Category: Small Family 
Price Range: £21,850 to £29,755
Agile, elegant, brilliant engines.
Poor rear leg room.
A great car to drive.
The 1-Series coupe, on sale from late November 2007, is derived from the 1-Series hatchback, which arrived as a five-door in 2004 and gained a three-door version earlier in 07. But under the largely familiar skin, it's been re-engineered from the ground up. Three engines, two transmissions and three specification levels will be available in the rear-wheel-drive, 2+2-seat coupe, priced from £21,585 to £29,745.
Only one of the three engines, the 120d, is familiar from the three- and five-door 1-Series. That's a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder turbodiesel with common-rail injection, now revised to make 174bhp and 258lb-ft of torque at 1,750-3,000rpm. The other diesel, the 123d, makes its debut in the Coupe but will also be available on the hatchback and other BMWs. Again, it's a 2.0-litre four with common-rail direct injection, but this time with variable twin turbos, both of which serve all four cylinders. A small, low-inertia turbo ensures instant pulling power at low revs, then at higher revs the larger turbo kicks in to provide more performance. It's the world's most powerful production 2.0-litre diesel engine.
The 123d produces 201bhp, 27bhp more than the 120d, and the maximum torque of 295lb-ft comes slightly higher up the rev range, at 2,000-2,250rpm. And then there's the real hotty, the 135i, using an engine that's a proven winner in other recent BMWs. It's a 3.0-litre straight six with direct injection and two turbochargers. Each one serves three cylinders, which enables them to be small and light, and thus quick to respond when engine revs rise. It peaks at 302bhp, with 295lb-ft of torque at 1,300-5,000rpm.
The Coupe's many new parts include a five-arm rear axle and - on the 135i - a new electronically controlled differential lock to control spin and aid traction during rapid driving. Despite the many changes to the bodywork and chassis, the Coupe retains the 50:50 front-rear weight distribution that BMW regards as being so important to its cars' beautifully balanced handling. The standard gearbox is a six-speed manual, with an automatic option on the 123d and, from spring 2008, a paddleshift auto available on the 135i.
Aside from the Alfa Romeo coupe duo, the and Brera, plus the Audi TT and Nissan 350Z, the competitors are hatchbacks. But arguably the real rival is BMW's own 3-Series Coupe, which in its current form is bigger, heavier and rather more expensive than many potential buyers would like; they now have a brilliant new alternative.
The 120d ES costs £21,585, the 120d SE is £23,025, the 120d M Sport is £24,705, the 123d SE costs £24,855, the 123d M Sport is £26,290 and the 135i M Sport tops the range at £29,745.
