Bucket Seat: BMW 118i

So couple weeks ago I got to spend some time with BMW's all-new 1 Series, when it was first launched I didn't like the look of the car. It seemed like a reconfigured X2. The sharp nose, large grille and the slanted front headlights did nothing to woo my enthusiasm over the new design. The press pictures did little to flatter me, nor did any of the M Performance parts which you could decorate the car with did any convincing. As always I tend to reserve judgement until I see it in the metal, so when the 118i in the M Sports guise came rolling in, it took me just a couple of seconds to respect what BMW did with the design of the car. Yes, I know how can you change your mind so quickly? Well, to use an old cliche,  you have to see it to believe it is all I can add. With COVID-19 still having a firm grip on the country, time with the 118i was less than normal with a test car so I had to make the most of it. With it having the smallest engine in the line-up, it was obvious that the motor was made for economy on mind, so the only real thing for me to test was performance, could this baby still give an enthralling drive like we're so used to with all BMW's? Well read on and find out.

DESIGN

Like I said in the intro, in pictures the 1 Series isn't the easiest on the eye but in the metal, once you take a closer look at the detail in the design, the folds, the curves, the angles as well as the materials, you'll realise very quickly that there is a lot to like and appreciate about the new 1 Series. This being fitted with the M Sport kit has all the necessary bulk to make it look as good as a genuine M model. From the front, the aggressiveness is apparent with it's wide diffuser and the sculptured edges to push the airflow into the intakes either side which cool the wheels and brakes. The side profile maintains this sporty look and while the kit has no prominence apart from the bottom sill it does give a nice blend to the body. The rear of the car has that wide stance and blacked diffuser which is finished in high gloss plastic, this really is great which even for the bottom entry models to have this sort of materials in the finishes gives the car a premium look. The air vents on the back are sadly fake but not a major issue as it's more there for looks than any functionality. Stepping inside the 1 Series, most of it is very similar to the new generation BMW look, with the new M Sport steering wheel and instrument cluster, which is slightly smaller than the other models.

PERFORMANCE

The 118i has BMW's smallest engine in their line-up, it's powered by the 1.5L TwinPower Turbo, an engine you can find in the Mini Cooper, not very exciting right? But believe it or not its also the same combustion engine in the BMW i8 so it has some cred to it. Given that the 1 Series is bigger and heavier than the Mini, this engine does seem a lot more pluck in the 118i, delivering 103kW and 220Nm of torque is rather impressive from a 3 cylinder motor while achieving a 0-100kph time of just 8.5 seconds. The car itself feels pretty solid on the road and picks up speed well, coasting is a charm in this car, one slight gripe I may have with it is with it being front wheel drive, the car does tend to jump on take off, so keep those hands firm on the wheel. The 1 Series comes with BMWs standard cruise control, it is pretty simple to use and set but does have the auto braking feature. The car is very nimble and easy to navigate through tight spots, so parking in a congested parking garage is enough for everyone. Parking not your thing? You can just opt for parking assist option which will do the tough work for you.

COMFORT

While the 1 Series is the baby in the line-up, it is a decent size when compared to the hatchbacks, the cabin is spacious and very roomy, the seats are lower than usual but gives you a nice view of the cockpit from the drivers perspective. As mentioned its pretty much what you would expect in a new BMW with a similar set up, albeit a bit scaled down. The car has dual zone climate control for the driver and the passenger as well as a single zone system for the passengers at the back. The red leather "Dakota" interior really was a great contrast to the Alpine white exterior and the choice for colours and materials from BMW is quite vast for you to chose from, while you could have a similar spec to someone else, there are details in which you can change, from the stitching to the types of textures you want on the dash and doors. The 1 Series has its ambient lighting built-in to the dash where as the likes of the 3 Series have it underside the beading. Boot space is decent, it can fit my golf clubs so that is all that matters to me!

VERDICT

Overall, I was left pretty impressed with the 118i, look I know it's the smallest engine in the BMW stable so for me seeing if it was economical wasn't on the top of my agenda, seeing if it could still deliver the performance we know and love from the German manufacturer was and it delivered with a charm. While my foot was pretty heavy with it, the fuel usage wasn't too bad if I have to say so myself. Base price on this model is a tough one to swallow but if you look at what you getting and there is zero compromise on luxury, I say its worth it given that that the competitors use inferior materials and line up similarly in costs so the value is there.

