BMW 1 Series 3-Door Range : THREE INTO ONE DOES GO

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One look at BMW's three-door 1 Series will be enough to convince many that this was the way the baby of the range was always supposed to look. By Andy Enright

BMW designer Chris Bangle has taken a lot of flak down the years. His style is much like an embattled politician who knows what brickbats will inevitably be heading their way. Bangle stood in the firing line and took the heat for the 7 Series, the 5 Series, the 6 Series, the Z4, the X3 and the 1 Series. At every press launch, he encountered hostile questioning from people who didn't `get' the styling. I was one of them. As time goes by, it's easier to see what Bangle was trying to achieve and the 1 Series is perhaps the most extreme shape of the lot.

It always looked a little too hunched for my tastes, the five doors giving it a busy, truncated look, yet with a front engine and rear wheel drive platform, there exists the scope for something very sleek. A partial solution comes with the introduction of this three-door variant which plays the sports hatch card a little more convincingly. Although the three-door bodyshell possibly offers a degree more stiffness, if you've driven a five-door 1-Series you'll know broadly what to expect. Eight engines are offered, seven with four cylinders and the powerful 3.0-litre six-cylinder unit in the 130i. None of the engines are entirely new but they're still very well regarded powerplants. A 115bhp 1.6-litre petrol engine powers the entry-level 116i. This is good for a sprint to 60mph of 10.1 seconds and a combined fuel economy figure of 48.7mpg. Then comes the 118i with 143bhp and 0-60mph acceleration of 8.8s. If you want a little more from your petrol engine, opt for the 120i that develops 170bhp and offers sparky performance figures of 7.8 seconds to the 60mph benchmark. The 130i is seriously rapid, the 0-60mph sprint takes 6s and the 155mph limiter will come into play if you continue to press on but don't expect much more than 30mpg. Unless you've got an aversion to the black pump, the real standout performers in the 1 Series line-up are the four 2.0-litre diesel engines. The 116d has 116bhp and 64mpg economy while the 118d develops 143bhp and yet will still return an average of over 60mpg and get to 60mph quicker than the petrol 116i. The star of the 1 Series range remains the 120d, a 177bhp turbodiesel that will get to 60mph in just over 7.6 seconds and still return 57.6mpg. Better still is the 123d with its 204bhp performance and 7s 0-60mph sprint underpinned by 54mpg economy.

"The BMW 1 Series has established itself as the enthusiast choice in this sector"

Designed to compete in the compact executive sector, the 1 Series might be truncated in length but spend any time behind the wheel and you'll soon realise you're not being shortchanged any of BMW's look and feel. Rear wheel drive has traditionally been something of an anomaly in this market sector and key rivals such as the Volkswagen Golf, the Alfa Romeo 147 and the Audi A3 are built around front wheel drive platforms. Asking the front wheels to perform the tasks of steering and deploying the power is distinctly sub optimum in terms of outright handling. How many Formula One cars are front wheel drive? Exactly. Where front wheel drive has traditionally scored is that it's easy and cheap to manufacture a transverse-engined hatch with a front gearbox and drive going to the front wheels. You needn't worry about a bulky transmission tunnel running through the cabin so it works in terms of packaging too. Clamber into the back of the 1 Series three-door and you'll find less room than in a supermini like a Honda Jazz. With a six-footer behind the wheel, legroom is shockingly bad and the transmission tunnel means that you won't ever want to travel piggy in the middle on the rear bench. BMW recognises this and offers a neater four-seat configuration at no extra cost. This features two sculpted rear seats and a central storage compartment rather than the more commonplace three abreast rear bench. The SE and the Sport models feature climate control, 16-inch alloy wheels and front fog lamps. Try to resist the temptation to upgrade to the 17-inch alloys. Although the car does look a bit beefier with the bigger wheels, the rigid sidewalls of the run-flat tyres don't do a great deal for ride comfort. For the same reason, the firmly-suspended Sport trim level isn't the one most would choose on typically bumpy British roads. At the top of the range, meanwhile, sits the M Sport model with its lower spoilers and sills, bigger alloy wheels and M Sports suspension. Elsewhere, BMW have changed some of the equipment and detailing. The 1 Series now features an Automatic Start-Stop function to cut fuel consumption, Brake Energy Regeneration to reduce alternator drag on the engine, and a revised kidney grille to improve airflow to the engine. There's also a lower front spoiler and a darker cover for the headlight cluster. At the back the bumper has been restyled to sit the car lower to the ground and the rear lights have been re-profiled. The 1 Series has a reputation as a premium product and if you're looking at models like the 120d and the 130i, they're certainly not cheap. What's less well known is that the 118i or the 118d can be yours for less than the price of a half-decent Volkswagen Golf and they feel a whole lot more special than any mainstream hatch. About the closest thing in terms of boutique feel is probably the Alfa Romeo 147, but this lacks the 1 Series' impeccable balance. The BMW 1 Series has established itself as the enthusiast choice in this sector but the price of owning the best driving machine is owning a car that looks a little frumpy. Yes, the basic shape is getting a bit easier on the eye as Chris Bangle's vision swims into view but it's only with the launch of this three-door variant that the One gets that added visual kick that will persuade younger buyers out of their Audi A3s. It's by no means a cheap car, especially when choosing an engine that can really exploit the fundamental rightness of the chassis, but if you can swallow the upfront cost, ongoing bills are comparatively modest. This is a car that offers so many possibilities. I'm just biding my time in case BMW announce a three door 135d. Now that would be somethingâ€¦

Facts At A Glance
CAR: BMW 1 Series three-door range
PRICES: £16,410 - £26,810 - on the road
INSURANCE GROUPS: 10-17
CO2 EMISSIONS: 150-181g/km
PERFORMANCE: [120d] 0-60mph 7.7s / Max speed 137mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: [120d] (combined) 49.6mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front, side and head airbags / ABS
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Heightmm 4227/1751/1430