5 months ago 30th Jun 09:20
It seems crazy that as summer arrives, there has been little mention of convertibles. Unfortunately manufacutrers this year has been rather reluctant to launch any. Perhaps the weather was so appalling last year they decided to not too bother. Sad really as convertibles are so utterly cool and we Brits have a love affair with them.
Only a sprinkling has dared showed their faces to date. The new Audi A3, previously reported on and a couple of facelifts to the Mitsubishi Colt and Volvo C70.
However BMW have braved the weather and launched their convertible onto the highly acclaimed BMW 1 series. Now I have to admit not being a huge fan of BMW mainly due to the appalling driver antics I witness on a regular basis by the said BMW drivers. All this was about to change after driving the BMW 125i Convertible around for a glorious week where the sun did actually shine and I felt the exhilaration of open top motoring that is unbeatable.
It has been thirty years since BMW offered us a soft-top convertible. Most manufacturers are sticking to the hardtop but BMW along with Audi decided to go back in time. I do believe Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes has had a profound effect on the designers.
The benefits of a soft top are twofold. Firstly every other driver instantly recognises the car to be such and secondly, there is more room in the luggage area. The downside is those dreadful green-eyed monsters that take out their jealousy by cowardly slashing the roof. However, the materials used are made of tougher stuff these days so damage is limited.
The BMW 1 series convertible is the baby of the BMW family yet inherits many of its sibling characteristics. Three trims are available, ES, SE and M Sport mated to either two petrol engines or one diesel. Further engines are in the pipeline. My test car was the 125i SE six-cylinder petrol engine that certainly blew away any cobwebs sprinting to 62mph in just 6.8 seconds and having a top speed of 148 mph. What surprised and impressed me were the fuel consumption figures showing 34.9 mpg on a combined cycle. CO2 emissions are pretty good considering, falling in al 195g/km, as was the price tag of £26,205.
So what do you get for your money? Well firstly and most importantly, a stunning looking car that not only caused my neighbours lockjaw, but also turned more heads than a nodding dog. Do not be fooled into thinking the baby is small. The BMW 125i has beautiful proportions on par with its siblings most noticeably the trademark double headlamp unit and large kidney grille that dominate the front end. Body coloured bumpers, door mirrors (electrically adjustable and heated) door handles and roof roll gutters kicks starts this wow factors followed by the exhaust tailgate and 16 inch alloy wheels. The rear is similar to the Coupe variant in the way the boot lid finishes and brings on the next wow factor.
Your Comments:
by PAUL SHORT - 17:11:57 30th Jun 2008
Disagree with reviewer. The arrogant aggressive BMW driver has been in the main replacedment by the Audi driver. Clarkson agrees with me see the Sunday Times 29.06.08.