Scott Burgess: Review

BMW 1 Series offers great ride,
but comes with steep price tag

Finally, a BMW under US$30,000 that is not used, reclaimed from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina or sold in the
back lot of a chop shop.

Of course, if you decide to add an HD Radio and iPod adaptor, or Xenon headlights, or pay sales taxes,
the 2008 BMW 1 Series is going to top the 30-grand threshold.

I like the luxury European compact cars now rolling onto America's streets. It's an interesting segment to watch, and one that's
going to continue to grow. The Audi A3 and the Volvo C30 rev well in the premium compact segment, offering touches of luxury
reflective of their nameplates, but in a realistic price range. They offer excellent handling, finely tuned suspensions, urban
functionality and sporty turbo chargers. These are the cars you expect some Internet savvy hipster to hop out of, brush off his
skinny jeans and start talking in a faux British accent. Trust me, he lives in L.A. and his grandmother makes the lease payments.

The 1 Series misses that mark, as well as that crowd. Instead, the 1 Series becomes the other Boleyn girl -- anxious to tempt
away a frugal highness too cheap to plunk down the extra $4,000 for a proper 3 Series. Cannibalism -- an industry term for
similar models made by the same automaker that steal customers from itself without attracting new ones -- only leaves the
manufacturer with indigestion.

But my gripes with the 1 Series aren't with the car's performance, they're with BMW for not making it more different.
This coupe comes with two engine options and as a convertible. So does the 3 Series.
There's no hatchback offering or baby wagon. If you can afford to pay $30K for a 1 Series, what's a few thousand more to
bump up to the 3 Series? Finding differences between them is like being Henry the Eighth trying to choose who's hotter:
Scarlett Johansson or Natalie Portman.

Here are some changes: BMW chopped 9.4 inches off the 1 Series' total length compared with the 3 Series.
The wheel base is four inches shorter and the car's width is two inches less. This gives you a more nimble and sporty vehicle.
But its' weight is only a few hundred pounds less than the 3 Series, so most of the potential pep is lost.
Same engines, nearly the same weight.

That doesn't mean the 1 Series is not an absolute blast to lash about on the byways of Southeast Michigan. It is.

My test vehicle, the 135i, was fantastic on the road. On the highway, acceleration was blistering quick -- even when I was
driving 70 miles per hour and needed that extra boost. I had more than enough power to speed up and merge, instead of
humbly slowing down and praying someone might let me into the lane. Drop the six-speed manual transmission to fourth
and the 1 Series bolts past everyone, letting you glide in front of the semi 500 feet ahead.

Around town, the suspension and steering was fantastic. The 1 Series uses the same set up as the 3 Series with an
aluminum double-pivot front suspension and a five-link fully independent rear. It gobbles up most rough roads -- although it
sounded like someone was smashing a 20-pound sledge hammer against the front quarter panel when I hit a few potholes.
In fairness to the BMW, Hummers sound just as abused when fording the concrete menaces.

Grip and handling on the 1 Series is also excellent. BMW's dynamic stability and traction control keep this coupe balanced
and firmly planted on the road, and they don't kick in as soon as they sense a slippage. It's a rear-wheel drive vehicle, so of
course there's going to be slippage now and again. That's why you buy a rear-wheel drive car. The system serves as a safety
net for fun driving instead of an electronic wet blanket. The 18-inch performance tires clawed into the road, never giving an inch,
until I tried to drive in snow. This is more of a three-season kind of ride.

The Active Steering, a variable speed system, also feels well weighted at every speed. It's firm and balanced and provides
the proper resistance through turns and along straight-aways.

1 Series lacks regal qualities

Now some nuts and bolts: The 3-liter six-cylinder engine and the 3-liter twin turbocharged direct injection six-cylinder are
the same powertrains found in the 3 Series models. So the power numbers are exactly the same: 300 horses at 5,800 rpm
for the twin turbo version and 300 pound-feet of torque starting at 1,400 rpm.
Lose the turbos and the power drops slightly to 230 horses and 200 pound-feet of torque.

For most people, the 1 Series is fun enough with the smaller straight six engine -- it's not quite as quick, but it satiates
most drivers' need for speed.A more skilled pilot will turn the twin-turboed 135i into a rocket ship.
Start at stop and blast off -- and before you finish "six Mississippi," you're hitting highway speeds.

One of the biggest differences between the 1 and 3 Series is in their looks.
The 3 Series looks classic and regal. The 1 Series does not.

It looks like German engineers devised a shrink ray to create the first fully operational 15/16ths scale version of a 3 Series.
However, as everyone who has seen "Fantastic Voyage" knows, shrink rays never work the way they're supposed to.
While the front of the 1 Series remains true to BMW, sloping down into a frown, the sides look sucked in and hollow.
Puddles of excess material gather at the bottom of the doors like curtains too long for the window, and the roof bubbles
up like a piece of Muenster under a broiler. The lesson here: Shrinkage is not always good.

Straight off the irregulars rack

The interior is another story. It's on par with any BMW, clean and elegant.

Aluminum trim gives the 1 Series a polished and machined look and the M-inspired steering wheel, gear shifter
(and aero kit on the exterior) remind you that the 1 Series is a still a serious machine.

Overall, the cockpit is comfortable and sporty. It holds you firmly in place and inspires you to speed up.
"Honest officer, my six-way adjustable seats covered in Boston leather and firm bolsters made me go fast."

There's also BMW's much-maligned iDrive in the 1 Series, as part of the navigation system.
Lots of people hate the iDrive.
To this day, I can't figure out why.
My tip: Read the owner's manual.
Once you do, you'll realize you can control nearly everything through one knob.

The 1 Series also comes with a full complement of technology:
Bluetooth for the phone, USB connection for the iPod and Sirius satellite radio, HD radio and a premium sound system
for the audiophile.

The second row for the 1 Series is small. But the seats fold down in a 60/40 split and provide plenty of room for stuff,
as long as the stuff doesn't demand leg room.

The coupe is a very comfortable ride for two people. If two more join the party, they'll have to make do in the back for short trips
to the movies or a club. A long haul in the back for an adult is not recommended.

Overall, there are lots of excellent qualities of the 1 Series, but it rides too closely to the 3 Series to make an impact.
A fully loaded 135i can easily top $40,000, and if driving a BMW is the status you desire, why not pay full price instead
of picking up the Baby Bimmer that looks like you purchased it off the irregulars rack for a discount.

While other carmakers cruise that fine line of premium compacts -- offering stylish hatchbacks with performance and luxury
-- the 1 Series falls short in that segment and therefore, for BMW.