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine	1.5L Twin Power Turbo
Gear Box	Automatic Steptronic
Torque	220Nm
Power	103kW
Consumption	5.9L/100km
Price	R619,800*

*Base Price

BMW M Festival 2019

After the success of BMW M Festival 2017, South Africa is getting ready for the second installment of this weekend long Beemer Fest. There's no doubt the country shares a strong love affair with the German motor manufacturer and with them investing so heavily in our country with their production plant, it only furthers the bond between the company and the country with this festival. Taking place at Kyalami from the 26th to the 27th of October, visitors to the festival and expect an action packed day, from track demo's, to viewing the latest in BMW's models to hit the shores of Mzanzi. 

Confirmed models to be showcased at the show are the much anticipated X3 and X4 M Competition, the performance range topping model of both popular SAV models is sure to be hit in the country. With the X3 being manufactured at Plant Rosslyn it holds a special place for South Africans but these specific M models come fully assembled from BMW's Spartanburg plant in the US. Other models that will surely get the pulse racing is the all-new BMW X6 which is a coupe based SUV variant of the new X5, the all-new 1 Series which many anticipate to be the range topping M135i xDrive. We hope for the crowds that it will be fully kitted out in the M Performance bits.  Another one not to be missed is the introduction to the market of the 340i xDrive. This model is another one that had locals itching, as its the first 3 Series model to feature BMW's all wheel drive system. Personally though, the star attraction of the show has to be the new 8 Series Gran Coupe. 

I'm a massive fan of these models from BMW and with the 8 Series Coupe already winning the hearts of many in the country, I cannot wait to see this longer, four door version of the already stunning car. In pictures it looks elegant and classy, in the metal I'm sure it is the same and a whole lot more. Not sure which engine variant will be on display at M Festival 2019 but I won't be surprised if its the M850i xDrive. 

Seeing that this is an event that caters for the family, BMW South Africa have a huge line up of live entertainment at the stage area. Artists such as DJ Kent, Goodluck, DJ Fresh, Nasty C, Ricky Rick and Zondering of the Netherlands just to name a few will be hitting the stage to provide you with music and sounds to get you moving on that dance floor. A full line up of the artists and times can be found below. 

Tickets for M Festival 2019 can be purchased from bmwmfestival2019.howler.co.za, follow BMW SA on their various social media channels for more info leading up to the event. 

Bucket Seat: BMW M135i

I'm not the biggest fan of hatchbacks, we've only ever owned sedans in my family and big ones at that. Learning how to drive in a large sedan did prove useful to me as anything else that I needed to drive didn't seem like a big adjustment. Hence my love for them continued, even whilst many raved about hatchbacks, I never really took the liking to them, yes I admired the hot hatches but the urge wasn't there. Yes sure they're great cars and most are great value for money but maybe I just preferred having an actual boot? 

BMW called me up  earlier this year and said they were going to send their M135i to me for a week, this was the second time this car was scheduled for me as the last time someone had some trouble with the power of it and it had to go in for some minor repairs, so I was really looking forward to getting this car. Having driven the 120i late last year, I knew the 1 Series was one of the better in it's range compared to it's competitors so having a go in their range topping model was an opportunity I was waiting for.

Since the day it arrived, you knew this car was special. It rolled in, painted in their signature Estoril Blue, with 18" smoked alloy rims, flared air in takes on the front M Sport bumper which was painted in silver and the twin black performance exhausts that hummed to the tuned of its roaring 3 liter, 6 cylinder engine. It made the hair on the back of your neck stand up, this car was no soccer moms car but a proper hot hatch and as much as you can read stats out of the booklet, there's no true way to describe this car unless you experience it yourself. 

BMW cars come in 4 driving modes, Eco-Pro for your conservative driver, Comfort, for your everyday, any type of driving style, Sport, something to beef up the engines response time and then lastly Sport + which beefs up the engine as well as switches off any car aids such as tractional control and ESP. In a car like the M135i, one won't even bother with Eco-Pro as once you take off in comfort with your foot planted to the floor, all you want it more!

