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Tuesday, 6th of January 2009

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BMW 1-Series 118d Efficient Dynamics Road Test Report

118d Efficient Dynamics

The luxury end of the market is going green and the first car we have on test is the BMW 1-Series 118d EfficientDynamics variant. The five door car looks like a normal 118d as it doesn’t have any special badging on the car. We had the SE trim level on test and this variant starts at £18,880.

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Performance

The 1-Series is the latest green machine from BMW – But how does it work? The EfficientDynamics system brings more performance for fewer emissions thanks to German maker’s regenerative braking, electric power steering and an automatic start-stop function. You’ll be surprised at the 2.0-litre diesel picks up remarkably well around town and even though the ratios are long geared the car is very responsive all the way from first to sixth. The BMW 1-Series118d is quick against the clock too – it can do the zero to 62mph sprint in 9.0 seconds and has a top speed of 130mph. Still the only rear wheel drive car in its class it still is the ultimate driving machine.

Ride & Handling

The big downside with the BMW 1-Series is the ride – even on motorways it is poor as the Run Flat tyres make you notice every bump and pothole in the road. On the upside the handling is superb – driving the car enthusiastically is a pleasurable experience. Push on into bends and the car feels planted, the steering is direct giving you lots of feedback while the weighting on the steering wheel is perfect – a familiar trait of BMW. The brakes are really strong while you have a smooth shifting gearbox, which is also fast and accurate if you want to up-shift quickly. The engine is refined – meaning there are no intrusive noises in the cabin to irritate you on your drive.

Build Quality & Reliability

The German maker has been renowned for its engineering and build quality. The doors shut with a quality sounding thud and the shut lines are perfect – there are also no panel gaps – you can be sure this is a very well made car. Jump in and you’ll see that the plastics and materials used are of high quality. Standard features on our 118d SE model included Climate control, rear parking sensors, trip computer, electric power-steering, ISOFIX, Auto Stop-Start, auxiliary input, DSC traction control, run-flat tyres, brake energy regeneration system.

Safety & Security

When it comes to safety the BMW 11D SE is well equipped- in fact there’s too much to mention. To protect you in an accident it has Driver and passenger, front and side airbags while it also has Head airbags for the front and rear. To make the car even safer a crash sensor activates the central locking release, hazard warning lights, fuel cut-off and interior lighting. While if you only have a very slow knock the car has deformation zones front and rear, door reinforcements and bumpers that regenerate to their original shape in impacts up to 2.5 mph. To keep your car secure the car comes with an Alarm system with remote control (Thatcham category 1).

Space & Practicality

A problem with the 1-Series is that interior space is modest due to the rear wheel drive layout of the car. If you’re average height or over then travelling in the back is going to be a real squeeze. The boot is supermini-sized fitting a set of golf clubs in can be awkward, you’ll have to either fold part of the rear seat down to get your Driver, and Woods in or place them flat on the rear seat. However the driving position is excellent once you master how to operate the manual controls – you will need the manual for this as it’s not as straight forward as you might think.

Ownership & Value

The BMW is a fantastic proposition – not only is this variant green offering CO2 emissions of just 119g/km it is also a proper drivers’ car. Its great fun and you can be eco-friendly while enjoying yourself – driving sensibly we got 55mpg on the combined cycle and when pushing on we still got 48.7mpg. Retained values should be good to expect to do well when you come to sell. The 1-Series is not to everybody’s taste in the looks department but it does have an excellent diesel line-up, which is eco-friendly, give good fuel economy and the involving handling makes it a great drivers’ car.

Submitted: 09/06/2008 10:54:12

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