[networkguy]

So my car is off the road for a couple of days for a few warranty niggles so upon dropping it into the shop this morning I was handed the keys to a brand new (16 miles on the clock) 120D SE.

Not too bothered as it's only to get me home from the dealer and back again but I was not expecting much. After all, I had just dropped in a 335D so there is a slight difference in engine spec.

Clearly my expectations were well off the mark.

First of all, the pick up from this engine actually makes it pretty nippy. Indeed on the drive home it did not actually "feel" any slower than mine although you have to admit that the 335 does not feel quick even when doing take off speed (if you know what I mean).

On the road, it felt planted and stable and to be fair, I was more than impressed with the thing. It was even bigger inside than I was expecting.

So over all I am actually impressed with the 120D and when I think about it, it does actually have more power than my old Mondeo ST yet never claims to be a sports car.

On the negative side though, the auto stop ED stuff is awful on the diesel engine. Each time the engine restarts, you really know about it. Not nice.

And how can anybody justify £22,000 for a focus sized 2.0 diesel. Indeed for this sort of money you are not far of a 320D!

And lets face it, the 1 hatch is an ugly little thing.

Would I buy one? Nope but I bet the 135 soft top is a lot of fun when (IF) the sun shines.

[Porscha!]

The 1er I'm led to believe is a very good car however - I don't like the looks of the hatch, the coupe still doesn't look quite right neither does the convertible, it is a shame.

I like the idea of the ED as when / if think it's more a case of when now I do get my 320d it won't be my only or my fun car, so therefore the more economical the better, the fact that it has decent go is all the more better

[ChrisMWard]

Having both cars sitting in the drive I tend to agree. The one is much more nimble than the three. The hatchback and folding seats give it some versatility. It's quite cheap to run as well. The trade in value is only 3 grand less than what I paid for it 13 months ago as well. It's a very sensible practical car. Of course it's no three series but I don't need two three series.

Regards

Chris

[threethirty]

I saw a 1 series coupe on the road for the first time.

It doesn't look right ... far too small. In the photos you don't get a sense of perspective but in the flesh it's not quite right.

Still, bet the 135i is a good laugh.

[booforty]

Performance and stats are impressive and I can see why its popular but I don't like the looks - just my personal opinion

[330cdsport]

With a tuning-box and 200 bhp, my wife's old 120d was an absolute country road delight. It was so chuckable and give loads of smiles when it stepped out on the occasional corner.
It felt much smaller and lighter than my E46 330cd at the time, never mind the huge E92 of now.

[CD]

yep, totally agree the 120d is a awsome little car, you just have to ignore the price tag

as i have said many times i had one before my 335d, loved it loads of grins per mile and mpgs as well, got it remaped and it was amazingly quick. I know what you mean about the 120d feeling as quick as a the 335d, but then again 30mph sitting on a gocart feels scarily fast the remaped 335d would eat it alive

if i had a 'smaller' car as well i think i would have another 1er, just for pure rear wheel drive, gocart like 'chuckability'

[Porscha!]

Originally Posted by booforty

Performance and stats are impressive and I can see why its popular but I don't like the looks - just my personal opinion

Couldn't agree more

[RichardM]

Originally Posted by threethirty

I saw a 1 series coupe on the road for the first time.

It doesn't look right ... far too small. In the photos you don't get a sense of perspective but in the flesh it's not quite right.

I agree with you there, I thought it looked ok from the pictures but as soon as I saw one on the road I thought it just looked wrong.

I bet the 123D is good to drive, no-one has mentioned that yet.

[creepy coupe]

If you think the 120d is good, then try the 123d it's amazing for a derv burner, the twin turbos really make it feel petrol like in it's throttle response.

[gr4z]

Are Beemer going to release a 323d? I wish they would...

[creepy coupe]

Originally Posted by gr4z

Are Beemer going to release a 323d? I wish they would...