The roar from the exhaust is exhilarating and unleashes various emotions while driving it, all of them good though! I described this car as such in one of my tweets, the raw power of the motor working with the twin turbo's is magnificent, it evokes the pure passion of the guys from the factory in Munich. It's relentless and hard working but delivers performance every time you need it. It left me flabbergasted to be honest. It got to a point that I wanted to drive all them time while I had it, I offered people rides to places and even took pointless drives. 

Style

The One Series isn't much to write home about in terms of styling but I really like what they did with the face-lift. The revised lights both at the front and back add real character to the car and gives it that more executive feel. With the M Sport Package, it really beefed the car up. The M front bumper with large air-intakes, blacked out kidney grille and the non-existence of fog lights really gave the car a menacing look. The side profile has had some tweaking with M135i badged into the side skirts of the doors, the rear which had a splitter in the back bumper with it blacked out at the bottom completed the devilish look of the car. Something different about this car is the day time running lights, normally with the BMW we're used to seeing the "angel lights" or halo around the main lights but with the One series, it's more of a tear drop at the bottom which I thought was quite cool.

Comfort

Getting into the car, it seems like any other BMW, pretty much a standard setup with the added extra's of the M Sport package, that being lots of chrome, silver and sporty finishes, not forgetting the electronic racing seats. The M Sport steering wheel is probably my favourite steering wheel ever, if they can be such a thing. The look, the feel and the styling of it is just great. Being a sports model, you would expect the ride quality to be quite stiff and hard but it was quite the opposite, you cant tell the difference of the ride quality between this and a 318i.

Performance

Where do I begin? All you wan't to do with this car is give it horn's and its more than happy to reciprocate. Acceleration is phenomenal, 0-100Kph in 5 seconds and it just keeps climbing at the same pace, no slowing down until it reaches it's governed speed of 250Kph. Unfortunately unlike the German's autobahn one needs a private road or test track to achieve this as our national speed limit is 120Kph. The engine is the same one that get's fitting into all of the '35i badged cars, well now they're being re-badged as '40i. You won't get the most out of this car from day to day driving as it isn't as thrilling as taking it out on the open roads, which is why I did a trip to the Natal Midlands over the weekend. 

Driving

There's no ill I can speak about the car, it performs like a beast, handles like a dream, comfort of any other car in the BMW stable and it makes such a beautiful noise. Maybe there is one thing, but that would be a given,  it does tend to make you notice more than you would like. The fuel consumption, the booklet claims it to have a combined consumption of 8 liters per 100Km but realistically its more like 10.9, switch over into sports mode and the figure almost doubles, hence I said at the beginning to throw the booklet out. The estimated range on sports mode drops faster than the Rand when we change Finance Ministers. Is it worth it though? Hell yes! Every single rand to liter is worth it with this car.

Extras
The car came with pretty much most of the thing standard on the M Package but notable extras were the reverse camera with front and rear PDC, Satnav and larger display screen, lane departure warning which comes handy at high speeds, Xenon lights, Memory seats, Sunroof and light package.

Verdict
This car gives you an andrenilin rush of note, it gets your blood pumping and awakens your soul. Yes it is small and not the most powerful engine from BMW but the complete package is simply mind blowing. The amount of joy it brings you from driving it is unbelievable and it will leave you with a stupid grin on your face every time you get out of the car. Compared to the other hot hatches it lines up against, it's not the fastest but I'd rate it the best in terms of what you're getting. It's not badly priced and the quality of the product is great. If I could afford one, I'd definitely have one in my garage. 

Specifications

• 3 litre, 6cylinder TwinPower Turbo
• 8 Speed Sports Automatic Transmission
• 240kW
• 450Nm torque
• Consumption: 8.0ltr/ 100km
• Top Speed: 250kph
• 0-100kph: 5.1 seconds 
• Price: R572 000 (excluding extras)

Bucket Seat: BMW 120i

It's been just over a week since I gave back the BMW 120i and truth be told, I miss it more than I expected to. Being the baby of the fleet, BMW's 1 Series won't strike you as a car that could live up to it's bigger siblings but German manufacturer thought otherwise. Despite being relatively well priced, they spare no expensive in making this car as good as the rest. 

