126 MOTORING ROAD TESTS BY NICK FLETCHER
OuR MOTORING COLuMN, BY THe exPeRIeNCeD AND AWARD WINNING MOTORING JOuRNALIsT NICK FLETCHER HELPS OUR READERS CHOOSE THE BEST OF THE LATEST CARS.
BMW 1-SERIES
equipped for the money comes news that every new car from the company - from cheapest 1 Series upward - now has satellite navigation as standard. That doesn’t mean you will be short of the chance
to spend extra on options, of which there is long list, from metallic paint (£550) and a £600 audio upgrade to active cruise (£790) and a £330 reversing camera. Even so, standard kit across the new range is more
When a car as important as the BMW 1 Series hatchback is due for revision, you can bet the designers laboured long into the night on the tiniest details - like making the exhaust pipe a bit fatter to give the rear a more sporty look. Tick that one off among a host of changes to a model that claims one in five sales to British buyers of new BMWs. You need to be a bit of a BMW anorak to spot the new tailpipe but changes to the lights at both ends give the latest 1 Series a wider, bolder look. Inside the latest models - priced
generous ranging from DAB radio and Bluetooth to a big colour screen on the dash, climate control and LED lights at the rear. Most buyers are happy to pay £1,000 more for a
THE COCKPIT IS STILL AIMED AT SERIOUS
from £20,930 - the cockpit is still aimed at serious drivers but there’s a modest injection of extra pizzazz with added gloss black and splashes of chrome. Under the surface BMW has made important changes including a new diesel engine that promises delivers excellent performance. More powerful diesels are offered too, along with
a range of petrol engines that climax with the M135i. And for those critics who say BMWs are too sparsely
DRIVERS BUT THERE’S A MODEST INJECTION OF EXTRA PIZZAZZ
Sport package of different alloys, steering wheel and body styling tweaks or even find £2,700 for an M Sport package of bigger alloys, LED headlights, styling additions and firmer suspension. Whichever version you end up with it will be a notably well finished car with plenty of room in the front, adequate space in rear for grown ups and a reasonably sized boot. The 116 eD Plus I sampled, costing £22,710, has a smooth and refined 1.5 litre diesel engine offering 116 hp, a 0-60 mph time of 10.4 seconds, and a top speed of 124 mph. Fuel economy
is outstanding - 83.1 mpg combined, and also very welcome is the road-tax-free 89g/km emissions. The new 1 series improves on what was already a most impressive model and will not only please BMW core buyers but is sure to attract new converts to the brand.•
PEUGEOT 308 GT
The Peugeot 308 is a stylish five-door family hatchback taking on the likes of the VW Golf and Ford Focus and that is a tall order. However, the latest 308 models have a much more
premium feel than their predecessors as the French company has significantly upped its game in a hard- fought market sector. Peugeot also has a fine range of petrol and diesel engines delivering good performance and excellent fuel economy, so the 308 can now genuinely compete with the best the class has to offer. My recent 308 GT test model underlined these
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