BMW's new A1 rival revealed

Great looking Hatch...Kudos to the Photo Shop artist. BMW would do well to adopt that design.

By 3Deuce27 on 26 May, 2011, 7:14am

is it going to be another overly priced small car?

By corsamani on 26 May, 2011, 7:31am

Does this signal the end of prehistoric rear-wheel drive at BMW?

Sports-biased - lethal in the wet and useless in the snow - that's the truth of rear wheel drive.

By dav01wat on 26 May, 2011, 8:07am

Yet another Scirocco wannabe...

Hyundai, Skoda, Astra, now BMW...

It looks like the sports style coupe/hatchback is the place to be when it comes to perceived customer demand.

Front wheel drive. check.
Small revvy engine. check
Wedge shape design. check
Rear seats for crink necked dwarves. check.
Dodgy backside (the car, not the owner!). check

By ajjm65 on 26 May, 2011, 8:23am

Nice rendering

Looks good and would probably sell well. It may be a bit sad and appear to be a sell-out by BMW but you gotta move with the times and these days more and more it's all about market share and the bottom line.
I miss the good old days where the manufacturers had their own place and didn't try to be something to everyone.

By iderek on 26 May, 2011, 8:36am

Nicely done Miroslav

If the real car looks anything like this, then I prefer it to the styling of the A1, while using the MINI chassis as a basis should ensure that the FWD cars handle well.
Having owned 3 RWD BMWs, I know how embarrassingly useless they are when it snows. Of course, someone will now come along and tell me I'm driving it wrong and they never have a problem. Call me old-fashioned, but when I go for a drive, I prefer to reach my intended destination without trying to show the world how big my cojones are.
Good move BMW.

By snappyuk on 26 May, 2011, 9:06am

Another horrible hatchback from the Bavarians.

A Vauxhall Astra with a kidney grille.
Though at least this one isn't stolen from a Rover design I suppose (cf. gen1 and the R30 45 replacement).

It'll be overpriced with overly stiff suspension.

I guarantee it'll sell like hot cakes though, because the sheep that buy these type of car will flock to the showrooms because the likes of told them to.
And those publications will continue to rake in the advertising money for double page spreads.

The Ultimate Marketing Machine

By sirwiggum on 26 May, 2011, 9:12am

Mixed bag

Nice front and side profiles - pity about the Arse-nal!

By lairdfp on 26 May, 2011, 9:15am

Nice Arse

At last a decent rear end on a small BMW.

I think the whole styling package works well. Front wheel drive will appeal to a lot of drivers, especially those who have never driven a rear wheel drive vehicle and have heard the "horror" stories about rear drive's wet weather foibles.

Now, if they just don't call it BMW the new owners might get away without the well deserved hatred that other motorists feel towards the drivers of the "brand".

By derkdangler on 26 May, 2011, 10:54am

Bad Arse

Like the styling but the arse end is all wrong.... mr photoshop try again please.

By wmtmarine on 26 May, 2011, 11:22am

RWDs OK

As a BMW 1series driver (a 120Dse Convertible ) I agree that its trechorous in snow and ice, disagree about the wet, keep the stability control on - stop pretending to be a "good" driver and keep all the electronic gubbins ON. The rest of the time its a good ride, great handling and much fun to drive (I only wish it was as reliable as a Ford or Vauxhall) - the steering being pure without all that twisting and pulling you get with FWD (I keep a 10yr old Zafira with all season tyres for when I want to shop or drive on icy roads)

By Teifion2 on 26 May, 2011, 1:06pm

Rear wheel drive still has its place

dav01wat said

"Does this signal the end of prehistoric rear-wheel drive at BMW? Sports-biased - lethal in the wet and useless in the snow - that's the truth of rear wheel drive."

Absolutely not. My BMWs have been by far and away the best handling cars I've ever driven, except for exotica such as Porsche (also RWD). Electronic gizmos make them virtually crash-proof in the wet. Snow? Well yes, it's either borrow the wife's Yaris or get the bus! But, really, the last snow was absolutely ages ago.

