Come to think of it, the 1-series really is the perfect car! It's like a German WRX, only with more (quantity and quality) power, better balance, and RWD (and hopefully LSD). BMW must bring it!

dewey

Thanks for the link,

now I just have to refer to my German-English dictionary!

This one is a mouth-ful: Seriengetribeubersetzung :surprise:

wale_bate1

If BMW isn't watching the progress of the A3, they jolly well should be, or I'm several dutchmen. The cars seem like twins, if not identical.

It's not as handsome as an A3, IMO, but the power goes to the correct wheels, and that counts muchly-muchly in my book...

wale_bate1

First rule for German pronunciation: if you didn't spit, you said it wrong...

-Mark Twain

fedlawman

A low-carb Hefenweisen, I think...

nyccarguy

The article on the 130i w/ M Sport Package got me charged up about this car. I'd love to see it on our shores! There is a difference between the 130i and the E90 3 series I want: The 3 series I can't afford, the 130i I just can't have.

masa2

Ok, A3 can be "handsome" for the ladies, but you can't compare that Peugeot 206-like thing with my bold new 118d. I can't believe that here in Spain we are enjoying Serie1 for a year and it hasn't arrive to the North America! Sorry for you.

dewey

If you are banking on a hatchback BMW 1 series competing with the Audi A3, forget it!

This is from an interview with Helmut Panke, Chairman of BMW provided by Edmunds Inside Line:

Nein for the BMW 1 series wagon

Please note this part of the interview:

Q: Is a three-box sedan more likely?

A: There are many alternatives. We have not given that away, but it's not going to be a hatch.

In this case I prefer the A3 since contrary to what Panke thinks there are some hatchback admirers in this continent!

wale_bate1

I guess you'd have to presume an affinity for Bangle's surface cues. Of course, you'd presume incorrectly, but...

So, you're saying I must be in touch with my feminine side if I prefer the A3's looks? I can live with that.

The appeal for me of a 130 is the inline six and RWD in a subcompact wagon/hatch. Should it ever reach these shores, it would be the only entry with those qualifications, and I'd consider it strongly based soley on those criteria.

It ain't a looker, not by any means, IMO.

Is Spain still socialist?

wale_bate1

Okay, well, bang goes their application then!

Ahhh, friend Dewey, whatever is a wagon-lover like me to do? I have two choices left: A3/S4. BMW shot itself in the big toe (in my book) yet again by failing to bring the 330iT, insisting on the AWD, and retaining Chris Bangle. I can forgive the last two perhaps, but not at the cost of the first.

Nuts to them. I must now either embrace the dark side of the four-ring Auto Union, or embrace the geriatric's crutch of the big "L" and forego the wagon.

[sigh]

dewey

The lack of choice is deafening!

I test drove a 325xi touring and felt impressed but not enought to buy one. A 330xi would have been a done deal.

The Audi S4 sounds amazing, but here in Canada the pricing of the S4 is almost the same as a BMW 550i! That to me is nutty!

The Audi A3 intrigues me and I intend to test drive the 3.2 Quattro! My biggest hang up is no stick! I know all the rave reviews about DSG but I still want my stick! If available, a Audi A3 2.0 Quattro with MT would be in my garage by now.

I am still waiting for that right wagon and will keep on waiting until I give up in despair and end up buying a sport sedan instead.

ateixeira

To my eyes the A3 is way, way more handsome than the 1 series, but I don't like Bangle's Angles in general.

But...how can Audi launch the A3 in the US without Quattro? It's absurd. It's a fancy FWD Golf. Even without Quattro the prices are high once you equip them.

-juice

wale_bate1

General consensus is that a 2.0T without Q is a mistake, but that's a consensus among us! The sales figures so far appear to bear out the business plan.

I have no issue with paying over 35 large for a sub-compact wagon equipped and appointed the way I want; my current car listed at roughly $36K, and isn't really appointed anywhere close to the level of the A3.

Pity about the 1-series. I had hopes, but BMW is recently making a habit of disappointing me...

jchan2

For $33K, I guess I can skip the BMW 1-Series and check out a 9-3 Aero that was "born from jets" as GM likes to say.

But $33K is a little steep. At that price point you're intruding into base 325is, base G35s, stripped TLs, loaded up S40s, mid level S60s, and the 9-3 product line.

dewey

Most North Americans think the way you do!

Why buy the small car when a bigger car costs the same or less?

The A3 2.0 and 3.2 is competitively equipped as the alternatives you mentioned and can be considered more fun to drive!

The "fun to drive" factor to me is the A3's major selling point!

Small is beautiful

jchan2

I agree, but the majority of the buying public says "Geez! $33K? Lemme go get a G!"

qbrozen

there is no such thing as a "stripped TL," unless you just mean one without NAVI.

jchan2

I mean one minus the Navigation system.

masa2

Yes and No. If you guess that we are socialist in the sense of, let's say Cuba, then No. Spain is a democracy, and nowadays, the government is formed by a party of the left, socialists, let's say something similar to the Labour Party in UK.

