Category: BMW

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BMW M1

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1980 BMW M1

Prior to World War II, BMW’s reputation revolved primarily around its sporting excellence. After WW II the company was crippled and as the majority of its assets were in Eastern Germany these were grabbed by the Russians. Almost all that BMW had left after the war was a tradition and spirit. Not until the late 1950s could the company translate these qualities into something more tangible, with its first small sporting saloons of the post-war period. BMWs image was painstakingly rehabilitated and amply shown off by its prolific racing successes,… Read more

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TOURER FORWARD THINKING SETS BMW OFF IN NEW DIRECTION

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It had to happen. BMW traditionally has carried the banner for rear-wheel drive vehicles for decades, building success on the philosophy that the set-up delivers maximum satisfaction to the driver. Now, with its centenary coming up in 2016, in a quest for more room for passengers, the German automobile giant has launched its first front-wheel drive model – the 2 Series Active Tourer. At 4342 mm long, the long 2670 mm wheelbase and 1555 mm tall body, slightly bigger than the BMW X1, with seating for five and versatile cargo… Read more

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2014 BMW M4 REVIEW

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BMW’s M3 Coupe is now known as the M4. The high-revving V8 is gone, replaced by a lower-capacity, forced induction 3.0-litre straight six. For some, this has meant the end – how could the M4 possibly be any good? Turbos are terrible! Won’t someone think of the wannabe racing drivers? The list of complaints go on and on. As usual, these complaints are coming from people yet to drive it. We’ll cut to the chase: the old M3 was tremendous fun, the M4 is even more tremendous fun. In fact,… Read more

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BMW’s GROUND-BREAKING NEW ELECTRIC i3

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With greenhouse gas emission reduction targets making the headlines, BMW couldn’t have picked a better time for the Australian launch of the i3, the German giant’s first mass-produced vehicle to run solely on electric power. The BMW i3 is a five-door hatch with unusual looks that border on those of the compact SUVs. It comes with the choice of two powerplants, one that relies solely on battery power, the other which includes a 647cc two-cylinder rear-mounted petrol engine that powers an electrical generator to charge the batteries – but does… Read more

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BMW 1 SERIES 2004 – 2014

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2009 BMW 118d

It goes without saying that all BMWs are aimed at those keen people who like to drive, so the little 1 Series uses sporty engines combined with rear-wheel drive to help make even the most boring of commuting a good experience. A drawback of rear-drive is that it steals space from inside the car and the load area. This is exacerbated in the 1 Series by a stretched engine bay to fit straight-six engines. There’s good legroom in the front seats, though foot-width is restricted by the gearbox housing. There’s… Read more

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2014 BMW X3 xDRIVE 30d xLINE REVIEW

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The first-gen X3 was one of those, “Quick, we need a car in a segment we don’t yet occupy” cars. Funny looking and without an obvious reason to buy it (too close to the X1 in size, why not have an X5 instead price-wise?), it was marooned. The second generation made a lot more sense as it grew in size to fit much more sensibly between X1 and ever-expanding X5. It also looks a lot better, handsome even. It needs to be because its main rival, the Audi Q5, is… Read more

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2014 BMW 435i GRAN COUPE M SPORT REVIEW

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When you’ve got as many cars as the big three German companies, it’s inevitable that one or two of the niche models will fall into the cracks of a comprehensive range. In BMW’s case, it doesn’t help that the increasingly bewildering model-naming style forces some cars out of public consciousness. This seems to have happened to the 4 Series Gran Coupe. Sure, it hasn’t been around very long and doesn’t have the advantage of a full-house M version like the 3 or 4 Coupe to let people know about it,… Read more

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2014 BMW M235i REVIEW

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The past few years has seen BMW have a few goes at the big-engine-small-car formula. Almost a decade ago it started with the five-door (and rather good) 130i. Then there was the almost-there 135i coupe which morphed into the 1 Series M, an absolute firecracker of a car but one that required a close working relationship with an orthopaedic surgeon. Then came the M135i hatch which is great to drive but scary to look at. Now we’ve got the M235i. A slinkier suit with BMW’s turbo straight six and a… Read more

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BMW M4 COUPE: A REAL STUNNER

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BMW M4 is a high-performance two-door coupe that’s a close cousin to the M3 four-door sedan. The M4 can be regarded as the next generation of the M3 coupe and carries on the long tradition of being one of the world’s great driving cars. It looks great, goes like a rocket, sounds the part, and has brakes that make your eyes bulge forwards when you really get stuck into the pedal. STYLING The M4 coupe has a sleek rear end and a low-slung look that grabbed plenty of attention during… Read more

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BMW 220i SPORT – FUN AND COMPETENT

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The BMW 1 Series, while a very good car is, in my humble opinion, ugly. Criminally ugly. It’s ugly at a molecular level. Which, given the close relationship between the old hatch and coupe, was cause for enormous disquiet among BMW fans. Thankfully, not only is the visual relationship between the two model lines broken, the coupe has a new name, the 2 Series, to go with the new look. And that new look is rather fetching. VALUE The 220i is the entry-level model for the booted two-door. Starting at… Read more