USA Today: "It's Easy to Imagine Some Buyers Picking It Instead of a 3 for Its Purer Feel and More Inviting Persona"

Robert Farago
by Robert Farago

Yes, "it" is the new BMW 1-Series. Like many of James Healey's reviews, there's a huge disconnect between the headline (" BMW 1 Series is small but sassy"), the critic's observations and his conclusions. Combining the old "I'll ask myself a question and then answer it" format with the bi-polar "I'll raise an objection and answer it" routine, Healey plays it straight down the middle. After arguing with himself about the small Bimmer's large price tag, he concludes "Nothing unexpected for a BMW. Hey, here's one: the stupid trim pieces on the inside door handles of the test cars, a 128i convertible and 135i coupe. The pieces are mated so that you grab the joining line every time you use the door handle. Unattractive. Rough-feeling. So there." Nuh. Healey's three word summary: it's a keeper. While our Justin Berkowitz wouldn't agree, BMW might well describe TTAC's 1-Series review the same way Healey refers to the 1-Series convertible's roof rattles: faint but troubling squeaks.

Robert Farago
Robert Farago

More by Robert Farago

Comments
Join the conversation
4 of 13 comments
  • Steven Lang Steven Lang on Apr 12, 2008

    mxfive4, that's why Atlanta is the most suburbanized city on Earth. Nobody wants to live in the 'city'. Those who do are often more focused on the 'hipness' of city life rather than the actual rewards of living in the city proper. High taxes, cronyism that rivals D.C. and Detroit, terrible schools, unbelievably bad traffic, and a surprising lack of interesting sites make the city of Atlanta downright sub-standard. I will say that the choice of restaurants is impressive and there are certain small neighborhoods that are actually pretty decent places to live. However you can get the same thing in the burbs' with better everything for about half the price. If you replaced the engine in the 1-series with a 1980's GM Quad DOHC engine, that would be the City of Atlanta.

  • Phil Phil on Apr 14, 2008

    Clearly the citizens of Atlanta are justified in being bitter, and it's no wonder that they turn to the 1 Series, guns, and religion.

  • Gzuckier Gzuckier on Apr 14, 2008

    i was hoping for something like a return to the 2002 or the original 4 banger 3 series, but instead it's sort of the current version of the BMW compact. it's less than a foot shorter than the 3 series, has most of the same mechanicals, weighs almost the same, and costs almost the same. "oh I can't deal with a 3 series, I'll go for this 1 series". Talk about a small niche market.

  • Strippo Strippo on Apr 14, 2008
    Clearly the citizens of Atlanta are justified in being bitter, and it’s no wonder that they turn to the 1 Series, guns, and religion. No, that's "Atlanta", the donut around the city where the three things the locals know for sure are that Jesus loves them most of all, that Atlanta proper is a miserable place to live and that Applebee's is the very definition of fine dining. Those of us who actually live in Atlanta's better neighborhoods instead of just claiming to live here because no one has ever heard of "Duluth" or "Fayetteville" tend to be fairly content and couldn't imagine living in that bland, franchised hell OTP. If my neighborhood is a car, it's a Volvo V70 R - Bedford Falls on the surface with a little Pottersville on tap whenever I feel the need.
Next