BMW

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Sunday – Model of Refinement

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The X1 sits just a couple of inches higher than a 1 Series hatchback and it drives more car-like than SUV too. The steering is well weighted and precise (although some might find it heavy) – the brakes offer lots of feel and are reassuringly firm on the pedal.

I’ve been trying to find the X1’s Achilles Heel but I’m struggling to be honest. I can’t remember the last time I was disappointed by a BMW and the X1 is cut from the same cloth.

Everything inside the cabin is tasteful and beautifully laid out. Refinements to the rotary-controlled iDrive system mean there is no longer much need to reach for the handbook when you want to adjust the entertainment or sat nav system either.

For a small car with raised suspension, it’s remarkably comfortable. The seats are manually adjusted but with a bit of playing round you will find the perfect driving position, which leaves plenty of room for two passengers in the back as well.

Of course, all those extras fitted to our test car are expensive in a BMW – so choose you model and spec it up carefully. I can recommend the panoramic sunroof though.

 

 

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Saturday – The BMW Factor

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The Saturday morning run along Wiltshire‘s Great Ridge almost came unstuck today. Not because of the large number of shooters out, or the horse that spooked my dog. No, I just completely forgot that this X1 isn’t four-wheel drive.

So when I parked on the slippery bank, about 100 yards down a farm track, I didn’t take into account the ‘BMW Factor’. As everyone knows, rear-wheel drive Beemers are just rubbish on anything other than tarmac. Really rubbish.

My 6 Series refused to budge on a virtually flat track in the Cotswolds last winter  – an older 3 Series Touring was even worse, unless you chucked a couple of bags of coal in the boot.

My problem with any car that looks like a four-wheel drive is that it SHOULD also behave like a 4×4. What’s the point of paying for all that extra ground clearance if you can’t even pull away smoothly from a grass bank?

So while our xLine X1 is loaded with £5,000 of extras, I’d ditch the lot and go for the four-wheel drive model. Then I could park on grassy banks without any worries.

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Friday – X Marks The Spot?

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It’s no surprise that BMW decided to cash in on the runaway success of the X3 and X5 with a smaller, beefed up version of the 1 Series. X1 has been around for four years now, although it hasn’t lived up to the acclaim of its bigger siblings.

The X1 on my driveway this morning is the entry level version. As you might expect for a car costing almost £24,000, it oozes BMW quality from every angle. The key problem with this mini SUV is that it just doesn’t quite look the part, like an X3 or X5.

The smaller dimensions don’t allow the designers much room for creativity and, consequently, the X1 doesn’t sit as squat and robust on the road as an SUV should. There’s an awful lot of bonnet but not much cabin, which means the X1 looks a little front heavy and awkward.

The goods news is that inside, the X1 is a masterclass in premium brand quality. From the ‘X’ embossed seats to the matt wood trim on the dashboard, it feels like a very classy vehicle indeed. And this is just the SE trim!

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Friday – The Startling Truth

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Last night I travelled to Salisbury to interview the wonderfully charismatic scientist, Dame Wendy Hall.  Her team invented an internet system that pre-dated the web and we sat in her garden chatting until dusk. Waving goodbye, I squeezed past her Jaguar XF and started up the 2008.

As I looked back over my shoulder, I was startled to discover the roof ‘wave’ decoration cut into the headlining was illuminated brightly by LEDs in the dark! It’s quite the most bizarre design feature I’ve encountered in any car for years. Peugeot would call it a unique selling point but I would have preferred that part of my £17,245 to have been spent on a sat nav system instead.

Equally as startling but in a rather more appealing way was the fuel economy I achieved driving back from Salisbury. Car manufacturers make claims about fuel consumption that are impossible to match but without even trying I managed a quite incredible 68.8mpg!

This figure, of course, has now given me the incentive to go for my highest mpg ever – the magic 70mpg! I have driven on several fuel economy events in the past and been pleased with 50mpg but the 2008’s consumption was in normal conditions.

Which means I didn’t have to push the door mirrors in and take off the windscreen wipers to improve aerodynamics – or remove the seats to reduce weight!

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Sunday – A Car For All Seasons

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Jeremy It’s the last day for our 6 Series Convertible and, predictably, it’s raining! The soft-top has been down for about 20 minutes in ten days. What the hell happened to spring?

Despite the climatic challenges, this is the most accomplished convertible on the market today. It is an outstanding grand tourer, eating up the miles on our trip to Le Mans, as well as coping with cobbled streets and twisty A-roads en route through Normandy.

Big convertibles can look clumsy and awkward (just consider the Mercedes E-class) but the BMW is eye-catching from every angle. A sophisticated and elegant machine, can you think of a cabriolet that ticks quite so many boxes?

Jessica The BMW is so refined that for a convertible, you wouldn’t know it was a soft-top. The rear end is much prettier than the previous version, with a much more sculpted boot line. It’s a convertible that works on every level, with so much technology, refinement and style that it more than merits the price.

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Saturday – Toys For Boys

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Jeremy It’s cold, wet and almost halfway through April. The only good news is that Lewis Hamilton is on pole for the Chinese Grand Prix. Ever wondered what a Formula 1 racing driver does when they are sat in on the grid for endless minutes before the start?