The face lift 1 Series that is on sale now feels like a more mature product that the model it replaced, not to say the previous one was slightly less better but with revised front headlights and back tail lights just make the car look a little more grown up. I had the 3 door 120i to drive around for the week and I was seemingly impressed with it. 

Style

As mentioned above, the revised lights do give it that more elegant grown up look but the car it self looks more sleeky and less bulky than before. The 3 door variant exudes the sporty nature, with it's long coupe doors with frameless windows which curve back to form the boot makes the car look like it means business. The rear of the car is finished off flush with the new elongated tail lights and the boot lid opened secretly hidden in the BMW emblem. The car came with 17" alloys which did look rather drab for the Sport Line kit but there are other variants to chose from.

The interior is nothing short of class, sticking to their minimalistic approach, BMW's team crafted this cabin with the same attention to detail as they would any other of their cars. All materials are of high quality and it's evident in everywhere you look. Some manufacturers tend to use cheaper quality materials in their entry level segments but I'm glad to see BMW didn't follow suite.

Comfort

When inside, it feels like anyother BMW, ride quality is great, the suspension perfect and with it's some-what nimble size, its perfect to throw around the corners. With the perfect weight distribution, driving around in the car is fun all the time. Even though it might be bigger than the Mini, it still gives you that go-kart feel but with a bit more stability. The car came with electronic memory seats which I have become quite accustomed to and is honestly a must have in the car, this also helped with the ease of moving the seat for the back passengers to get in. The room in the back was pretty decent given that this was  a coupe, 2 adults could sit in comfort when seating arrangements were slightly comprised for the front passengers. 

Performance

Power for the 120i is derived from BMW's 1.6 litre Twin Power Turbo engine, pushing out 130kw and 250Nm of torque. The car is a  heavy and in comfort more it did feel a bit sluggish on take off but I think that was mainly due to the gear box, when switched over to sport mode, things did get more lively, at a price though since your consumption goes up.The standard automatic gearbox is to blame, its good but the optional 8 speed M Sport with paddle shift just gives the car a little more oomf with its faster changes and higher revs, which in turn makes it much more fun to drive.

Storage

The trunk in the 3 door 1 Series was surpringly big for a car this size, more than enough space to chuck in some luggage for a weekend away, or if there was something more bulky, simply drop the rear seats and you're good to go. 

Extras

The car came with some handy extras and some not so handy extras, nothing that was unique to the 1 series though, on a car like this you wouldn't necesarrily want to add the reverse camera on it as it would be fairly simple to park but thats just me. The extended screen for the Satelitte navigation was a plus for me, not sure why but the bigger the display for me, the better it is. As I said previously, electronic memory seats should be standard and this one had it, albeit as an extra. Things it didn't have that annoyed me was single zone airconditioning and the normal automatic gearbox.

Verdict

Overall, it's a brilliant product from BMW, priced well along side its competitors and in honest offers the better product. There's nothing that makes this car feel inferior compared to the other models in BMW's stable. It's built well, it looks great and it drives like it should. Even though it was not the range topping 135i, it still gave some hot hatches worrying moments on the road.

Specifications

• 1.6 litre, 4 cylinder TwinPower Turbo
• 8 Speed Sports Automatic Transmission
• 130kW
• 250Nm torque
• Consumption: 5.3ltr/ 100km
• Top Speed: 225kph
• 0-100kph: 7.5 seconds 
• Price: R415 300 (excluding extras)

Bucket Seat: BMW 228i Convertible

When BMW launched the 2 series, it was a whole new model with a sense of individuality to it, they didn't want it to be just a 1 series with a boot like the previous 1 series coupe. Yes while it still may have been based on the 1 series, the 2 series was different in many ways. The styling was quite different with much longer and sleeker head lights, the car itself seemed a bit lower in height and of course the redesigned boot and rear headlights. The car looked like a mini racer and with the various packages offered by BMW, the customer had plenty to chose from . 

