scoobycar60

Had to laugh,
J Clarkson's concluded that the 1 series was cr@p in his write up in the Sunday Times this week end yet hey presto! it is an award winner on 5th Gear.

Some very objective views..... I think not.

Both liked the new Golf GTI with DSG amazingly enough. Must be some Xmas goodies on their way to the "right" people from VW IMHO.

Bubba po

And you are of the opinion that Clarkson is employed for his objective viewpoint, are you?

SCOOBYD00

That wee beemer is a bit limp wristed... come on... its p1sh

scoobycar60

Absolutely not, my very point!
I do suspect there may be a tiny bit of agro between JC and his old play mates.

I also laugh at the cheeky adverts for J.C.'s latest Video during the middle break in 5th Gear.

On the other hand I suspect that JC's views sady do have an influence on the buying habits of people and as such as a jouralist rather than a fiction writer he should show a small amount of rational logic.

MattN

Yeah but 5th gear said it was the best small car ... only double that of the others. SO what's the point?

And the best £20000 car is ....







The £40,0000 BMW.

Adam Davis

Let's see how many they sell over the next year.

I can't believe that JC's comments have a significant effect (i.e. a 5% uplift) on sales or not.

Would that test confirm if the pundits have got it right or not?

thecirsch

We had quite an in-depth discussion about the 1 Series at work a while back as one was parked up nearby. A couple of guys were saying that they quite liked it. I pointed out that if it was made by Kia, Daewoo, etc.... nobody would give it a second look. Let alone spend at least 17k for a decent spec'ed car.

I know we are all taken in by brand power (well most of us are Petter Solberg when no-one is watching ), but surely this is the automotive version of the Kings clothes?

Vegescoob

Bet it's got other manufacturers worried esp. if it gets on company fleets. Rep peeps Ford or BMW?

Bubba po

It's just so damn ugly. The sides look like they've been melted.

Flatcapdriver

I think the looks, like Jeremy Clarkson will polarise opinions but for what it's worth I like the look of it and I'd be surprised if it doesn't sell well. For a BMW it is a 'bargain' and those of a badge snobbery disposition will flock to it in droves given the choice of badges at this price point.

Midmotorsteve

doubt that old Tiff was out playing with JC and Hammond at MPH04

Dracoro

Personally, I don't understand why 5th gear made the 1 series the small car winner. It's not the most practical, not the most economical, not cheap by a long shot, not cheap to run, not particularly well packaged (rear transmission tunnel springs to mind) yet these are the things that are important in this sector so why the hell it won I don't know. Yes it has a 'badge' and is sharp to drive but these aspects aren't the be all and end all in this class. And if the Focus is in the family car class then why is the 1 series (a focus competitor yes?) in the small car class and not the family car one?

ethanrob

iTrader: (3)

The bmw 1 is TOSS,end of!

George W Bush

Personally I dont like the 1 series, but I don't think BMW will be too worried, they sold 1790 of them last month..

Petem95

Hmmmm BMW 1-series or the new Audi A3..... not a difficult one is it! (well ok I suppose the BM will drive better, but thats the only thing better about it!)

TopBanana

In my opinion that's quite an important thing.

tiggers

Seems to me JC is right on the money on this one - won't stop people buying it of course as it has a BMW badge on it and that is enough for most people (sadly).

tiggers.

Mmmmm

It's supposed to be a better drive than it's rivals.

So if it's a drivers car your after buy one, thats probably why tiff gear picked it.

If it's looks the new Astra probably about the best looking in that class, the BMw is fairly odd looking.

If you can't buy a BMW because of inverted snobbery but are still too much of a snob to buy the Astra it's got to be the Audi .

Roll on the M1 could be a real successor to the original M3 and with new body pannels it might look alright

bloke

Went to see one with the missus (and we like beemers). Rubbish packaging and ludicrously priced, we didn't even bother test driving. Fugly too Who cares how good it is to drive if it's got to do a job and it can't

carl

Don't think they could call it the M1 though:

LEE P

Well i must admit i wasnt takenby it, but my local dealer has one with decent sized wheels and a small bodykit and it dont look that bad, certainly no worse that Astra or a 307 IMHO.

Dear to run??? the 118d and 120d has free servicing for 50k i think, which includes brakes and fluid changes.

Yes it may not do everyones job well, but if you have a couple of kids and just want to nip round in it thats fine, and to be honest most of them will be bought for second car for the missus.

I drove one and the chassis and ride is far superior to the A3, yes ive got a BMW but i aint bought it for the badge as most people seem to think thats why we buy them, they have a real taught fluid chassis and great steering and gearchange, all of which Audi aint that good at until the DSG.

Ive had 6 Audis and scoob plus various other stuff, and i can see why tiff choose it as it is bloody good to drive, and thats why you buy the thing is it not?? id find it more frustrating it wallowing round on back roads like a A3 does than oooh my boot isnt huge.

So who ever said driving it isnt the be all and end all was quite a strange statement.

dtriggs

The thing that struck me was that the 1 Series won best small car, yet the VW GTI won the best overall car, and they said the Bmw didnt due to room in the back, and cost - which were the 2 main points Clarkson made. Seems 5th Gear are influenced by Bmw and Clarkson is just saying what he thinks - he has nothing to gain by being rude abt Bmws.

The Bmw is £21k for a 120D - yet you can get a faster and far bigger Seat Leon PD150 for £5k less !! The back seats are pretty pointless and my 6 year olds complained abt rear room being tiny. The kids also felt sick after 5 mins in the back as they said it was 'Bumpy' (addmittedly that could be anything but it's another reason against it for me). I will buy the Seat myself - almost as good to drive and just as well built but much much cheaper.

scoobycar60

I agree the Seat Cupra is a great alternative and they can be had for a bargain at the moment. Depreciation may be an issue with the new model due out in 2005 though...