I had the opportunity to drive a 120d Sport from a couple of hundred miles today, 1st time driving the BMW. I was looking at it a while ago and decided that on paper at least it was an excellent company car choice. Well now I'm not so sure. It's a great car but I expected more from it to be honest.

1st the positives. Comfy, nice seats. Very smooth ride and little engine/road noise in the cabin. Had cruise control which seemed to work well. Very composed around corners, felt very stable and the steering was nicely weighted providing good feedback.

Now the negatives, rear visibility through the rear window and wing mirrors is poor and it's slow! Despite having 163bhp and 251lb/ft torque it was considerably slower than my Fabia with a supposed 130bhp and 228lb/ft. A test I do is 65-80 acceleration.

For comparison a 83bhp 1.6 Astra Estate I sometimes drive does 65-80 in 10 seconds in 5th and 7 sec in 4th.

The BMW did it in 7 sec in 6th, 6 sec in 5th and 5 sec in 4th.

The Fabia does it in 5 sec in 6th and 4 sec in 5th.

I know this is pretty rough... but I think it is indicative of the performance, assuming the three speedos over read by similar amounts though. Even without talking numbers though it was clear that it didn't have the same acceleration as the Fabia, either at 20mph or at 70mph.

Even on the motorway run it was getting ~45mpg where the Fabia would be more like 50-55mpg. When pushed in 1st and 2nd the engine makes itself known and sounds very rough.

To sum up, it's nice just a good bit slower than I expected. Considering it's twice the price of the Fabia (and really no larger in the back or boot) it's certainly not worth it as a private car. As a company car it's not such a bad deal though.

A while ago a drove the A3 with 2.0 140bhp diesel, that also felt no more powerful than my Fabia... I'm left wondering what diesels are faster than the PD130 in the 1315kg Fabia... :confused:

I'm begining to think we're lucky to have one of the last VAG 8-valve PD diesels in the Furby. Seems 16-valvers just don't have the same grunt...

define "powerful"?

your just under the illusion of that coz the 1.9tdi has a "push in the back" feeling when you go on boost... but youll find that the other 2 engines are much more driveable day to day.

you cant compare a BMW to a fabia... not in a million years, the BM is bigger, hevier and i bet it handles MUCH better than a fabia.. also no doubt the gearing is made for cruising rather than performance like the Fabia.

The 120d Sport 5d is 1340kg and the Fabia VRS is 1315kg... less than a tank of fuel between them. The handling was certainly better on the BMW, it did feel a lot more planted around corners and the RWD made it a lot easier to get the power down coming out of corners... My only real criticism compared to the Fabia is the straight line acceleration, definitely less.

define "powerful"?

your just under the illusion of that coz the 1.9tdi has a "push in the back" feeling when you go on boost... but youll find that the other 2 engines are much more driveable day to day.

Define drivable...?

I have no drivability issues with the Furby at all... no more than any other car I've driven.

The 120d was undoubtedly 2004's Car of the Year on the Dutch general-motoring forum I frequently visit. It was the most talked-of and hotly debated, the most praised and the most despised car - all in one, for being a BMW, being RWD, being a diesel, being (too) expensive, having too little rear legroom for its class and being generally found dead-ugly (mostly because of the pig's belly side lines).

But then you can't get around the fact that it's a real driver's car, handles beautifully, crisp and sharp because of RWD and its ideal weight distribution. If you don't mind the price, the looks and the space, and it's pure driving pleasure that you're after, then this is your car. It's the most sideways fun you'll get from a diesel. And then, after two years, swap it for an 130i or M2...

As for the perceived lack of power - you can get it chipped, can't you?

I'm sure a lot of people here would love to CHIP BMW, tho not in the way most people think.

A potatoe peeler and a sharp knife springs to mind.. :P

Steve

I also have a problem with many a BMW driver but they are great driver's cars all the same. I'm sure that with, say, an SKN power hike to 190hp I would be glad to accept the idea that I'm a BMW driver...

It's just that BMW damn well know they've made a good car and are asking ridiculous prices. And I hate diesel anyway.

3 series looks ok.i think 1 is very overpriced and not a pretty sight.think i would prefer to pay few pounds extra for a 3 and get the rest of the car.don't think bmw type people like it much looking at their forums

The 120d Sport 5d is 1340kg and the Fabia VRS is 1315kg... less than a tank of fuel between them.

BMW web site quotes 1415kg for the 120d so quite a difference between the two.... of course web site might be wrong!

Chris

you cant compare a BMW to a fabia... not in a million years, the BM is bigger, hevier and i bet it handles MUCH better than a fabia.. also no doubt the gearing is made for cruising rather than performance like the Fabia.

Surely, if a car is badged the 120d SPORT, you'd want at least a nod towards performance in the gearing department. :confused:

(Not that 'Sport' means anything these days - my mum's Honda Jazz Sport just has alloys and a diddy spoiler; the engine, suspension, etc. is just the same as any other Jazz :thumbdwn: )

BMW web site quotes 1415kg for the 120d so quite a difference between the two.... of course web site might be wrong!

That's because of BMW's quaint habit to quote weights with an additional 75kg worth of driver and luggage.

God knows why, and why 75kg, but seriously, they do!

I personally think Beamers are generally getting uglier. Just my opinion

Not driven the 1-series, no doubt it's not a bad car. As for justifying it - easy, people ARE prepared to pay that kinda cash to get a BMW. Thus it makes sense for BMW to make it as they can make money on it.

The Furby is a different type of car, with different things being made priorities for the build. Not driven any BMWs that I felt were rubbish, ever. But I've not driven many of them I must admit