I asked ex-driver Martin Brundle the same question a few months back – he told me it was all about focus and concentration. At least when I’m stuck in a traffic jam, the 6 Series has plenty to keep me entertained.

This morning, I discovered the iDrive infotainment system can log on to the internet when the car is stationary. You can then use Google Earth information to request photographs of any destination you have keyed into the satellite navigation system. How clever is that?

The sat nav screen can be split to show a route on one side, and other information on the other – or you can have one giant screen showing the route instead.

Of all the information on tap, my favourite has to be the car status page, which uses a picture of the BMW and numbered areas around the bodywork. Select a number and you can clock through to everything from tyre pressures to the windscreen washer bottle level.

Sadly, there is nothing to adjust the miserable British weather, so the Convertible   may be collected before we can really enjoy the power hood and sunshine and report back.

 

 

 

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Friday – Don’t Mess With My BMW

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Jeremy It’s a typically French thing to do. Having lived in the Midi Pyrenees for 18 months I feel justified in saying that many French people have no respect for cars.

So perhaps I shouldn’t have been that surprised when a woman on the Brittany Ferries ship lazily opened her car door against the bumper of the 640d and didn’t show a trace of remorse. Even though I was sat in the driver’s seat and at least four other motorists saw her do it, no apology was forthcoming.

The upshot? Well, if you are going to whack the door of a Citroen Picasso against a robust BMW, chances are you will come off worse. Her year-old MPV now has a lovely crease in the paintwork and the Beemer is unblemished.

It’s ironic that we took the 6 Series Convertible to France hoping for sunshine. It poured down for most of the trip! Today I’m hoping to finally drop the roof as England sees the first signs of spring. Will let you know how it goes tomorrow…

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Thursday – 6 Series Motoring Masterclass

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Jeremy After 25 years of driving cars for a living, a milestone has been reached with the BMW 640d. A brief calculation suggests I’ve tested some 1200 new models and owned at least 30 – few of which have lasted longer than six months in the garage (2012 started with a 5 Series Touring, which morphed in to a Boxster, then a new style Beetle and finally became a 630d Coupe).

Apart from a Porsche 993 Targa in 1997 and a Caterham 7 in 2001, only the 630d has come close. So, as CarCouture waits on the seafront at Caen for the ferry home, the new 640d we have on test is going straight to the top of the pile – it’s one machine I don’t want to part with.

Why? Well, I thought my own 630d was one of the most competent, well-built and equipped cars I have ever driven. Sure, a 911 goes faster, a Caterham is more fun and a Ferrari turns heads but as a package, the 6 Series takes some beating.

Compared to the old 630d, the 640d feels very similar. The technology has advanced, with head up display, keyless entry and even more seat adjustment but otherwise, I wouldn’t say there is an awful lot of difference between them. And I loved the 630d – so the 640d is just that little bit better.

It’s a very grown up, sophisticated and stylish convertible that wants for little, apart from easier access to the rear seats and better rear view visibility. I still have the weekend to fall out of love with the BMW but it just isn’t going to happen….

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Tuesday – Singing in the Rain

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Jessica We have left the contrasting elements of Le Mans behind, from the medieval city with Roman walls, cobbled streets (frequented by Hollywood filmmakers for movies such as Cerano de Bergerac), 14th Century stained glass in the cathedral on an epic scale, to the vast expanse of the Le Mans 24 hour circuit poised for the next pilgrimage and we are off to visit Giverny the home of Monet and his garden.

The BMW takes us with absolute ease and comfort through very British driving rain across expanses of open countryside on roads which, despite the conditions, are hugely enjoyable to drive on, overtaking (with a handy co pilot for vision) is a breeze and the heads up display keeps you up to date with your speed it feels very Top Gun fighter jet.

Sadly due to weather we did not speed drive around Le Mans in a Bugatti or have the roof down on the BMW for any length of time but the car was no less appealing and satisfying to drive as a result.

My only difficulty with this car so far is planning my seating position with the seemingly infinite buttons to be pushed, pulled lifted or pressed, I found being a passenger most testing as somehow I could not get the ideal position for a long drive. (Could be my build of course, however you would have thought with all that choice, being above average height would not be an issue).

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Monday Car Courreges

Jessica We have reached Le Mans and it feels like I have been cocooned in a Courrege car, the all off-white interior with black trim feels luxurious, and a little futuristic (as it may have looked from the sixties).  The spirit of Courrege and his engineering background not only reflect the interior of the BMW but the spirit of invention, daring and technological prototyping that is intrinsic to Le Mans.  It is a fitting coincidence that we have this particular car in black with a white interior for this trip.

Jessica and BMW 640d Convertable at Le Mans

Opening the roof is pure Stanley Kubrick as the whole car takes charge with a series of window moves, automatic folds, lifts and sounds of hidden mechanisms, where you the driver become infinitely secondary to proceedings.

So far I am throroughly enjoying this car, it is intuitive, feels safe despite the speed possibilities and is far removed from what you would imagine a diesel car to be and if you consider Audi won Le Mans in a diesel hybrid there is definitely more to come.