By admin on May 28, 2010
BMW NIP AND TUCK BMW has just given the 3-Series range a refreshing nip-and-tuck. You might well ask why. It is only three years since the current model was launched – the fifth generation in a line stretching back three decades – and it didn’t seem in any urgent need of an update. But it’s [...]
Posted in BMW, Reviews | Tagged BMW, BMW 3-Series
By admin on May 28, 2010
BIG BRUISER Chelsea tractor is a term that could have been invented for the BMW X6; Sloane Square or the Kings Road seem to be the natural habitat of a big luxury 4×4, especially one with coupé pretensions. So what am I doing just up the road from John O’Groats at Dounreay nuclear power station, waiting [...]
Posted in BMW, Reviews | Tagged BMW, BMW X6
By admin on May 28, 2010
BMW’S FIRST HYBRID… There’s been much activity behind the scenes at the German brands, and BMW is first out of the traps with a production Hybrid. Known as the X6 ActiveHybrid, BMW’s offering is powered by a 400bhp 4.4-litre twin-turbocharged V8 petrol engine, and two electric motors developing 91bhp and 86bhp. With everything working in [...]
Posted in BMW, Reviews | Tagged BMW, BMW X6
By admin on May 28, 2010
…AND THEN THERE WERE TWO… BMW hybrids are like buses – you wait ages, then two come along at once. The 7 Series ActiveHybrid features the same engine as the X6, but has a higher state of engine tune, and features only one electric motor. In this application, BMW’s 4.4-litre V8 has twin-turbochargers, develops 440bhp, [...]
Posted in BMW, Reviews | Tagged BMW, BMW 7-Series
By admin on May 28, 2010
The latest 116d has lower emissions than before, but does it detract from BMW ’s goal of being the Ultimate Driving Machine. Ian Robertson investigates Base models are sometimes pretty boring, with pared down equipment levels, puny engines and mundane looks. BMW’s new entry level 116d aims to blow those thoughts out of the water [...]
Posted in BMW, Reviews | Tagged BMW, BMW 1-Series
By admin on May 28, 2010
The pitch for BMW’s 5 Series Gran Turismo is an interesting one. If you have a grown-up family, enjoy shopping, golf or entertaining friends or colleagues, plus you’re an active sort but you shun conventional SUVs, the 5 GT is for you That’s all perfectly clear, then. Positioned between the company’s 5-Series Touring and X6, [...]
Posted in BMW, Reviews | Tagged BMW, BMW 5-Series
By admin on May 28, 2010
xtra factor: With the focus on ever lower CO2 emissions and improved fuel economy, BMW has launched an entry level X3. Ian Robertson reports In car years, BMW’s X3 is positively elderly, having first gone on sale in the UK in 2004, yet that hasn’t stopped BMW from continually improving and refining the product. With [...]
Posted in BMW, Reviews | Tagged BMW, BMW X3
By admin on May 28, 2010
Gimme Five! BMW’s 5 Series saloon has come a long way since it first hit the road in 1972. Around 5.5 million cars later, the German firm’s mid-range executive has become the class benchmark Design-wise, this sixth generation model seems to have changed less radically than its quirky predecessor, but it has still managed to advance [...]
Posted in BMW, Reviews | Tagged BMW, BMW 530d SE
