Helene Griffiths thought she was in heaven for a whole day, “driving around the Mother City on a beautiful sunny day in a BMW 1 Series Convertible made for me!”

BMW 1 Series Convertible is compact yet elegant

Price: From R308 500 To R450 200 Article Options Email to Friend Print Article Remove from Favorites Add to Favorites Remove from 'Articles to Read' Add to 'Articles to Read'

The BMW 1 Series Convertible is the fourth model in the series and is the first premium convertible in the compact vehicle segment.
I love the elegant design - especially the slim silhouette and muscular wheel housings. If the roof is lowered completely into the boot, the BMW looks flat and sportingly elegant particularly from the rear.

Soft top can be opened while driving

Best of all is that the soft top opens and closes within 22 seconds and one can actually open and close it whilst driving at speeds up to 40kmh. BMW is also offering an exclusive roof cover material as an option - anthracite with shiny threads that gives it an iridescent effect in sunlight. 

A small four seater with a big boot

 Although it is a four seater, there is not that much space in the rear but a bonus is that the boot is quite big for a sports car and the rear backrests fold down. 

BMW 1 Series offers a choice of three engines

 The BMW 1 Series Convertible boasts three high performance and efficient petrol engines - the 120i - a two-litre (115kW), 125i - a 3-litre (160kW) and a gutsy 135i - twin-turbo 3-litre (225kW). The latter accelerates from 0 to 100kmh in 5.6 seconds! The flagship model, the 135i, will only be available later.  Transmissions are manual or Steptronic auto - both six-speed.

Comprehensive BMW safety equipment

Being a sports car and a BMW on top of that, this beaut also has comprehensive safety equipment - airbags, seat belt pretensioners, belt force limiters, rollover protection features with automatic extending protection hoop guard behind the head rests on the rear seats: crash optimised front seat backs  and  head rests reduce the injury risk in the rear end impacts as well as extremely strong torsionally rigid chassis structure. 

Features new electric power steering

 A new development is represented by electric power steering (EPS) with integrated Servotronic function for speed-related steering assistance. EPS offers greater steering precision and reduced fuel consumption at the same time. This only features on the 120i and 125i models as the 135i Convertible features conventional hydraulic power steering.

Dynamic stability control

Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) is standard on all the models. Besides incorporating typical BMW ABS for braking, DSC also applies the brakes specifically on individual wheels.
The BMW 120i Convertible is equipped with 16 inch wheels, the 125i features 12 inch alloy wheels whilst the 135i boasts 18-inch alloy wheels.

The only convertible with rear-wheel drive

I found road holding and handling superb, especially through the couple of twisty mountain passes we used during the launch. Oh, I forgot to mention that it’s the only convertible in its class with rear-wheel drive.
....... and a BMW 1 Series Convertible will  look great in my driveway!
The recommended retail prices range from R308 500 to R450 200.