The 1 series and the roadster are the only two bimmers that arent totally ghastly from a design standpoint. It reminds me a bit of the fastback/hatch designs from the early 70s, think Jag and Volvo P1800.

1 series, ergh.

I dont like them. Expensive the buy and cars which seem to me like theyve had no passion in the design or build, like most new cars they are there to get you from A to B.

In case anyone is following this, here is a quick few thoughts:

Inside:

There is no doubt really, the Audi had a far better interior. Having said that, it did have odd places for things e.g. handbrake under armrest! Also, at the moment it seems i feel more comfortable with the BMW non-sports seats than the Audi sport ones. The interior of the 120i is a bit more plasticky but i knew this from the test drive.

Handling

This is a bit of a hard one. As i had, over time, figured out the max handling of the Audi i kind of knew what it could do (that is, with my driving, i witnessed someone else kindly kicking the living sh*t out of, so i knew it could do more!). With teh 120i, so far it seems i have pushed to that limit and it hasnt seemed like i have reached its limits.

The steering on the 120 is certainly much heavier than the A3. However, i may be totally wrong here, but i think this may be due to something with the A3 being FWD and therefore during turns it kind of flicks back on its own much more. Just a quess though!

Tiptronic v Steptronic.

Without doubt the steptronic is far more intuitive. i was really suprised how it helds the gears uphills without needing to swtich over to gears. I think it is similar to the new DSG (direct something or other gears:)) i tried on the new A3s. Actually to be fair i thought the new manual A3 had a slick shift than my older tiptronic.

Overall, im really pleased with it. The best sum up i could do is that i have moved to a more refined car, but without going down the executive route. In fact, sometimes i cant even tell when the engine is on, so im trying to take out the key and wonder why it wont come out!

Zak

the new dsg is a triple plate clutch system which is flawless. its also a lot faster than the bmw relevant toy.

mate seriously you could have got a lot more car for your cash. i hope you kept the reciept when you wake up an realise its crap

LOL.. really made me laugh..

Certaintly got teh reciept. So far nothing to make me change it though.

Just out of curiousity what would you suggest for a 4 door non-executive bracket (preferably hatchback) reliable and depreciation favourable car?

No offence meant, but anything specific you dont like about the 1er?

DSG - yup, this was nice. but i havent yet seen any major difference between this and the steptronic. i know it is supposed to be flawless but in comparison to the 1er, i cant say i noticed it that much. having said that the DSG test drive was a while back so perhaps if i drove it for a weekend i would know.

Zak

Quote from: Zak

In fact, sometimes i cant even tell when the engine is on, so im trying to take out the key and wonder why it wont come out!

Zak

It can either be fun or excruciatingly painful to listen to someone restart their engine several times when it hasnt stopped at all :\

true in my case, didnt explain properly. the 1 series has a start/stop button. Something like, push in key, press brake or clutch and press start. Press stop and push key to remove. A bit of a novelty thing really, cant really see why they did it. In fact, i havent tried it, but i assume at a traffic light a passenger can also hit the stop/start button!

Zak

BS, still not realising there is life outside GM.

Quote from: Cypher

Your swapping a perfectly good A3 for a overpriced piece of....... :?

You must be insane to be blunt.  So how much is it setting you back to drive with a BMW badge?

I still cant believe that you can spend up to £30K one of those 1 series for the top spec brand new, for that money you might as well have something like a Monaro.

Nail on head.

It might sound incredible, but it was less to do with the badge, but more to do with its style. I also liked the gearbox. I would have happily had an A3 4 door, but it looks as though Audi have just streched the A3 3 door and made it look very odd.

As for the price..erm em..oh damn.. its that time, er..yeah..phone you back - must dash...

Zak

Im looking rid of a 99 530d

Ok, swap you for a car that is...

..going in the wrong direction.

and is

shabby to drive...

usually draws the response of..

noooooo!...what are you thinking

followed by a few queries regardless mental status..

...You must be insane to be blunt..

and usually rounded off with a few non-mincing of words...

1 series, ergh.I dont like them....

However, you will receive a reciept as youll need it ...

...when you wake up an realise its crap

 :mrgreen: