123 is go
 The twin-turbo petrol is the
1-Series Coupe everyone’s
excited about but in the real
world, there’s a cracking drive
to be had behind the new fourcylinder
diesel. Bearing the slightly
awkward name of 123d, the new fourcylinder
oil burner cranks out 204 bhp and
a staggering 295 lbf.ft which is enough to
shunt it to 60 mph in 7 seconds dead and
on to a top end of 148 mph. The all-alloy,
twin-turbo common rail injected unit is
the world’s most powerful four-cylinder
diesel and is the first to crack the magic
100 bhp per litre mark at 201 bhp from
1995cc. Unbelievably, the 123d also turns in
an astounding 54.3 mpg and just 138g/km
CO2 – that’s the same carbon footprint as a
1200 Polo.
It drives
superbly too and
with maximum
torque on offer
from just 2000
rpm it’s a cracking
overtaking tool.
Yes, you’ll always
know it’s a fourcylinder
and it
lacks the lovely
straightsix
diesels but the engine note is never
intrusive and the twin-turbo set-up makes
for an incredibly smooth power curve. As
you’d expect, handling is pretty similar to
the 135i, although the diesel uses electric
power steering as part of its Efficient
Dynamics measures and this can feel
slightly artificial at times.
BMW expects to shift less than 4000
1-Series Coupes in its first year, but with a
diesel this good, it's a fair bet that a lot of
those will carry the 123d badge. The 123d
coupe comes in both SE spec at £24,855
and M Sport guise at £26,290. |
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