I think the 3 series coupe is to get the 123d anytime soon

[gIzzE]

Our remapped 120d is the best all round car I have owned, I just loved it.
It was quicker than my 535d (dms remapped) around the country roads, it returned 38mpg hooning it round everywhere, the L7 system in it was awesome and I did a few 12 hour journeys in it to South of France, Switzerland and the Italian lakes and it was actually more comfy than the 535d as well.

I really can't rate the car highly enough, and I wish I had bought a 130i instead of the 320d M-Sport to be honest.

You can look at the 1 series as an expensive hatch, or you can look it at as the best drivers car from BMW that is not an M, and when you do think of it like that it actually becomes one of the motoring bargins out there!

The 535d only lasted around 2 months after I got the 120d m-sport, it made me realise that what I wanted from a car was not a big luxury barge, so I went and bought the CSL!

[Porscha!]

I can get this - http://www.bmw.co.uk/bmwuk/auc/car_d...UC72090VF18321 for the same price as a 320d, which if I did go for it I don't think I would need a 2nd fun car, after all a 135i Manual has got to be fun, right?!

Fair enough the MPG will be rubbish but on long motorway journeys it'll redeem itself a lot better than a 20 year old car, be a lot more reliable and I'll only have one set of insurance to pay for!

It gets you thinking, can you have it all from one car? Instead of one sensible car and one fun, old, unreliable car.

Don't think it looks too bad in black either, still not a big fan of the looks though!

[Porscha!]

123d with all the toys less than a 320d - http://www.bmw.co.uk/bmwuk/auc/car_d...UR520X0VF30285

135i for only £27000 - http://www.bmw.co.uk/bmwuk/auc/car_d...UC72050VF18266

The hatch is even cheaper for a 130i, in some way it reminds me of the Z3M! - http://www.bmw.co.uk/bmwuk/auc/car_d...UB12040VE70064

[chrisbin]

Originally Posted by Porscha!

It gets you thinking, can you have it all from one car? Instead of one sensible car and one fun, old, unreliable car.

....I always struggle with this and imo/ime the answer is "no"...

However special or fun your daily driver is, it is still no substitute for that toy which you can take out for fun as and when time/weather allows....but I guess it depends on what requirements it has to answer as a daily driver....mine has to be a proper 4 seater which is where I always struggle to find a good compromise.....

[gIzzE]

Hmmmm?? 135i or a 320d??? That's a tricky one!!

I am seriously weighing up E46 M3 vs CSL vs 335i coupe vs 135i at the moment, to even contemplate a 320d over a 135i is nuts if you ask me.


We got a new dog last week and he is going to ruin my E91 touring, so I am going to buy a 330i E46 touring and use that for every day dog duties.
But then I don't need an E91 as well, so I think I am going to swap that for something a bit more fun, it will be one of the above if BMW.

135i will be 26 mpg most of the time, 30mpg sat at 85mph. Tuned it will do 0-60 mph in 4,5 seconds but you will need to add an LSD and proper suspension to get it singing!

[Porscha!]

Originally Posted by chrisbin

....I always struggle with this and imo/ime the answer is "no"...

However special or fun your daily driver is, it is still no substitute for that toy which you can take out for fun as and when time/weather allows....but I guess it depends on what requirements it has to answer as a daily driver....mine has to be a proper 4 seater which is where I always struggle to find a good compromise.....

I know what you mean I'm of the same thoughts really! Deep down but if I could find a compromise that was a hoot to drive and would save me having to have two cars, just for a few years.

If I could have an Elise as my Daily Driver, I would but I need a bit of boot space, enough for putting "work" stuff in.

My only requirements are it must be good for 25,000ish miles a year, must be reliable (yep, I know boring...), must have some boot space, struggle very much with the MX, had to borrow my mums car today, E39 540i with has loads of boot space!

[Porscha!]

Originally Posted by gIzzE

Hmmmm?? 135i or a 320d??? That's a tricky one!!