By quintilian on 26 May, 2011, 1:17pm

BMW bashing

as there are a few snide remarks about cars being overpriced - yes - you do pay for the badge, but then again I'd rather shop in M&S and aspire to Harrods (Darling;) and wouldn't be seen dead in Lidls.
as I do drive two cars regularly its really amazing how other people change when they see a BMW - I often slow down or let drivers in,nearly always get a wave or a thanks in the Vauxhall, nearly never in the BMW - also notice others are more agressive towards me - frankly my dear, I don't give a damn - it says more . about you and your chip on your shoulder than me and my driving.
I may even turn on my front fog lights to live up to the image ;-)

By Teifion2 on 26 May, 2011, 1:41pm

Scirocco Wannabe?

Lordy, there's only room for one ugly duckling on British roads and the Scirroco is it. This looks nothing like a Scirroco thank the Lord, but it is a bit 'me too'. There is a lot of Astra in the profile, which isn't a bad thing I suppose as the Astra is quite an attractive vehicle.

It is also interesting to hear from BMW owners that they are experiencing reliability issues with their cars. BMW are going to have to address their reliability issues if they are hitting this sector or they'll face the danger of damaging their reputation across the entire range.

By sgtgrash on 26 May, 2011, 1:48pm

Die, false wrong-wheel-drive BMW, DIE!

Dear God you AutoExpressers don't half talk some crap. BMWs haven't been even remotely hairy in the wet since they abandoned the old semi-trailing-arm IRS (last seen on the E36 Compact). I actually rather miss that, my E30 Touring was a hoot to drive on a wet B-road, light weight, moderate power, rear drive, no nannies, such an easy car to slide. The modern Z-axle and multilink-equipped BMWs have been very secure in all conditions except snow, and that can be sorted by the fitment of winter tyres. It doesn't matter if you're RWD, FWD, AWD, 4WD, your car will be crap in the snow on summer tyres. Those of you who've never had an E39 5-series should go and get one while they're still cheap, because prices for good ones are beginning to climb. You'd be astonished how hard you can drive them, even in the wet, before they begin to let go... then you've got the electronic nanny to stop you getting in too much trouble, unless you choose to switch it off.

As for this new '0-series'? It's an utter abomination and further proof (on top of the woeful new 5-series) that what was once my favourite brand has totally lost the plot. I feel like turning up to the launch at my local dealership in a £1500 E30 and doing burnouts as long as the tyres will stand it... A FWD car is not a BMW. A BMW is not FWD. A BMW does not have torque steer: it has totally uncorrupted steering. When you accelerate, the torque reaction (causing the rear to squat a bit) should give you MORE traction, NOT less.

Also, this will be the first BMW (8-series and Z8 apart) since they discontinued the 2002 and its kin not to be offered with a straight six... whatever next? The 5-series being a FWD barge with a diesel V6? I hope I never live to see the day...

By StraightSixMan on 26 May, 2011, 2:25pm

Series 0?

You anounced the BMW "0" series... Where are they?

By gmorin on 26 May, 2011, 3:40pm

Jealous lesser car owners.

Some of you have obviously never owned or even sat in a BMW! They are without doubt the greatest affordable driving car on the road. Great fun too if you desire it. Sheep don't buy BMWs. Good drivers who appreciate the feel of a good car do. The fact that they're RWD is the reason they're so good. Stick a set of winter tyres on and they'll go anywhere any FWD will go and more. All I can say to you jealous people out there is that you should have tried harder at school and maybe you'd be earning enough to buy a BMW!

By Shane121168 on 26 May, 2011, 3:51pm

Jealous lesser car owners.

"Jealous lesser car owners."

Not me, 4 wheel drive Audi, sticks to the road like glue, cost more than the equivalent BMW, - yes I did stick in at school :-)

"BMW will offer three more practical cars with either front or four-wheel drive."

