BMW 120d 2006 review

So where does that leave the BMW 120d? It's the newest of the BMW breed and the first four-cylinder diesel the German company has brought to Australia.

It slides in at the bottom of the range, but still traces its diesel links to the impressive X5.

It is part of a major diesel drive by BMW, which has become a hero to diesel fans in Europe with a series of models that are more than just economy specials.

BMW has proven that diesel can also mean performance, installing engines in 3-Series coupes which some people choose ahead of its M cars. Truly.

The 120d also has a performance focus. The latest turbo-diesel makes 115kW and tips in a huge 330Nm of torque from as little as 2000 revs.

And it is powered through a six-speed automatic with one of the best touch-change manual systems in the business.

And yet . . . the 120d is a noisy car, can be harsh on the road and its fuel efficiency is ordinary. BMW will say that anything below

7.0 litres/100km is impressive, and that is good when you have just stepped from a Ford Territory Turbo that uses 14 litres/100km.

But we have recently driven the Audi and Citroen and watched their fuel-consumption readouts hover below 5 litres. So the 120d is good enough, but not good enough to ring our bell in 2006.

The newcomer takes the number of 1-Series cars in Australia to five, from the basic 116 through to the sporty 130, though there are all sorts of stories -- not confirmed by BMW -- for model stretches, including a coupe and perhaps even an M car in the range.

It also stretches the diesel drive begun by the 530d, X3 and X5 3.0-litre diesels. Later this month BMW will also bring its 320d sedan, with the same 115kW engine, to Australia.

We have driven the 3-Series diesel in Britain and, though it is not as quiet as some of its rivals, it was more convincing as a luxury powerplant in the slightly larger car.

BMW has done an impressive job on the engine, even using a system that fires the glow plugs -- which pre-heat for starting -- as soon as the driver's door is opened. It has a common-rail fuel system and a variable-vane turbocharger.

It says the push for diesel works well for a sporty driver because there is so much torque, a balanced delivery with no gaps in the power, and its engines -- without admitting that diesels are heavier -- sit inline in the body and behind the front axle line.

The performance package is a 0-100km/h sprint in 8.5 seconds, a top speed of 215km/h, and highway fuel economy as good as 5.5 litres/100km.

The 120d package for Australia includes a long list of safety and luxury equipment, from dynamic stability control and anti-skid brakes with cornering brake control to remote central locking, sports leather seats, trip computer, CD sound and 17-inch alloy wheels.

The price of the 120d is getting fairly meaty for a baby diesel, and must be seen against the new Holden Astra turbo-diesel from Europe at $29,990 and $31,490 for the automatic. But it sits well in the 1-Series lineup. The cheapest of the BMW babies is still $34,900 for the 116i and the top-line 130i Sport is $65,500.

ON THE ROAD

We've always liked the 1-Series, and there are some very good things about the diesel. It is surprisingly swift, very enjoyable to drive as a manual and has the sportiest feel of any diesel we've tested in Australia.

Most of the time we were thinking of it more as a sporty hatch than an all-out economy car.

And, if GM Holden is right, that will make it a winner Down Under. It did a lot of research on diesel buyers before bringing the Astra turbodiesel here and found that potential owners were surprisingly young and trendy.

They are people who want to fly some green colours and like the idea of big breaks between refuelling, but also want a vehicle that is enjoyable to drive.

So the 120d should tick the Astra boxes as well as put a BMW twist on the deal with a sporty feel that is way beyond that of the Holden, Citroen C4 and light-and-easy Audi A4.

It's this sporty feel, as well as the luxury gear, that moves the 120d out on its own. We noticed no extra weight in the nose and the car turns and grips as well as any 1-Series does.

The engine has good punch at almost any speed, is excellent as an overtaker and can be pushed along with the manual shift in the auto box. We drove it as a pure manual for much of our test and really enjoyed the deep well of torque that is available from very low revs.

It is easy to punch out of a slow corner as fast as a sports car without having to rev to the redline, and the engine also runs well as a pure auto.

We also enjoyed the support and comfort of the sports front buckets, the punch of the CD sound and everything from the trip computer to cruise control.

Now we come to the buts, and there are a few big ones. For a start, the engine is noisy — both at idle and at cruise.

We didn't like it, lots of people noticed it, and it makes life with the 120d less enjoyable than it could be. It is much noisier than the C4, the A4 or even the new Astra, and is well shaded by the Golf turbodiesel, which is another of our favourites.

We also found the car was harsher than we expected. That is partly down to the vibes from the engine, but also a result of the hard-ride, run-flat tyres fitted to the car. We did not like the run-flats on the 3-Series and, under the sports tuning of the d-car, they contribute to a more hardline feel than we would have liked.

The 120d managed 6.4 litres/100km during our test, but it could — some will say should — be better. The Audi ran at 5.8 for much of its time in our hands and that is a heavier car.

Still, BMW has made a smart move to bring the diesel in the 1-Series and taking a performance approach is likely to convert customers who, in the past, would never have put a diesel on their shopping lists.

THE BOTTOM LINE

71/100

The new baby diesel in the BMW family is surprisingly sporty, but also surprisingly harsh and flawed.