I am seriously weighing up E46 M3 vs CSL vs 335i coupe vs 135i at the moment, to even contemplate a 320d over a 135i is nuts if you ask me.


We got a new dog last week and he is going to ruin my E91 touring, so I am going to buy a 330i E46 touring and use that for every day dog duties.
But then I don't need an E91 as well, so I think I am going to swap that for something a bit more fun, it will be one of the above if BMW.

135i will be 26 mpg most of the time, 30mpg sat at 85mph. Tuned it will do 0-60 mph in 4,5 seconds but you will need to add an LSD and proper suspension to get it singing!

LOL! I know what you mean the dilema is after looking into it, using my car everyday and having 20mpg sat at 75, no space to transport the stuff I need to transport and normally ending up needing to use my mums car every other day, which is worse than 30mpg sat at 85 !

She is getting annoyed with that as she needs the 5 Series too sometimes, it's becoming a nightmare I have two cars, one that is a resto project and one that is in use, just!!

I got two options - keep the MX carry on with my silly plans buy a 320d for purely business purposes.

OR

Buy a car for everything, 135i fits as it has a boot, is reliable etc.

If I go the 1er route, I don't have to spend out running another car, which will make up a little for the MPG loss on the 320d, though will I miss a proper old skool car with no driver aids?! I don't know, tried to go modern before and I missed old soooo bad I went back to old! This time though, I need space (well a boot bigger than an MX) and a car that is reliable, can't afford to be repairing cars by the roadside really! A better than 20mpg would be better too!

0-60 in 4.5 secs? Seriously?! Thats quicker than a stock M3 isn't it?

ETA - My only requirements are the car must be RWD, must have a boot and must be reliable, or in warranty that I can take it to a dealer and get a curtesy car if it is unreliable!!

[GarryF]

Originally Posted by chrisbin

....I always struggle with this and imo/ime the answer is "no"...

However special or fun your daily driver is, it is still no substitute for that toy which you can take out for fun as and when time/weather allows....but I guess it depends on what requirements it has to answer as a daily driver....mine has to be a proper 4 seater which is where I always struggle to find a good compromise.....

You need what I've got then I toyed with the "sensible" 4 door and weekend toy idea but then thought I'd spend 90% of the time in a slow car for similar amounts of money, so just plumped for the M3.

The M-Button is quite amazing, transforms the car from a lazy town/motorway luxury cruiser into a rabid animal on the backroads. It really is two cars in one, beats my old 530D SE on comfort yet scares the crap out of me on backlanes with 3rd gear screaming.

I'll only be doing 12k a year though, 25k might be painful

[chrisbin]

Originally Posted by GarryF

You need what I've got then I toyed with the "sensible" 4 door and weekend toy idea but then thought I'd spend 90% of the time in a slow car for similar amounts of money, so just plumped for the M3.

The M-Button is quite amazing, transforms the car from a lazy town/motorway luxury cruiser into a rabid animal on the backroads. It really is two cars in one, beats my old 530D SE on comfort yet scares the crap out of me on backlanes with 3rd gear screaming.

I'll only be doing 12k a year though, 25k might be painful

I've toyed with the idea of an M3 for years to be honest...it really is about the best compromise as you say...however......I fear that to really appreciate it you need to be doing silly speeds (which are probably to easily attainable too) which has always been my issue with Porsches...my Lotus gives driving pleasure at sensible speeds, returns 30mpg, and I always feel its an "event" when I drive it (as its not a daily driver)....oh and doesnt really cost much to keep - depreciation levelled off, annual service c.£300, insurance £275.......but it does sit doing nothing for more time than I would really like!!!

[AndyPandy]

Tried the 123D a few weeks ago and have never been so underwhelmed in my life. After all the hype I was hoping it would have felt quicker than my old GTi DSG, but it didnt. Nice car, but just didnt do it for me...