Sunday, August 12, 2007

BMW 1-series Launch, Malaysia

Thanks for the invite to the launch of the 'new' One.
Just a small facelift, more like a 'nip and tuck', but always happy to be invited to the launch of any new car! Auto Bavaria in Glenmarie were good hosts, serving breakfast before taking us through a product briefing, followed by a long test drive in a E87 118i from Glenmarie to Subang Airport and back.
Didn't try the slalom, but did realise that the car was really good to drive and toss about (lives up to the 'Ultimate Driving Machine' namesake), had good balance, a superbly smooth 6 speed auto transmission, but expereinced a rather jarring ride even though it was only sitting on 16s. It was also reasonably put together, but I did feel that the door didn't slam with an assuring thud like BMs of old. I also feel it need at last a 2.0 to really give it some poke.
Wikipedia on the new One ... The BMW 1 Series (code name E87) is a Small-luxury car / small family car produced by the German automaker BMW since 2004. Designed to compete against the Audi A3 and Volkswagen Golf, the 1 Series is the only vehicle in its class featuring rear-wheel drive and a longitudinally-mounted engine.

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