BMW 1 SERIES CONVERTIBLE REVIEW

My car

Having owned a 3 series compact prior to this I felt it was getting a bit old. had the compact 4 years bought 2nd hand and had a great experience with this car no problems. Spending £25,000 I expected the 118 to be far better quality but was disappointed it is no where near as sturdy and doesnt compare to quality of older models of bmw. The handbrake is extremely slack and has to be left in 1st gear on slight hills. Having had this checked i was told this is how the handbrake should be and also casing on my back brake light has just fallen off on more than 1 occasion this does no look good especially on a brand new car and when the polce stop you. The car is a real head turner and there are some really good qualitys like fuel economy, but I find myself wondering what else will go wrong with it. The paintwork is also no where near as good as my previous model which is the same shade black sapphire. It scratches very easily. I regret trading in my older model for this vehicle.

My car

Bought a 120i SE, having previously owned a 320d coupe (2005 model) and tested the new Audi A3 Cabriolet. The drive, handling and overall feel is vastly superior to the old 320d. I find it nippy, really good fun, great on both country roads and motorways - all in all, very impressive.

Despite the A3 Cab offering slightly more for the money, it was really no competition in my opinion. This was a fun drive, the A3 felt drab; BMW have the wow factor with the styling, the A3 looks outdated already; and despite what it says in reviews, I found the BMW just as roomy in the cabin, with a much better boot - the A3 boot is a joke as you can't get into it!!

My advice - buy it and the smile will not leave your face.

My car

Test driven this car as an automatic with and for my mother who is in the market for a soft top. Performance is decent even with the auto and will be better than we have experienced as the demo. car had only 18 miles on the clock at the start of the drive. I own a BMW 320d myself and as a strong critic on this web site and else where of run-flat tyres I was looking out carefully to see how suspension tuning and tyre technology has come on in the last 3 years with this car. In short, forget every negative report you may have ever read with run flat tyres, on this car BMW and Goodyear with their 17" NCT 5's have cracked it, no tramling, no deflection of the steering wheel off bumps, little in the way of skipping around bumpy corners and the ride is not harsh. It is a firm ride but impressively comfortable, wind noise and general refinement is excellent and the cars driving dynamics are everything existing BMW owners would expect. My 63 year old mother who is no demon behind the wheel now knows exactly what rear wheel drive and a great chassis and can do for you and she loves it. There is a bit of scuttle shake and a subtle rippling vibration through the car on rough roads, but considering it's an open top you cannot criticise it for that, I am being picky with this comment.

My car

I have test drove this car for a day, having had bmw 318 & 325 coupes before, I wanted to go back to a BMW after moving to Saab 18 months ago and purchaseing a new convertable 93 and being disapointed. The 1 Series convertable will be driven by my wife most of the time so needed to be able to have loads of seat adjustment as she is only 5ft and i'm 6ft. The seat adjustment is excellent for both of us, controls all easy to reach and good alround visability for all drivers. The rear seat space has more leg room when the front seats are back then our 93 saab. however the rear two seats are closer together so less side room. My kids 10 & 17 found it no problem. Boot space is great and you can still get the cases in with the roof down, this was a mian concern for us as the 3 series has non when the steel roof is down, well not enought to be able to fit any thing useful in anyway. The Car was very good on handling and I am pretty hard on a car, excelent cornering and very smooth brakeing with no effort. The rear wheel drive offers fantastic ride and grip on the road the car is well balanced, compared with our present front wheel dive car. The 18ltr engine was responsive in the higher gears. The 20lt diesel option engine has got very low emissions for the power with great mpg. We thought it was the best convertable we had tested,It's basic spec has a lot with it compared with other cars of same size.We ordered one and await delivery. Spec we choose: 120D, Msport,