03-03-2012, 03:16 PM | #1 |
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F20 Road Trip
So on Friday we took the day off and headed north in my brand new 116i sport on a 300 mile round trip to Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland.
The route took us on the A1 which alternates between sections of motorway and dual carriageway. The car is very smooth on the motorway, good ride quality and the seats are very comfortable. No aching legs or numb bums! Cruise control is nicely implemented, an improvement over the previous 1 series. The controls are now on the steering wheel which is much easier to use. I was able to flick the speed up and down as the flow of traffic dictated. A nice touch is a marker on the speedo placed at the speed you have cruise set to; it alternates between red and green depending on if it’s engaged. I turned off the A1 and headed into Northumberland on the back roads, which gave me an opportunity to test the car out in sport mode. I needed to overtake a few times and was impressed with the power from what is a smaller engine that I have been used to. Accelerating from 40 and 70 doesn’t feel much different to my old car and that’s where I want the power. The roads in Northumberland make it perfect BMW country! Twisting, turning and undulating. This gave me the opportunity to get to grips with the handling. The servetronic steering takes a little getting used to. Once I got an understanding of the different inputs required at high and low speed, the handling characteristics started to grow on me. The more I drive it, the more I like it! On the way home I took the more direct route by joining the A1 at Newcastle, unfortunately we got stuck in the rush hour traffic. With the car set in Eco Pro mode, finding the clutch bite can take a little getting used to as you need to feed in a little more gas, but once you get the hang of it it’s not really a problem. Overall I spent most time in Eco Pro, I tend to use this mode until I have a reason to put it into sport. I don’t seem to be using Comfort. One thing I like about eco pro is that the blue bonus miles turn grey when you’re doing something uneconomical, like running in the wrong gear, which catches your eye in your peripheral vision. Eco pro reported 39.2 bonus miles, which on a 300 mile run seems pretty impressive. MPGs for the trip were 45.5, which for a brand new engine again seems pretty impressive. I’m really pleased with the car; it’s perfect for what I need. A balance between performance and economy and crucially those BMW handling characteristics are there in spades.
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116i Sport 5 door Crimson Red 2012 - 120i M-Sport 3 Door Le Mans Blue 2009 - 2012 |
03-03-2012, 11:10 PM | #2 |
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Great report, great pictures!
Now I am even more keen on getting my own F20.......
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03-04-2012, 04:47 AM | #3 | |
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Maybe further towards the limit understeer might become more of a charactoristic, but i dont drive there so for me its not a problem. I agree the car is set up more for comfort now but i think that's fair enough. its not a Z4, Its what the vast majority of 1er drivers will want, including me.
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03-04-2012, 11:16 AM | #5 |
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I've got a few day in the lake district at the end of April so you can expect some more stunning pics then
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03-04-2012, 03:57 PM | #7 |
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Nice scenery, and nice foreground too.
The "bonus miles" in eco-pro mode are nice, but I can't help wonder what they're compared to. If you were driving the same style in Comfort mode? Or compared to the rated fuel consumption of the car? Also, does anyone know what the red symbol that looks like 3 people is in the display? (I have have the extended instrumentation, and it appears at the lower right of the display when I start the car, but then goes away.) |
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03-04-2012, 05:12 PM | #8 | |
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They show red even when there are no passengers |
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03-05-2012, 03:10 AM | #9 |
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Ah man, i thought it was my 10 pin bowling score
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