As one of a couple of peeps on here to acquire the new 123D BMW (3dr hatch version) I though it might be of interest to others on Brisky as to my findings so far. Having had 3 VAG TDis in a row and owning several quick cars, it has been an interesting first 1,000 miles.

Build Quality:

Well it is a very well built car for sure, better than the preface lift version. All the major control feel beautifully weighted and doors shut with a pleasing precision and everything falls to hand as befits a car with ‘driver focused’ pretentions. But is it £10K better than a Skoda? Well the list price on my car is around that much more than my previously (highish) specced Octy 2.0Tdi DSG Elegance (I got nearly £5.5K off the BMW and around £2K of the Skoda so the real world price differential is less than £10K on the road) the honest answer is no, the BMW meets your high expectations (just) and the Skoda far surpasses your hopes. The Sports seats in the BMW are superb though and even though the car doesn’t have a lumbar adjust (it’s an inevitable extra) I have less back ache on a long drive (200 miles + in one hit) than I did in the Octy. The panel fit of the BMW is certainly no better than the Octys however and the paint finish isn’t really much better either. I have seen 1 series in solid colours with a lot more orange peel than on Octys. The gear box is very nice to use, although it is still a little tight and 1st to 2nd is a little truck like, also the spring detent to get the car into reverse needs the strength of a shot putter. All in all though, it does feel like a special place in which to sit, if a lot more cramped than an Octy, but that is comparing apples and pears I think. Wind noise is very well contained and tyre noise is slightly better than the Octys. The engine however is much quieter on motorways.

Equipment:

I specced the BMW to the roof, hence its price and needed to if I was going to have similar, or greater levels of comfort over the Octy. I had to add most of the things like Auto wipers and Cruise etc to get to the Octy Elegance standard and these work as well as the Octys if possibly, slightly better. The extras that I had on the Octy such as Sat Nav and Xenons I also added to the Beemer and these work beautifully. The lights are bi-xenon and have a much better spread on dipped than the Octys, as well as avoiding the dancing up and down over bumpy roads that I had become accustomed to. The Sat Nav at first is a bit tricky (aren’t they all at first) especially as I have the dreaded ‘idrive’ system, but once used to it, it works very well indeed. Added to this you have the onboard ‘BMW assist’ that can connect you to a real human helper via the cars onboard sim card as well as the BMW ‘on-line’ feature that lets you web browse and down load things such as weather and news, or more importantly, things like hotel addresses, which can be sent straight to your car as you move and inputted directly into the Sat Nav. This is quite useful for me in my job at the moment. The Voice activated telmatics is one of the greatest successes so far, it can be used to activate many of the cars controls and doesn’t seem phased by accents! You can go straight to your ipod or phone lists (it automatically downloads your phones directory once it has been paired with the car and it performs a similar stunt with your ipod or USB flash drives) I upgraded the speaker system to include 2 small subs under the front seats (the car isn’t much more than a 2 + really) and again it does sound noticeably better than the Octys Sat Nav sound system. So the BMW is defiantly slightly better all round in the equipment stakes, at least when it comes to functionality and quality. But it should be remembered than this is the face lift model and the next round of VAGs Mk 5 family cars will no doubt be an improvement on the existing cars, therefore lessening the gap again.

Handling:

Well the car sits on 205/50/17 fronts and 225/45/17s on the rear so it was always going to have slightly more rubber on the road than the Octy. The run flats are probably the biggest contributor to the cars feel though, at least in my opinion. The BMW’s turn in is much keener than the Octys (probably due to stiff sidewalls and 50/50 weight distribution) and the car corners much flatter. It doesn’t feel as smooth or settled in a corner as the Octy though, as unless you really load the car up, it feels a bit skittish, turning a fast corner into a series of turns rather than a fluid curve. Much of this is down to the ‘slow in and fast out’ approach needed, but also I think it is an inherit feature of the cars stability. It isn’t quite as smooth as the 3 series either, even thought it weighs about the same (it’s a little porker, weighing as much as the Octy). Grip in the dry is noticeably higher than the Octys however, even if caution is required in the wet. Sadly the ride compromise is not quite as well judged as the Octys, having a slightly more unsettled feel on my bum compared to the Octys, but again I think a lot of this is down to those stiff run-flats. The brakes are also excellent and feel a lot more powerful than the Octys (as they should in a 148mph car) and boast a much improved linear feel compared to the Octys over sensitive bite.

Performance:

Firstly fuel economy. There has been much bandied about on the subject of this cars fuel consumption, especially as it only pays £115 a year road tax based on it’s emissions, but it is a fallacy. I am currently getting nowhere near my Octy economy and even though the car is new and therefore tight, I can see that I will never quite achieve the same mpg, I hope to proven wrong on this however. It should also be noted as the car is still new and tight I am not thrashing it yet either! Which brings me to the important bit, that engine. Well it’s got 2 tubos and tiddler for low revs and a quick pick up and a bigun for when the going gets tough. Does it work?.............Oh yes and then some. The low rev pick up is superb and the pull thereafter is just a seamless pull up through the rev range. It doesn’t feel as quick as the Octy DSG in some ways because of this linearity. It revs more like a petrol and even sounds quite petrol like inside the car once it is warmed up (This happens very quickly. Warm air within a mile of gentle driving from cold! Due in part to flaps that close over the radiator till the engine is warmed up) I have been in Shiftys old modded Fabia and the BMW engine has the same appetite for revs, just it is a lot smoother in it’s resonances (twin balance shafts) but it doesn’t feel any quicker, which is as you would expect I guess. Would it cover the ground as quick as Shiftys old Fabia? Well even with Shifty driving it’s door handles off (the 123s) I very much doubt it, but you would get there listing to a nice sound system. I suspect the BMWs top speed would be quite a bit higher though. If I am honest, I wouldn’t fancy a standing start drag race up to around 50mph or so, against my old 2,0TDi DSG, due in part to the fab instantaneous gear changing, but thereafter it would be a one horse race.