Funnily enough one of the most sold models is the range topping 235i, which was the star in the infamous BMW Drift Mob video, might I add that it was shot on our shores in Cape Town. I was never lucky enough to get the 2 Series coupe to test but upon my recent visit to the Mother City, I was handed the keys to the BMW 228i Convertible, its like the coupe but with an optional roof. I must add that the thought did cross my mind to re-create the Drift Mob video but on second thought I knew it would land me in a lot of trouble with the authorities. 

Comfort

The car is a 4 seater, almost all the time I was there, there were 4 people in the car. It's a bit of a squeeze, especially for the passengers sitting in the back but all in all we manged to fit. I'm sure if you asked the guys who sat in the back, their answer might differentiate to mine but I thought majority of the time we were comfortably seated in the car. Ride quality is good, even though the car looks low, it isn't that much as perceived. The seats are fully adjustable should you require specific seating positions and when there are less passengers in the car you can sit however you like, just not like an idiot where you half sleeping. Even though the car came with a fabric roof, there was little to none noise when closed, and even when open, the deflection of the wind kept the chill out and allowed us to enjoy the sun...okay since it was winter we had to turn on the heater a bit.

Storage

I'll be honest, I thought our luggage was never going to fit but the boot did well, 335 liters  manged to fit 4 fully packed cabin sized bags in the trunk along with 2 nap sacks. Being a fabric roof, it also didn't require half the boot to fold into, so merely pulling down the level in the boot which minimized the boot space by a fraction, bringing it down to 280 liters and that was all that it took to drop the top. Then again the car seems like a cruiser weekend car, but if its just for two people you can event stash some of your extra baggage on the back seats.

Power

It seems that I always tend to get this engine from BMW, whether its on the 3 series, 4 series, and now the 2 series. Not that there's anything wrong with the "28i", I personally feel its one of their best engines. It gives a little bit of both worlds, which is fuel economy and power when needed. The 2 Series 228i packs 180kW and 350Nm of torque, that power along with its small and well balanced chassis is more than enough power to send you smiling side ways into a bend. The car is extremely agile and at times felt like a Mini. Because of its size it makes it feel like a go-kart but the distinct BMW flair and luxury is still pretty evident, it was much enjoyed testing this cars abilities on Chapmans peak drive in Sports mode, just aim and accelerate and watch it devour those turns!

Control

As I said above, control on this car is something else, its size and turning circle gives you confidence to attack bends more aggressively. Although the car is known for drifting, it doesn't feel like you will lose your back end easily, maybe in Sport Plus mode with the traction control off it might be a different story but from Eco mode up to Sport, it holds its own very well. The 50/50 weight distribution is spot on with this car, like I said earlier, that go-kart feel when driving just escalates the drivers senses when driving. Things change when you drop the top tough, immediately you want to slow things down to 60Kph which ultimately helps with your fuel bill! Not that handling is affected without the roof, wind noise and enjoying the environment you're plays a big part of it too.

Extras

This particular model came with most of the toys, front and rear PDC's, full screen satellite navigation. BMW Connected drive which came handy on more than one occasion. Harman Kardon sound ensured the quality of sound was not distorted even with the roof down. The luxury kit came with some great finishes, such as the oak trim and cream leather as well as the turbine rims and chrome edgings. It's one of my favourite packages from BMW and looks great on any of their models.

Verdict

I'm not the biggest fan of sunroofs or convertibles but this car might have changed that for me. Its small, nimble but quite a good looking car as well. Many people who saw the car fell in love with it and I can understand why, it has a certain charm to it and while everyone preference might be the M Sport kit, I am personally a big lover of the detail in the luxury kits BMW offer. Driving with the roof down was an amazing experience, even in winter, it also made it great for the budding photographers I had seated in the back, no roof meant they could capture much of the areas we were driving through in greater detail. Another thing with the roof down, you're guaranteed to be checked out by the people you pass, heck! a lady seated in the Ferrari was also checking this car out! So it goes to show, size doesn't always matter!

Specifications

• 2 litre, 4 cylinder twin scroll turbo charged engine
• 8 speed Sport Automatic Transmission Steptronic
• 180kW
• 350Nm torque
• Consumption: 6.6ltr/ 100km
• Top Speed: 250kph
• 0-100kph: 5.8 seconds 
• Price: R484 800 (excluding extras)