Cheap thrills: BMW's new baby
With the 1 Series, the automaker achieves outsized performance from the lowest-priced BMW on the market.
(Fortune Magazine) -- I have committed a Sue sin the size of Texas: I have knowingly requested, driven, and (wo)manhandled the least expensive, least horsepowered BMW in the U.S. today, the 128i. And I loved every minute of it.
The 1 Series, as it's called, is a decades-overdue successor to the beloved 2002 model, which arrived in the U.S. in 1968. Pricewise, it slots neatly between BMW's Mini lineup and the 3 Series. The production versions, the 128i and the 135i, which come in coupe and convertible iterations, just arrived in U.S. dealerships.
Before I drove the 128i, I couldn't be sure from the outside whether BMW had simply succeeded in making a solid entry-level car or a serious if diminutive instrument of performance. Other BMWs have a menacing face - the front fender lines swoop down into the hood, creating an angrily furrowed brow over the headlights. Chris Bangle, the car's ultimate Design Daddy, likens the 1 Series' face to that of an ingénue, not unlike the "car-icatures" in Pixar's Cars.
I'd agree to an extent: My convertible's face certainly looked wide-eyed, but I'd call it more of an unblinking stare that signaled, I hoped, less Bambi and more hungry wolf.
I tested my 128i soft-top in one of America's toughest road-quality war zones: Manhattan, with its potholes, crabby cabbies, and impertinent pedestrians. Dropping into the pilot's seat, I was immediately pleased to see a handsome dash, nice wood trim, a precision shifter, and all the familiar BMW high-tech black switches and gauges. Even the faux-leather seats felt pleasant to the touch and well bolstered (real leather is also available).
I set off after dark, the cool LED rear lights glowing like afterburners. A few laps around Central Park (a perennially favorite track of mine) was enough to get it: The 128i is 100% BMW, which means nimble, playful, and competent.
Even with a languorous zero to 60 of 6.4 seconds in my non-turbocharged version, the car gave me good road feel, sporty yet comfortable suspension, very active steering (even without the optional Active Steering), smooth acceleration, great brakes.
I headed down Broadway and up Madison, hunting for open stretches. I grinned as I popped off the line at every light. The next day I awoke early and immediately went out again for another spin with the top dropped.
Daylight was no less fun: I felt like a teenager, power-sliding around corners, awakening the traction control, blaring the iPod, and grinning some more - sure signs of my gut-level automotive approval. Granted, it's no full-grown wolf like the M3, but it's one heck of a wolf pup.
Later I regained possession of my adult self and tucked my two young children into the back seats. They had room to spare, but I suspect full-sized passengers might not be as content on a long trip.
BMW has done something smart: Instead of shrinking and "decontenting" a 3 Series to create the 1, the company has loaded its new littlest one with a full spectrum of Bavarian delights, from the multifunction leather sport steering wheel and extensive aluminum componentry to enough performance-enhancing computer systems to run a small corporation.
It may sound obvious to retain a bevy of features as you move down the product range instead of stripping them away, but that's a strategy too few car manufacturers employ today. 
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