Summary:

Well trick features aside (auto stop star and regenerative breaking are quite trick) is the BMW a huge improvement over my old Octy? Well space aside, the Beemer is better in nearly every department than the Octy. Is it £10K better? Almost certainly not. In size the car is more comparable to the old shape Fabia. In performance it feels as quick as the VRs petrol but there are probably many quicker modded Fabias about (perhaps not in top speed, but certainly mid range) but the car is an iron fist in a velvet glove compared to all those heavily modified Fabia’s granite fist in a case hardened steel glove. I adore it so far and car does feel special (grown up if you know what I mean), but in many ways it shows how good the Fabias and Octys are.

I changed my normal colour font to make this thread a little less likely to cause nose bleeds with the starin of reading such a long post.

Coowee E, way to go

Nice write-up, even though I didn't expect to have to take a coffee break half-way through :P

Coowee E, way to go

Nice write-up, even though I didn't expect to have to take a coffee break half-way through :P

Perhaps I should have installed an interval:D

Perhaps I should have installed an interval:D

Well, it looks like you installed everything bar the kitchen sink, so why not :P.

The Hotel info function (BMW 'on-line) etc looks damn good, esp for someone out on the road as you are

I have to say I still really like the things.

Got a proper test longer drive coming up in the new year with a local dealer of the 118d and 123d so will be interesting to see what you think.

As for the seats, OMG the sports seats are the dogs ******** IMHO, but then i have long legs so love the adjustment under your legs

I have to say I still really like the things.

Got a proper test longer drive coming up in the new year with a local dealer of the 118d and 123d so will be interesting to see what you think.

As for the seats, OMG the sports seats are the dogs ******** IMHO, but then i have long legs so love the adjustment under your legs

I tested the 120D (177bhp) too and found it to feel like a sophisticated, albeit smaller, Octy TDI. Smoother engine response masks the extra performance, also £35 road tax is good. The 118D goes free in congestion zones in London!

Nice review. So are you overloading the Beemer forums now as well?

Nice review. So are you overloading the Beemer forums now as well?

No, they Beemer forums are a pretty sedate place really. They are not really a general car chat forum as well as a marquee specific kind of place like Brisky. One or two peeps really believe they are from a superior race as they drive a Beemer:thumbdwn:

Do you use the indicators?

Do you use the indicators?

I have indicators?!!

Actually the push push type thingy of the indicators isn’t too difficult to get used to if you make an effort at first. And I do get let out at junctions.

I took my car to a hand wash place near me (they use new sponges regularly and are very gently) and I got the phone number of one of the guys who works there!!!! Never happened with the Skoda, he even remembered I drove a Skoda previously.

Mmm, so Beemers are good for pulling

Mmm, so Beemers are good for pulling

First proper full-on car related pull since my Scooby Turbo days:thumbup:

First proper full-on car related pull since my Scooby Turbo days:thumbup:

Result then

Result then

He’s a bit young for me (fit body though) and smokes like a chimley so it’s a none starter for me I’m afraid. But there is hope. Wonder if I had an M3, I could pull even better:rofl:

He’s a bit young for me (fit body though) and smokes like a chimley so it’s a none starter for me I’m afraid. But there is hope. Wonder if I had an M3, I could pull even better:rofl:

Make him quit smoking, use him, abuse him and then.... hide the body

Make him quit smoking, use him, abuse him and then.... hide the body

I couldn’t get the body in the boot of my 123D, I’d need an Octy……….Doh!

Nice write up

How far adrift is the MPG currently, compared with the Octy?

Steve

Nice write up

How far adrift is the MPG currently, compared with the Octy?

Steve

Long run at around 80 gives 42-44 mpg, the Octy did around 46-48

Round the doors (I live in Manchester so it is pretty built up) 38-43, the Octy did 40-48.

On a gentle cross country run however I did see 50+ mpg whilst following a steady flow of traffic and if driven very gently in town, maximising the stop start etc, I can get 46+. But in general, the figures I have quoted are for speeds similar to those I was used to in my Octy. Still not bad, considering the potential performance, which is similar to a Scooby turbo in standard spec and not forgetting the car is still tight.

The write ups will have you believe that 50+ is a daily occurrence, apart from Autocar who got less than 40 mpg when they did a full road test on the 123 Coupe.

I had a test of a 120D 5-door, and was appalled :(

Was a squeeze to get in (granted, I'm probably a good deal larger than you are ) and the pedals were offset far to the right (which I've found in every BMW I've ever driven)

It went well thought... even though I had a few "argh! where's the F*cking brake pedal gone!?" moments....

I understand how the stop/start helps but how can regenerative braking help a non-electric powered car e. a prius/lexus rh ??? Surely the alternator/battery don't use enough juice to justify the use of the system. What does it do on the MINIs/BMs?

Lots of new cars don't engage the alternator until it's desperately needed or you are slowing down.

It's meant to give more power and decrease the fuel consumption since you're not driving the alternator all the time.

Long run at around 80 gives 42-44 mpg, the Octy did around 46-48

Round the doors (I live in Manchester so it is pretty built up) 38-43, the Octy did 40-48.

So, it's not far off th mark - factor in the tightness (engine - not you :P) and the cold weather and I'd say you'll probably get the same mpg with time.

The young fella at the car wash - have I seen him at nightclub, playing piano, dark glasses etc

nice review