Still looks like the (possible) beginning of a shift in mentality.

By dav01wat on 26 May, 2011, 4:54pm

@dav01wat

that is the most retarded thing i have ever read on here.

By nickeroo on 26 May, 2011, 5:56pm

BMWs useless in the snow???

Perhaps if idiots like dav01wat knew what kind of tyres to put on their car, he wouldn't have a car that was "useless in the snow". ALL CARS are useless in the snow with the wrong type of tyres fitted – hence why our roads all get clogged up everytime the snow falls. My BMW however with it's winter tyres handled superbly.

By ARI_Boy on 26 May, 2011, 6:55pm

Good ridance to Bangle.

A good looking BMW at last!

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By johnrombers on 27 May, 2011, 1:44pm

Slip sliding away

The bottom line is that we have had two pretty bad winters in succession and of the many occasions I found myself stopped in a stream of traffic due to a driver having got into a spinning frenzy ahead, that driver was invariably driving a BMW or a Mercedes C Class.

I'm not the first driver of a front wheel drive car WITHOUT WINTER TYRES to have sailed past loads of BMWs spinning impotently in an inch of snow.

This is therefore a welcome move.

Excepting snow and ice, rear wheel drive handles much better than front wheel drive and that's why BMW have such an illustrious record in rally ... oh hang on, that's not true either, is it?

By FloatingVoter on 27 May, 2011, 9:55pm

The BMW Factor

Oh my, BMW owners are such a hoot when trying to justify their acquisitions.

I live in a village where the only two routes to civilization require the negotiation of 1 in 4 hills. By far the most common vehicles in our village are BMW's and Mercedes of all persuasions, so imagine the mirth which broke out along with the snow the winter before last, when I sailed up one of the aforementioned hills in my crappy old Zafira, deftly avoiding terminally plummeting X5's, 1, 3 and 5 series BMW's and a posy of Mercedes, one of which was an AMG 55CLS, and most of which were wearing winter tyres, and yet there was little old me still wearing his summer pumps.

The hilarity continued on the journey home from my Arctic expedition to Asda when, following a rather smart and very black BMW Mini Cooper back down the hill into the village, I was somewhat gobsmacked to witness it's well healed lady driver try to negotiate a 90 degree steep downhill bend at about 50mph. Luckily for her a community spirited and slightly amused 150 year old Oak tree caught her before she could do too much damage to the environment. XD

By sgtgrash on 29 May, 2011, 3:33pm

...and yes, she was perfectly okay, and no, I didn't stop. I couldn't really because, as good as the Zafira is in the snow, it isn't a Limpet, especially on a 1 in 4 gradient covered in ice and snow XD

By sgtgrash on 29 May, 2011, 3:43pm

A Mini is front wheel drive you fool.

By Shane121168 on 7 June, 2011, 6:40pm

Fantastic!

By drive on 9 June, 2011, 8:45am

LOOKS LIKE A ROVER

YA ZA ENGLIOSH WILL LOVE OUR NEW ROVER..

By liverpool on 12 June, 2011, 2:07pm

@ dav01wat

Why would I want to sit in a BMW? I own a JAG and no way is it lesser to a BMW like you think

By liverpool on 12 June, 2011, 2:13pm

sorry

sorry i dont have 35k to spend on a car smaller than my shoe

By vRSgordon on 24 June, 2011, 3:00am

OK from the back

But defiantly needs a bin bag over the front

By liverpool on 28 July, 2011, 7:01pm

I Like It A Lot

Looks great!. Hopefully BMW will have some electonic harnessing to lessen the effect of torque-steer, but with a 150bhp engine it shouldn't be too much of a problem. Afterall a MINI Cooper S can have 200bhp or more. As for some of the comments?. I've had my e36 3-Series for nearly 10 years and I'm still perfectly happy with it.

By LANMAN on 1 September, 2011, 5:38pm