P.S. Nice island. Congratulations.

Kirstie_H

Let's go ahead and let this be the end of the political conversation, and focus on the 1-Series. Thanks!

grumblesdclown

The 1er is available south-of-the-border. Is it possible to buy a 120i hatch in Mexico and title it in the US? It starts at $US26,900 (http://www.bmw.com.mx/).

jchan2

hmmm...
Does it fit US Emission and Crash Safety laws? You may have to retrofit it because its not sold in the US.

Being a BMW though you probably won't need anything more than a new odometer that reads miles instead of kilometers.

Not sure. Try checking over in Smart Shopper where they have a discussion about importing a car from out of the country.

I'm sure it can be done, I just don't know the procedures.

wale_bate1

That would be a 2L four, wouldn't it?

No thanks.

nyccarguy

Anybody here who's a BMWCCA member read the outstanding article in ROUNDEL on the 130i. There's got to be a way for BMW to test the waters here in the US. We all know the 318ti was a dissapointment to them (sales-wise), but take another crack at the hatchback market. Maybe offer it just to BMWCCA members at first. Bring it in with only a few color choices, stick or steptronic, with or without moonroof, & Standard or Sport Suspension Packages. Offer it at a fair price (no negotiating like Scion) so BMWNA, the Dealer, & the customer could be happy.

edspaw

PLEASE BMW USA, bring us the Series1 in the diesel hatchback version 120d I think it is, we would buy it!

jchan2

They should bring it. It would fare well against the Audi A3.

Speaking of which, how are sales doing for the A3?

ateixeira

The GTI just came out, so let's see if it can survive after the GTI has been around for a while. A 4 door GTI is on the way soon, too, IIRC.

That might hurt the A3 a lot. Let's see how long Audi keeps it around.

I like the A3, I just think pricing gets a bit crazy.

-juice

jchan2

If you don't add any options to the A3 it's not all that bad.

I saw one at a swanky mall in the Nashville area and it had a sticker price of $28,000. Granted, the only options it had were DSG and the OpenSky roof, but that's not bad for an Audi.

But if you tack on the Premium Package, pricing goes to the low $30's, where a base G35 with a Power Sunroof (if desired) can be had.

dhanley

I looked at the GTI a few days ago.

I must admit, i liked it quite a lot, more than the a3. For one thing, it felt quite roomy to me inside. The a3 was tight in the headoom area. With package 1+2 the GTI is 25.7K and has all the features i'd want. FWD is the sticking point for me, but i feel very positive about it in every other area. With a chip it's 250hp and 280lb-ft at low RPM's.

The audi became a little less desirable now that they're dropping the free service.

The dealer had slapped a worthless $4,000 package on the gti that i'd never get. If the car had been out for awhile and there was a good deal available on it...

dave

ateixeira

I'd want quattro, that's the thing...

-juice

jchan2

In Nashville, FronTrak would work fine leaving those of us living in southern climates the privilege of being able to consider the base A3...

dhanley

I'm not concerned with quattro for the snow, i drive my RWD car in snow all the time, but i think the FWD a3 spun the front tires too easily, and with the chip and the luscious 280lb-ft it would provide, you'd be able to spin the tires in the first 3 gears. That would look impressive, but not be as drivable as i'd like.

However, it appears with the the new turbo 3.0L coming to the states, BMW is moving to turbo engines as well, in attempts to improve both power and fuel economy. Maybe there will be a RWD 2.0T from BMW?

dave

ateixeira

Talk about rare, I saw a 5 door in silver driving home yesterday. He was on Seven Locks Rd at the intersection with Democracy Blvd.

Diplomatic plates. Might be the only one in this country for all I know!

I wonder if you can buy diplomatic cars used, i.e. if they can still be registered.

-juice

nyccarguy

I don't know if you can buy diplomatic cars. I've seen some weird ones when I lived in NYC. Once I saw a BMW 728i.

bumpy

I wonder if you can buy diplomatic cars used, i.e. if they can still be registered.

Nope, no chance at all. Diplomats can bring their cars with them to the US, but when they go home the car has to go with them. Otherwise, the Japanese and German embassies would need 200-acre parking lots to hold all the lightly-used Ms and Skylines.

jeandimaria

Hi - is it possible to buy this car in Europe somehow and bring it to the US? My husband saw one in Amsterdam and really liked the way it looked, hatchback and all.
thanks! Jean and Peter

nyccarguy

Just keep writing letters to BMWNA telling them you want the car brought here.

ateixeira

While there are gray market imports, the cost makes this impractical. I'm sure you could just buy a 3 series for less.

Unless you're a German diplomat! :P

-juice

mrbimmer

Hey im kinda dropping in on this forum, but i think BMW might actually start to bring the 1 series over in a year or two, can't say when though.
I dug this up on the internet.......
http://www.worldcarfans.com/rsslink.cfm/article/6060919.003/bmw/spy-photos-bmw-1- 35ti-3-door-hatch